The Chief of Police, Brian Gilbralter, is a strict, no nonsense man who values the loyalty of his officers above all else. Gibralter hires Kincaid on the spot, setting him to work on routine patrol, but allows him some latitude to investigate the death of Thomas Pryce. When two young boys accidentally discover the body of a retired Loon Lake police officer, it appears that someone with a grudge against the Loon Lake Police Department is single-handedly dispensing his own brand of justice.

Because he has been at Loon Lake such a short time, Louis feels safer than his fellow officers in pursuing the investigation, and begins to dig through the mountains of previous cases, looking for a disgruntled individual bent on avenging some perceived miscarriage of justice. Kincaid’s only concrete clue is a red truck seen by a witness near the Pryce home about the time Pryce was killed. This clue eventually leads to a man named Lacey - a man with a criminal record. Apprehending Lacey and charging him on a minor offense, Louis releases him when it is discovered that Lacey was in prison when Pryce was killed. Setting Lacey free proves to be the biggest mistake of Louis’ career.

Dead of Winter can probably be described as a police procedural, though that would really be a misnomer and an injustice to author P.J. Parrish. The characters that Parrish has created in the fictional village of Loon Lake are distinctive, forceful, and totally captivating. They are by no means model citizens and their actions, while consistent with their personalities, provide numerous surprises for the unsuspecting reader.

At first glance, Brian Gilbralter seems a stern, but just leader. However, Gibralter soon reveals himself to be someone quite different. It is difficult to decide whether to like or hate him. Louis Kincaid could be a young, Black man with a chip on his shoulder, due to injustices heaped upon him during his tenure in Mississippi, or a long suffering, take what life dishes out sort of man that one can’t help empathizing with. Interestingly, he is neither, though he has elements of both, and is predictably unpredictable. In tough situations, Louis reveals what a mentally tough and clever person he is.

The author has a talent for description. The landscape and climate of the “Middle of the Mitten” is accurately and graphically portrayed. Even sitting in a cozy living room chair, one can easily imagine the bitter cold that Louis and his colleagues are experiencing as the pursue Lacey through the woods. The author’s depiction of the house where the crime that set everything in motion took place is so detailed that the reader can easily imagine it in his mind. If such a house did exist, it would be vividly recognizable from the author’s precise wording.

Dead of Winter is definitely a cut above normal summer beach reading fare, and intriguing enough for readers who have not read Dark of the Moon, which apparently deals with Louis’ experiences in Mississippi, to go searching for a copy. I know I’ll have my eye out for it.

--Andy Plonka