Ice Hunter (Woods Cop Mystery 1)

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In a brilliant debut to a thrilling series, Grady Service gets news that his nemesis, the head of an incestuous clan of poachers, is to be released from prison. But something even more sinister is afoot in the Mosquito Wilderness. Service must call upon his every reserve to track, stalk, and capture the “ice hunter.” For more on Joseph Heywood and the Woods Cop Mysteries, visit the author's website.Amazon.com ReviewPenzler Pick, November 2001: Grady Service is a Conservation Officer in the farthest reaches of Michigan's remote Upper Peninsula, a harshly demanding terrain with its own codes and rituals, all linked to the survival of both humans and the vast wilderness surrounding them.Like his father before him, he's entered the Conservation Service and sworn to police an environment where rules seem made to be broken. It's a tough, taxing job, and of 5,000 candidates annually, "only four or five made it all the way through probation to full duty."In much the same manner as another recent series debut (C.J. Box's topnotch Open Season), Heywood, who has written other novels but has now started the "Woods Cop" mysteries with Grady Service, takes us into the world of men at home in the wilderness. That means both good guys and bad.A big problem for the good guys, however, is that the demanding life is tough on those who love them. As Grady tells it, one night his now ex-wife said to him at dinner, "I'd like another helping of cauliflower and a divorce.... You have a death wish and I don't wish to be a young widow." When he meets Maridly Nantz, one of the rare female COs, he's found someone tough enough to take him on. But, first, the two of them must figure out what's behind the deliberate fires, flights of mysterious helicopters, and other unexplained but definitely illegal goings-on in the Mosquito Tract, Grady's own special piece of Upper Peninsula turf.Ice Hunter (the title gives away more than is immediately obvious) is full of enough atmosphere that you'll definitely want to be in a warm, dry room while reading it. --Otto PenzlerFrom Publishers WeeklyThe intensity with which Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer Grady Service pursues his job makes this first entry in Heywood's (The Snowfly) new series a standout. The book shares some traits with an urban police procedural, but the milieu Michigan's Upper Peninsula and focus on the environment differentiate this investigation. A 47-year-old native of the region and divorced Vietnam vet, Service is fiercely independent and passionate about the land. The section of the U.P. that Service cares most about is the Mosquito Wilderness Tract. That's where he was, patrolling along the river, when he encountered an odd, wary older man with a camera, a hammer and a notebook. Soon that very spot is the site of two suspicious fires, after which a local poacher is found shot dead in the back. County detectives look into the murder, but Service can't shake his suspicion that the tract is facing some sort of threat. When a handful of rocks he picks out of the ashes turn out to contain diamonds, Service must race against time to find out what's really behind the murder and arson. Under Michigan's pro-development governor, just a whisper that diamonds may lie in the bedrock could threaten the pristine wilderness area. A strong sense of place, a protagonist with a moral commitment to his job and a fleshed-out community of hard-working conservation officers and their colleagues in law enforcement make this a promising beginning to the series. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.