On Ice

by David Ramus

It takes a cool head to outwit both sides of the law. Ben Hemmings, barn-builder for Atlanta's elite, has been sent to prison for a crime he didn't commit. Facing ten years and the possibility of losing his family forever, he cuts a deal with the FBI to recover a stolen collection of priceless show-horse breeding samples. But to get them, Ben must deceive mob boss and fellow inmate Rollie Shore -- a molten-tempered man with a plan of his own. From the grim landscape of a federal prison to the rarefied world of southern horse breeding, David Ramus' On Ice is a gritty, thunderous page-turner that follows an innocent man on a terrifying steeplechase of bone-chilling brutality and betrayal. It takes a cool head to outwit both sides of the law. Ben Hemmings, barn-builder for Atlanta's elite, has been sent to prison for a crime he didn't commit. Facing ten years and the possibility of losing his family forever, he cuts a deal with the FBI to recover a stolen collection of priceless show-horse breeding samples. But to get them, Ben must deceive mob boss and fellow inmate Rollie Shore -- a molten-tempered man with a plan of his own. From the grim landscape of a federal prison to the rarefied world of southern horse breeding, David Ramus' On Ice is a gritty, thunderous page-turner that follows an innocent man on a terrifying steeplechase of bone-chilling brutality and betrayal.

432 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 1, 2000

Reviews

[Carolyn (in SC) C234D · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this quite a long time ago and don’t really remember any details. At the time (2003) I noted: A pretty good story about a man who builds barns, who is imprisoned because he took money for a barn from a guy doing illegal things. After one and a half years he’s released if he’ll help find the frozen horse semen that was stolen. Gave it a 7 out of 10.

[Bob Box · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in 2001. An insightful look at prison life.

[Jaqueline Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me parecio un libro no muy dificil de leer, de genero thriller, donde el personaje principal, Ben, es un hombre de familia, dedicado a la construccion de caballerizas y establos. Ben es enviado a la carcel por un crimen que no cometio, ya que se niega a atestiguar contra un viejo amigo, entonces deciden incriminarlo a el, acusandolo de lavado de dinero. Luego de un tiempo hace un arreglo con la policia federal para quedar en libertad; este arreglo pone en peligro su seguridad y la de su familia, ya que tiene que recuperar unas valiosas muestras de semen que caballo para un viejo cliente. A su vez, un tipo pesado que conocio dentro de la carcel tambien quiere obtener esas muestras, por lo que le pide a Ben que trabaje para el. A partir de ahi, Ben se ve forzado a responder a la policia si es que quiere salir libre y a este mafioso si quiere que su familia siga viva.

Creo que esta bueno para quien le gusta este tipo de narrativa, esta bien desarrollado completamente, los personajes, los lugares, el sentimiento de Ben por querer recuperar su vida...me gusto que en varias situaciones la historia dio varios giros o situaciones que no esperaba que ocurrieran.
Sin embargo, me parece rebuscado el entorno en el que se tiene que manejar, hay metáforas que usa que no me parece que vayan con la temática del libro, quedan como "colgadas", al igual que el nombre del libro, no entendi porque se llama asi. De hecho se pusieron algunas metáforas en la narracion donde se quiso incluir la palabra hielo pero me parecio forzadas.

[Barbara ★ · Rating 3 out of 5]

A difficult story to get into. I can't put my finger on my dislike of Ben Hemmings and the story unfolds in short bursts - one chapter present time, the next past, then present again. It's very disconcerting and confusing. Heck, we don't even find out why he's been in jail for 18 months until Chapter 6 (53 pages into the story). It's tough to care about the characters when you don't know what the heck is going on.

As a rule I don't like prison books and had I realized a good portion of this book took place in a prison, I probably would have skipped it. IMHO it would have been better if events happened in sequence, putting the prison section in the middle of the book, which would have given you adequate time to get acquainted with the main characters. And don't even get me started on FBI agent Partone.

I'm not much on horse breeding either but the mystery itself was interesting and there were some real surprises that livened things up a bit. All in all not a bad book, just not my thing. If I hadn't needed a book set in Alabama for a challenge, I think I would have given this up in the first 50 pages since the action didn't really start until more than halfway through the book.

[Heidi Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fast-paced mystery that has the main character jumping from frying pan into the fire, over and over. Exciting and well-written.

[Laurie Stoll · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed all the twists and turns this story took more than the actual story itself.

[Noreen Ackerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a great read.

[Trina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book. Kept my interest. Didn't want it to end!!

[Kelly Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

David Ramus writes a quick moving book set in the prison and horse breeding industry. The reader is drawn in to the story, getting to know the main characters and conflict. It's a good mystery set in the horse world.

[Stephen Selbst · Rating 2 out of 5]

A thriller about horse breeding that starts out strong and becomes increasingly improbable.