Dead for the Winter

Chloe Newcomb #4

by Betsy Thornton

After a lonely spell, where only her work as a victims advocate in the small desert town of Old Dudley, Arizona, keeps her busy, Chloe Newcombe meets Terry Barnett. He is the most attractive man she has known since she and her lover mutually parted, and she is enjoying his company. Terry tells her she's easy to talk to and that he needs to confide in someone. But when she finds out he is married, she writes him off and decides to forget about him. Then she goes out one night on assignment and wishes she had listened. Terry has been murdered.

Unbeknownst to her, there has been a witness to each of her encounters with the dead man, and the bulldog sheriff would very much like to hold her as a suspect. Eventually, her involvement with Terry and a problem with one of her cases affects her work, and her boss encourages (in reality, orders) her to take a vacation. With her job and reputation in danger, Chloe plunges herself into finding Terry's killer in order to prove her innocence.

She seeks out the people he has left his widow, who has gone into hiding; his estranged brother, who commissions Chloe's help; and an intimidating therapist with an ax to grind. But most intriguing of these is a "phantom" from Terry's past whom he mentioned just before his murder. Chloe's investigation leads her on a search for this woman who disappeared twenty years ago---a woman no one missed until now. As the details of Terry's life reveal his family drama and the unspoken fears leading up to his death, Chloe finds herself entangled in a story of obsession and betrayal.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

272 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2004

About the author

Aka Beth Thornton.

Betsy Thornton is a contemporary American writer of mystery fiction novels set in the Southwestern United States.

Reviews

[Helen Campbell · Rating 2 out of 5]

In looking over some of the Goodreads ratings given to various books I've read, it appears that I "grade" rather low. Certainly, I felt that the quality of this book had much to be desired. It wasn't just that everyone in the book wore black clothing and most characters, male and female, had red hair, but the series protagonist, Chloe Newcomb, was so unstable that it was difficult to follow her actions. In my opinion, this novel should have undergone major editing before it went to print.

[Candace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chloe Newcomb, Victims advocate for Cochise County, finds a very attractive love interest in Terry Barnett a local carpenter until she finds out he's married and she tells him she's not interested. But when Terry is murdered no one including the local sheriff and Chloe fears also his wife believe her story.

[Roberta · Rating 2 out of 5]

Liked it most of the way, but surprise turn at the end seemed unfeasible. How could Heather be April? Why couldn't people tell? And Ivan's role in her transformation also seemed unfeasible. That explains my rating.

[Elissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would really only give this 2.5 stars. It never really drew me in as a mystery, it had a lot of predictable elements, none of the characters were very memorable, I could go on. Basically a mediocre mystery novel.

[Ruth]

Not my normal kind of reading but really did like the way this was written. Someone dies in a fire and a series of events makes Chloe investigate into who set the fire. About the time you think you have it figured out more info surfaces. The final verdict was not at all who I would have guessed!

[Maggie Irwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Old Dudley is old Bisbee. Why the name change?

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not like this book. It sounded promising -- victim advocate living in the Southwest who is pursuing a mystery. But I did not like Chloe, the detective/central character, I disagreed with decisions she made and conclusions she jumped to, and I didn't want to spend time with her. I also did not get the hinted undercurrents at the end.

I kept reading it until I finished it in the hope that it would get better, because sometimes books do as I read further and then it changes my outlook on the book, and because I have not been scoring well on new authors recently. But no.