Murder Below Zero

Maxine Benson #2

by John Lawrence Reynolds

It's almost summer in small town Port Ainslie. Or is it? Temperatures are so far below normal that Police Chief Maxine Benson and her team are wearing sweaters. But is it cold enough to freeze the body of the man found in a ditch on the outskirts of town one morning? Maxine starts to investigate, but she is elbowed aside by the mostly-male provincial police force so she takes charge on her own. Soon she's visiting the victim's cold-hearted widow, tracking the widow's mysterious brother, and confronting the killer alone in a tract of forest. Will Maxine's skills solve this twisting tale of a case?

Genres: Mystery

144 pages, Paperback

Published October 10, 2017

Reviews

[Karen]

This is a little mystery book. Only 134 pages. I believe I read it in less than one hour or so.

Apparently, it is part of a Rapid Reads series. Nice.

With this story, even if I had an inkling of who did it early on, I enjoyed being right there with the female Chief of Police as she went about her business. Not only was she solving the case, but she did a great job of showing up her male counterparts who tried to shove her aside. Don’t ever underestimate a woman, folks!

[Amber]

This was a pretty good mystery novel about a person who was murdered in a ditch and frozen solid and Maxine Benson has to figure out who the murderer is. Will she succeed? Read on and find out for yourself. This novella is available at your local library and wherever books are sold.

[Doreen]

A man’s body is found in a ditch in a small town in Ontario’s Muskoka region. The police chief, Maxine Benson, sets out to find the murderer though a detective with the Ontario Provincial Police tells her, “‘So don’t try to play detective, okay? You’ll just get in the way’” (12). Max feels she is being dismissed because she’s a female, small-town cop, and she wants to prove that she is quite capable of solving the case.

The identity of the killer is fairly obvious because of the number of clues. A few more red herrings might have been useful because the case is solved in a very straightforward manner. Much of the interest in the novel lies in seeing how Max can prove that the main suspect is guilty, especially when the OPP are not co-operative. Of course, I understand that Rapid Reads books are intended to be short books which can be read in one sitting.

The characterization of Max is strong. She is an intelligent, determined officer who stands up for herself. She doesn’t mind not following all the rules when they don’t serve her purpose. For example, she feels that the OPP are not sharing information with her so she isn’t always forthcoming with her information; she is reminded “‘to share data with the OPP’” (53) and “‘to send some stuff to Boucher’” (86).

Constable Ronald Boucher, however, is rather one-dimensional. Repeatedly he is described as having a “cold manner” (18) and “a cold smile” (11). His temperament matches the unusually cold June weather. His treatment of Max is so condescending, though his behaviour does have the reader hoping that Max can best him.

According to the publisher’s website, Rapid Reads books, like this one, “are short books for adult readers. They are intended for a diverse audience, including ESL students, reluctant readers, adults who struggle with literacy” (http://orcabook.com/rapid-reads.com/a...). For this audience, this is a great book. It has adult topics, providing interesting reading for adults wanting to improve their literacy skills.

This is the second book in the series. The first is A Murder for Max. I imagine there will be at least a third book. Will there be more confrontations between Max and Boucher?

Note: I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via LibraryThing.

Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.ca/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski).

[Kristen Pryor]

I would have given this a 3.5 star. Nothing really wrong with it. I’ve never read anything by the author before. Last book of the year, asked my girlfriend for the shortest book she had haha!

I didn’t know it was a series, I’d be interested in reading the others. I found the novel to be very predictable though.

3.5 stars.

[Carol]

Very short read. A frozen body is found in Max's area. She has to fight OPP and inspector Boucher to be able to have some input into the case much less any authority. She proves herself and finds the murderer in a very capable way. I would like a little more character development.

[Twana Callahan]

Pretty much the same story as the first book. Short, and to the point. Small town chief of police, murder in the small idyllic town, big city cops try to take over. Small town cop solves the crime.

[Courtney]

3.5
This was a cute short mystery.

[Vjollca]

I rally liked it . I read it for a day.

[Tom]

short and to the pont

[Brian Williams]

An excellent popcorn novella - a murder mystery with a small town police chief doing the sleuthing while being pushed off the case by an arrogant provincial police constable.
It's a clever story which could easily have been a full blown novel. The Rapid Reads series is usually like this and this book is no exception.
A highly entertaining read. Recommended.
I received this through LibraryThing Early Reviewers for an objective review. Thanks to the publisher for providing it to me.

[Bill Fox]

Given how short the book was, it really had a pretty good mystery. It takes place in the Muskoka region of Ontario. Since I usually go into a part of Muskoka every summer, I thought it would fun to read (and because I needed another book for the library summer reading club) and it was. But I did not recognize any place in the story.

[heidi canton]

I like this rapid read series. Chief Maxine Benson is very relatable and the issues she deals with are certainly familiar and not entirely unexpected. This and the Muskoka setting, are what draw me back. A nice read. Highly recommended.

[Kylee]

This was better then the 1st book, but still found like it repeated a few things more then needed, but I love Maxine I feel like I'm actually in her head when reading, about to start the third book!!

[Rachel Bonitz]

Decent story, I really like the little twist in Toronto. *Hated* the hotshot detective though, that’s what cost it a star.

[Lise]

Not bad. Part of a literacy series so 100 and some pages of large print.

[Sarkar.bipasha]

What a flat storyline!