In Cold Pursuit

In Cold Pursuit was an absolutely fascinating look at what life is like for the scientists and support staff living and working in Antarctica, as well as being an exciting murder mystery. The characters are well-drawn and feel like people you could know. Sarah Andrews extensive research in Antarctica really shows, and she makes you fall in love with the place the way her characters have. I love a mystery where I also learn real things about a place, and about science, that I didn't know before. I highly recommend this book - excellent! I have also enjoyed all of Sarah Andrews previous books with her other character, forensic geologist Em Hansen. I hope she brings her new character, Valena Walker, back in subsequent books.

Valena Walker is a young glaciology graduate student who has secured a place on Professor Emmett Vanderzee’s Antarctic team. Unfortunately upon arrival in Antarctica she is told that Vanderzee has been arrested and taken back to the US and she too will have to leave as soon as there’s a spare seat on a flight out. Walker discovers that during the previous year’s work on the continent a journalist who was critical of Vanderzee’s work died from what was thought to be altitude sickness while on a visit to Vanderzee’s camp but now new evidence indicates the death was not an accident. Desperate not to leave Antarctica she decides to investigate the matter to see if she can determine what really happened.

The standout feature of the show more novel for me was the picture it painted of life in Antarctica. Unlike other books I’ve read that are set there, the action in this one takes place in and around McMurdo Station which is a temporary home to more than 1300 people and I’d never really thought about Antarctica having its own small town before. With talk of ‘the season’, the need to haul in all the equipment and supplies one might need from half a world away and the competition between research teams for resources and kudos I was reminded of the many books I’ve read (fact and fiction) based in and around early archaeological digs in Egypt. I don’t know if the author has been there (her website says she was hoping to go there but it hasn’t been updated for quite some time) or has just spoken to people who have but she certainly made it seem very realistic and provided quite fascinating details of day-to-day life in the crowded isolation. Not surprisingly, because Andrews is a geologist and a professor, the scientific details and discussions about science-related issues such as global warming have an air of authenticity and add an interesting aspect to the book.

As far as characterisations go I thought the best of these were at a group level rather than an individual one. We are shown the scientists (beakers), the tractor drivers (with their own very Pythonesque club), the administrators and so on and, as much as any group generalisation can be realistic, these felt quite natural and showed what kinds of people might be drawn to work in such a place and how they might react to the location. We don’t really get to know any single person other than Valena in any depth and for me this is a bit of a disappointment as I’d much rather get to know individuals. Valena is depicted quite realistically for the most part: generally strong with some credible glimpses of the uncertainties that a woman of her age would display in the kinds of stressful situations she encountered. I didn’t fall in love with her but liked her and wanted to see how things would turn out for her.

The only part of the book that was a bit of a letdown was the mystery itself. Although there are the requisite number of suspects and red-herrings there really isn’t much in the way of suspense and for a good deal of the book there’s barely any action on the mystery front at all as we observe the day-to-day goings on at McMurdo. At times it felt like the author was trying to squeeze in all the interesting things she knew about living and working in Antarctica to the detriment sometimes of plot development.

Although it’s not the best example of a mystery you will find In Cold Pursuit is a good read, especially for those with an interest in science. It hasn’t convinced me that any scientific knowledge humanity has gained from our presence in Antarctica will prove to have been worth the cost of finding the last pristine bit of the planet and covering it in buildings, vehicles and all the other detritus that accompanies us wherever we go but I did enjoy it as a unique reading experience. It appears that all of Andrews’ previous novels feature a forensic geologist and amateur sleuth Em Hansen, a character who makes a brief appearance at the other end of an email in this novel, and I enjoyed this one enough to seek out another book in this series. show less

The strength and weakness of this book is that it is based on a two-month stint the author spent in Antarctica. She does a great job of writing about the places she visited and the people she met there (or their fictional analogues), but the attempt to graft a thriller plot onto the travelogue doesn't work so well, as the protagonist of the thriller goes on side trips that tell the reader a lot about Antarctica and about climate science but threaten to derail the plot.

So, if I was rating "In Cold Pursuit" purely on its thriller elements, I would give it about three stars - but, if you are at all interested in fictional descriptions of Antarctica, people who choose to live in Antarctica, climate change, and the way science is done, as I show more am, it's well worth four stars. show less

The mystery was pretty good, and the information about life in Antarctica was interesting, but the writing was uneven. Ms. Andrews couldn't seem to decide what to focus on. Sometimes the novel sounded more like a case for climate change or conversely, a description of life in Antarctica, than an actual story. It got in the way of enjoying the novel for me. I've read better books from Ms. Andrews

Valena Walker has gone to the Antarctica to be with Professor, Dr. Emmett Vanderzee, to research for her master's degree. When she arrives, she finds he has been accused of murder and not there. Valena is now trying to find who really killed the newspaper reporter.
There are two deaths in this mystery. A different mystery book that I have read because so much of the book is about Antarctica and a lot of the book is about the area for the geology and glaciers.
I saw a lot of reviews of some who did not like the book. It is very detailed about the geology of the area, what they wear, what they eat and the equipment used. I personally liked the book and what was happening with the detailed information. The author spent time in the area show more researching her book. It was published in 2007. Sarah Andrews was an American geologist and author of twelve science-based mystery novels and several short stories. Sad to say the author, her son and her husband died in a plane crash in 2019.
5* show less

Valena Walker is living her dream of traveling to Antarctica to work on her master's degree. She has snagged an assistantship with a well-known and respected glaciologist, Dr Emmett Vanderzee. But as soon as she arrives, Valena learns that Vanderzee has been arrested for murder. In order to stay in Antarctica, Valena needs to clear the professor's name. To do this, she seeks out all the people who were at the camp where the death occurred. This takes her on the adventure of a life time, and brings her close to danger, when another suspicious death occurs.

I enjoyed this book. The mystery was good and I liked the way the clues were given to the reader. There is also a lot about Antarctica, ice and global warming. I found all this very show more interesting but it might not be everyone's cup of tea. We also get introduced to a large group of eccentrics who are the people who dare to inhabit this very dangerous continent. I enjoyed the people, but there were just a few too many and I sometimes lost who different folks were. But overall, a very good Summer read. show less

Did not finish. Wah wah. Wah wah wah wah. I didn't make it far; but several things annoyed me immediately. Valena on one page doesn't want to seem TOO interested in making friends with one man. On the very next page, she's changing into a curve hugging fleece top before she goes to the mess hall for the very first time. Also, the dialog is stiff; and Andrews spends a lot of time telling not showing. Meh.