Frozen Stiff

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Car mogul Daniel Walker is celebrating New Year’s Eve alone. Or at least he thinks he is. At midnight, he runs outside naked for a quick roll in the snow. But when he tries to get back in the house, he can’t. He’s been locked out.From Publishers WeeklyAt the start of Logue's tepid eighth mystery featuring Pepin County, Wis., deputy sheriff Claire Watkins (after 2008's Point No Point), Dan Walker, who's been celebrating New Year's Eve alone in his cabin's new sauna, finds himself locked out of his cabin after a brief naked roll in the snow. Subzero temperatures ensure that he's frozen stiff by the next morning. Miraculously, Dan revives, but is unable to recall what happened to him, though it appears someone deliberately locked him out. Suspicion falls on Dan's soon-to-be-ex-wife, Sherri, as well as his spoiled daughter, Danielle, but other suspects soon emerge. Meanwhile, a possible change in Claire's long-term relationship with Rich Haggard, among other personal issues, complicate Claire's hunt for who wanted Dan dead. Series fans may enjoy the rough Wisconsin winter and revisiting old friends, but Logue fails to generate much suspense or excitement. (June) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistIt is New Year’s Eve in Pepin County, Wisconsin, 20 below zero with lots of snow. Daniel Walker is relaxing in his sauna, enjoying a bottle of vodka and a cigar and contemplating a new land deal and a divorce. At midnight, he leaves the sauna for a nude roll in the snow, but when he tries to get back inside, the door won’t open. When his soon-to-be-ex discovers him frozen in a pile of snow the next morning, she calls for help and the paramedics take him to the hospital to see if he can be saved. Sheriff’s investigator Claire Watkins has to figure out whether the incident was an accident or a crime. Daniel Walker made many people unhappy: his wife, his daughter, those on the wrong sides of his land deals. As she investigates, Claire ponders her own relationship with boyfriend Rich. After the death of her husband many years ago, she has been hesitant to remarry. The freezing weather echoes the relationships in this story. Some are frozen, while others, previously icy, show signs of thawing. A satisfying entry in a consistently entertaining series. --Barbara Bibel