Dead of Winter

Rating:
Summary: A great read!!
Review: Dead of Winter is truly one of those books you cannot put down! Louis Kincaid is a refreshing character and I look forward to more adventures to come. As a fan of Patricia Cornwell, Jonathan Kellerman, Tess Gerriston, Michael Palmer and Leonard Goldberg, I found P.J. Parrish to be an exciting author. I can't wait for the next book!

Rating:
Summary: dead of winter
Review: Dead of Winter Review
Throughout the entire book, Dead of Winter, the author, P.J. Parrish, does an incredible job of keeping the reader in complete and utter suspense. The book is set in Loon Lake, Michigan, at the beginning of December, 1984. It begins mysteriously with the incident of the perplexing murder of one of Loon Lake's finest investigators, Thomas Pryce.
It continues with Detective Louis Kincaid, who is a man who has come north, looking for a safe haven and new job in a new police department, so he can put all the terrors of his precedent life behind. Instead, he becomes trapped inside yet another investigation that is really just a case of whodunit.
After Detective Kincaid is hired into the LLPD, he is hooked onto the investigation of Pryce's murder. His new chief, Chief Gibralter is more or less a very special individual. He is extremely well-educated and should own a bigger police department than Loon Lake's, but peculiarly does not. He makes it clear that he was the boss and only whatever he says, goes by intimidating Kincaid with a few rigorous words to the new guy: "These are the rules, and listen good...We have a motto here: Gens una sumus...'We are one family.'"
Detective Kincaid meets many new people, but after a long time, his favorite one is Jesse Harrison, even though they do not find one another quite that appealing, at first. Jesse Harrison was fairly close to Thomas Pryce, so they begin to investigate the murder, when the late ambiguity of a retired Loon Lake officer's murder arises.
As the investigation continues, Detective Kincaid starts to find incredible and amazing new evidence to further the investigation. They make a list of suspects and start to narrow down the possibilities of who is guilty.
If I told anymore of this story, I'd basically give the ending away. Parrish is an amazing writer, in my opinion. I have never been as interested in a new suspense novel as I was while reading this one. I loved the way he ended each chapter differently. The very first chapter ends with, "'Merry f***ing Christmas, Officer Pryce,' he said.'" This begins one's curiosity to keep on reading to find out who the actual murderer is.
At the end of Chapter 26, it ends with "Gibralter's eyes softened, taking on an almost paternal warmth. 'Sit down, Jess, I'll tell you,' he said." He keeps the reader wanting more because I know I wanted to know what Gibralter says to Jess and why he is so kind outside of the department, considering how Gibralter acts to others when he is at work.
Parrish does a phenomenal job of keeping Kincaid an interesting male protagonist, as well. He gives him a possible love interest and fatal background of his life that could possibly explain Kincaid's behavior throughout the book. I thought these were extremely strong points, because the more details there were, the better one could understand what was going down.
I didn't find any weak points in this book. I think I couldn't because I enjoyed it so much. I would recommend this book to anyone who is into suspense or thriller. I have never really been too into those types of novels, but this book did a divine job of altering my thoughts and opinions. He also keeps it interesting by integrating quotes and lines from historical folks.
It had my palms sweating for quite some time, and I found my adrenaline rising in full. The books ends so suddenly, yet satisfactorily, not a typical, sappy ending. It ends unexpectedly, ironically, and lethally. Let's just say there's a reason why the title is, "Dead of Winter."

Rating:
Summary: Be Careful What You Find
Review: Dead of Winter
By P.J. Parrish
Pinnacle Books/
Kensington Publishing
January 2001
415 pages
Mystery/Crime/Suspense

In P.J. Parrish's second mystery/thriller, Detective Louis Kincaid transfers from Detroit to Loon Lake, Michigan hoping to find a place for himself, a good job and a little respect. What he first believes to be a town right out of the movie "It's a Wonderful Life" shatters into a million pieces of reality after Chief Gibralter hires him. He's immediately handed the file of Thomas Pryce, the former Loon Lake investigator who was shot to death in his own home.

Kincaid and his training officer, Jesse Harrison, explore every clue of the unsolved case beginning with visiting the scene of the crime, questioning witnesses, retracing the killer's steps and talking to Pryce's widow. Each shred of evidence leads to nowhere and more questions. As the days pass, more bodies surface and a calling card has Kincaid, Chief Gibralter, Harrison, Officer Dale McGuire and Sergeant Ollie Wickshaw fearing that the killer is going to take down a lot more Loon Lake residents before they slap cuffs on him.

Kincaid's life becomes a living hell and for the life of him he can't figure out why Gibralter is on his case. Is he trying to bury him because of what he might find? Are the strange group of vets somehow involved? What do the scribbled notes in Pryce's notebook refer to and where does Duane Herbert Lacey, a lifetime local with a record a mile long fit into the bloody picture? Is it incompetency that leads Chief Criminal Investigator Mark Steele to Loon Lake or is it a hunch? Read the book and find out.

DEAD OF WINTER is about justice, trust and how the truth can be veiled only so long. Parrish has created a page-turner with characters you give a damn about. You know their fears, their history and you wonder how everything that unfolds can possibly happen. Is justice blind? Can lifetime nightmares come to an end? A tiny bit of love interest here, but not without a price.

Parrish began with "Dark of the Moon," then "Dead of Winter" and next year be on the look out for "Paint It Black." Ten-to-one you'll be a Louis Kincaid fan just like me.

--Denise Fleischer, GWN Book Reviewer
9/9/2001

Rating:
Summary: Right on
Review: Great read, i could not put this one down. There are twists to the plot every second and it all comes back to something that you suspected, but was led to believe was not possible.

Rating:
Summary: Right on
Review: Great read, i could not put this one down. There are twists to the plot every second and it all comes back to something that you suspected, but was led to believe was not possible.

Rating:
Summary: An Exciting Discovery
Review: Hard to put down. Parrish is one of my favorite authors. The characters are well defined, as if you knew them personally. The scenes are so real, I put my sweater on while reading the book. Excellent read!

Rating:
Summary: Dead of Winter
Review: Hard to put down. Parrish is one of my favorite authors. The characters are well defined, as if you knew them personally. The scenes are so real, I put my sweater on while reading the book. Excellent read!

Rating:
Summary: Dead of Winter is dead on!!
Review: I am pleased that I also read P. J. Parrish's first book, "Dark of the Moon." With some authors it is difficult to follow a best seller with another one. No problem for P. J. Parrish. Dead of Winter continues the story of Louis Kincaid, a man who (although he has a strong academic backgound and other career choices) wants to continue his career in law enforcement as a cop. Go figure! Nevertheless, he brings to the job a deep sense of honor and integrity in the failed hope of finding those same traits amoung his fellow officers. Coupled with his mixed heritage, Kincaid quickly gets our support to keep trying and not give up on society or himself. Well, this is one Louis Kincaid fan who has no intention of giving up on the fictional character or the excellent writer, P. J. Parrish.

Rating:
Summary: Dead of Winter
Review: I just picked this book off a shelf at an airport and from the moment I started reading it I was hooked. I couldn't put it down until I was finished and then I wanted more of the author's books. I found only one other and it was Dark of the Moon which I wish I had read first because it was meant to be read before Dead of Winter. I was glued to this one too and want more. I love the character Louis Kincaid and hope P. J. Parrish keeps going with this. It was beautifully written and I found no loopholes in it. I have passed these two books around to my friends and co-workers and we all agree that they should be a movie and would also make a great tv series. I'll be looking forward to the author's next book with baited breath. Please hurry!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Good story, Well written.
Review: I liked this book. It kept me involved, interested, and guessing. The main character is well developed and very likeable, mainly because he's not the perfect cop. The story is good but what really
kept me reading was how the story was written, not so much the story itself. The book is not as good as some but is certainly better than many.