****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
I’ll admit it; if Heywood’s Winter Ice weren’t free I wouldn’t have read it. It was, I did, and I enjoyed it. As a former resident of Michigan’s UP, how could I not like a book that starts off with a hockey game between Michigan Tech and Northern U and has a plot that speeds you along Michigan’s routes through its small towns and rivers. But would I have enjoyed it as much if the game was against Boston U and Quinnipiac and all the localities were in Vermont? Probably not.While the plot was solid, it was the ensemble of characters that made the reading enjoyable. They were the northern version of rednecks. Think Deliverance with accordions. Who do dem folks in Lansing think they are to make rules for the way we live up here, eh?Grady Service (Any kin to Robert Service - writer of The Cremation of Sam McGee?) is a Michigan Conservation Officer who must enforce dem state laws. The plot is something like a Grafton novel - a simple infraction investigation turns into a murder mystery complete with well-honed baddies and fumbling low-lives, alluring women and the best trout fishing spots. All in all, it’s a good mystery.Upon further reflection, I might actually enjoy a trip through Vermont.
