The Ice on the Lake

by Alex Messenger

A haunting story of survival and redemption on the frozen expanse of Lake Superior.

The harsh winters of Duluth, Minnesota, don’t bother Hugh McLaren. Decades after the death of his wife and estrangement from his children, the only respite from his troubled thoughts comes from ice fishing alone on the windswept expanse of Lake Superior. Out on the ice, Hugh can drop a line in search of monsters of the deep and be free of his own demons.

But when a routine exam turns into a terminal diagnosis, Hugh enters a new spiral of guilt and regret about the loss of his wife and his own troubled upbringing, making him consider how he might mend his broken relationships with his children. To push aside his internal turmoil, Hugh goes onto the ice to fish during a severe storm, but as the blizzard rages on, he is forced to reckon with worsening conditions and the even colder storm inside himself.

The Ice on the Lake is a novel of resilience and determination, both to survive the fury of nature and to reconcile with the ghosts of the past.

Genres: Fiction

224 pages, Hardcover

Published March 10, 2026

About the author

Alex Messenger is a Duluth, Minnesota, author, marketer and photographer who, at seventeen, was mauled by a grizzly bear. In the decade since, he's worked as a wilderness guide and volunteer search-and-rescue operator. His love of adventure, nature, and cultures has taken him all over the globe, but the north woods and canoe country have always been among his favorite subjects. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Men’s Journal, National Parks magazine, Outside Online, and Backpacker magazine.

www.alexmessenger.com
www.facebook.com/MessengerPhoto
tandemstock.com/browse?q=alex+messenger
instagram.com/messengerphoto

Reviews

[Margaret Pillay]

A man gets stuck on the ice while ice fishing and gets rescued and dies.

[Ami Elizabeth]

I liked the old man's perspective on the ice, that was well done. His adult children's points of view were quite one-dimensional and not necessary, same for flashbacks. Very trite in places.

[Annalisa]

This story was terrifying, heartbreaking, and captivating. It really gave me the edge of my seat feeling needing to know what would happen next. All of the inner thoughts gave me things to think about and reflect on. I felt like I could understand each character's perspective and felt for them. I feel like I learned quite a bit about ice fishing too. I listened to the audiobook and at first i wasn't sure about the voice actor but then slowly the narration grew on me and I started actually really enjoying it. Now at the end it felt like a great choice.

[Anne Moose]

I loved Alex Messenger's first book, The Twenty-Ninth Day. I listened to the audio book, and I liked it so much, I listened twice. I believe I even wrote a Facebook post about it, I loved it so much. Messenger's books are the kind where the story is almost secondary to the absolutely brilliant writing. I read a lot, and I rarely come across authors whose prose are even close to being as impressive as Alex Messenger's. He has a rare gift.

I just finished The Ice on the Lake, and, once again, his writing stands out as exceptional, and I loved the book. The story is relatively simple--reminiscent of The Old Man and the Sea--and I have to say that even if it were not a fish story, I would still have been reminded of Hemingway. The story and characters have a very Hemingway feel to them, which is to say they are deep and seem pulled from real life experience. And it's a great story--one that delves into the kind of regret and family dynamics that a lot of readers will find relatable. Once again, I listened to the audio book, and the reader is fantastic. Perfect.

In short, Alex Messenger is a phenomenal writer. I highly recommend both of his books, and I look forward to reading anything and everything else this gifted young man writes in the future.

[Donna]

I first read Alex Messenger's personal story "The Twenty-Ninth Day" weeks before "The Ice on the Lake" was released. I knew I wanted to read it but wasn't sure what to expect with fiction. I was not disappointed. Perhaps it was being from the Lake Superior North Shore. Perhaps it was having friends who are ice fishermen, and having done that myself a couple times. Perhaps it was knowing people who were on an ice floe that broke away from Duluth in early 2021. Perhaps it was having strained familial relationships. Whatever it was (likely a combination of all), this story was relatable.

Hugh's character is developed in a way that leaves you wanting to know him better and to cheer for him as he faces challenges. He's not necessarily likable. But he is understandable.

Mr. Messenger has created a piece that is more than a story of a fisherman. He infuses the experience with Hugh's emotions, as well as those of Hugh's children.

Definitely a recommended read. This would be a good read for discussion groups too because there are many subplots that are ripe for exploring further.

[Margo]

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC--this was a solid little book; not my usual genre interest and ultimately not entirely the vibe I usually enjoy, but it was well written and Messenger managed to pack a fair bit of tension into a compact story. The ending was abrupt and some of the structure/pacing felt a little strange to me, but I appreciated the chapters dedicated to Hugh's adult children to give a more full perspective of the family's history and the story's progression. Awful lot of time dedicated to the fishing and gear, but necessary for what the story is, and helps moves Hugh's emotional storyline. I wish there'd been a little more to the ending, but it did it's job.

[Kristi]

I chose this book because the action takes place on Lake Superior. I have so many fond memories of the area. A man goes out fishing in the dead of winter and the ice he is on breaks away and starts floating out on the lake. Hypothermia becomes his greatest foe. The book made me think about Jack London’s “To Build a Fire” where a man is at risk of death due to extreme cold. I will not reveal whether Hugh McLaren survives. Overlying the immediate crisis is long history of alienation from his children after the death of his wife. The writing was excellent and I became involved in both storylines. Recommend. Kristi & Abby Tabby

[Sandra Martin]

great read!

This tale holds you from the beginning to the end. I was born and raised in Duluth, Minnesota, and know full well the beauty and fury that Lake Superior can render. She is a force to be reckoned with and commands respect. My husband and I lived on Pike Lake and I can’t imagine going through the ice there during the ice fishing season and the water temps there would not even come close to those of Lake Superior, even in the summertime. The author did a fantastic job with this story and I highly recommend that you read it.

[Abigail]

Well done! I didn’t want to put it down. A man struggling to be a father after his wife dies in a car accident…disappearing on the ice of Lake Superior…both my past with Mom dying and my present with the death of the NMU student disappearing into the lake one winter night made this an even eerier read than the seemingly intentional mood. Honestly, this may be a hard one for a lot of locals to read right now, hits a bit close to home with a fresh grief.

[Jane]

Too agonizing and as a person familiar with storms on the Great Lakes, not very believable. I watch Lake Superior daily from my home. No one is so dumb to be stranded this way for this length of time. The Coast Guard and locals are much more watchful. “Weather as adversary” peppered with flashbacks is often used in literature—in this case, the device is tedious. Is the epilogue a story twist or a loose end tied up too quickly? I’ll read what others think.

[JXR]

impressive and interesting thriller with some fantastic plotting and fantastic thriller aspects. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

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[Val Stuewe]

This was so awful. Droning on and on and on and on - the characters “thought back to…” constantly, when you just want him to get to the point! - I skipped half the book. I mean!! Even at the end there were 15 pages of her phone not getting a signal. I liked The Twenty Ninth Day but this was beyond annoying.

[Sue]

Actually 3.5. Man fighting for survival on a Lake Superior ice floe. The local author was excellent at describing scenes, tasks, feelings, etc. so that you felt like you were in the story. So much of it was related to ice fishing and cold weather that I found myself struggling to focus in parts.

[Adrienne]

3.5 stars. I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this but it was a really well written story, It felt so real and melancholy the whole way through. I wish the ending was expanded on a bit more but the epilogue was very fitting. It really made me appreciate my lovely warm blanket.

[Laura L Grant]

Very real descriptions

Enjoyed the vivid descriptions of the cold of Lake Superior. The sadness of a life regretted also came through. A reminder to the reader of time wasted on memories of the past mistakes.

[Jay Gabler]

Take The Old Man and the Sea, but make it Duluth: ice, snow, auger, regret. The Ice on the Lake is a survival story to enjoy — anywhere but your ice shack.

[Shell]

Nice “survive the elements” story made more enjoyable by the fact that my husband was born and raised in Duluth so I had a pretty good picture of the settings.

[Eydie sanders]

quite simply the most impactful book I've read in a while. Uplifting and heartbreaking and full of unconditional love.

[Jfrank]

I would give this book ten stars!

[Katy Lovejoy]

🫥😐🫥😐🫥🤢

[Greg Sumner]

Being somebody from Duluth it was great to hear all the local spots and challenges of going out on the lake ice..

And then on top of it a great novel indeed

[Barbara Van loenen]

Less an adventure story and more the story of a sad, broken family.

[Jeffrey Burton]

The Old Man and the Sea meets To Build a Fire. Great prose and a taut thriller.

[Candace]

DNF @ 14% 9/3/26 on audio. A lot of description about the cold, a lot of description about a man who is emotionally stunted. Maybe it will get warmer, maybe he will grow as a person. I'll never know.

[Noreen]

A survival story of a solitary old man ice fishing on an iced over lake. My Dad was an ice fisherman, so I could relate to it in a way that others may not. Life decisions and family add depth to the story.