Ice Hunter: A Woods Cop Mystery

Joseph Heywood
The Lyons Press (2005)
ISBN 1592286542
Reviewed by Kathleen Dowdell for Reader Views (8/06)

Joseph Heywood, author of the Woods Cop Mystery Series, sets the venue of this thriller in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, in an area known as the Mosquito Wilderness Tract. Grady Service, a self proclaimed guardian and appointed conservation officer of this rugged country, is the main character in Heywood’s fourth book in this series. Grady’s father, also a conservation officer in the UP, died years ago when Grady was only 16.

Grady Service is a man of action who requires little comfort and even less sleep.  He prowls the wilderness territory to make sure it is protected from poachers, as his father did years before him. Because of his perseverance and diligence, he gets caught up in a mystery that uses all his expertise and physical stamina. When he does have a little time to relax he spends the time with a newly found lover who adds additional demands agreeing to live together, splitting time between her place and his. When her dog finds rocks in the river which turn out to be diamonds, Service realizes his beloved territory could become a modern “gold rush mecca” that would attract people from all over the country.

This novel moves along at a pace that keeps the reader interested while subtly drawing the reader in to find out what happens next.  Heywood throws in sub plots and uses a variety of characters to help tell the story. The ending was a surprise in a pleasant way and I was not disappointed after reading nearly 300 pages. This is an easy read that I would recommend to lovers of nature and conservation as well as mystery and suspense.

Make comment on weblog