Cold Wind (Alaska Wild Mysteries #2)

Cold Wind is the second book in the Alaska Wild mystery series by Paige Shelton. Released 8th Dec 2020 by Macmillan on their Minotaur imprint, it's 304 pages and available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats.

This is an well written and immersive thriller/mystery set in a very remote part of Alaska. Main protagonist Beth is a writer on the run to try to reclaim her security and heal herself from a violent abduction by a stalker. She's made friends since moving to Benedict, Alaska, but hasn't opened up about her traumatic past or what she really does for a living (she's a fairly famous author under a pseudonym). The setting is beautifully drawn, stark and brooding. The plotting and tension arc never felt forced or too slow. The author is adept at her craft and the flashback interludes from Beth's point of view worked very well with the 1st person point of view. There are some chilling flashbacks as she begins to regain memories from her earlier trauma. In fact the whole book has a fair amount of creepy atmospheric  secondary characters and settings.

The language is somewhat rough (the secondary characters are rugged outdoorsy types as well as a drug addict - Beth lives in a halfway house since there weren't other accommodations) but wasn't completely over the top or gratuitous. There is violence and psychological tension in the narrative, but again, I never felt the author threw it in without reason. There is potentially triggering trauma (the main character was abducted, held, and tortured for days). There was also threatened sexual assault described in a flashback and in some dialogue, but nothing graphic. There are also references to violence and trauma against children in the book. Although it's the second book in the series, it works well enough as a standalone read. The author provides the necessary backstory.

Four stars. I enjoyed it and will be looking forward to the next book(s) in the series.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.