Beneath the Ashes

Jessie Arnold & Alex Jensen #7

by Sue Henry

Jessie Arnold's peaceful life training her sled dogs in the Alaska wilderness is threatened when a mysterious and deadly fire ravages a popular local pub, a troubled old friend arrives seeking refuge from her abusive husband, and her own cabin is burned. 20,000 first printing.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Dogs, Cozy Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Suspense

288 pages, Hardcover

First published July 25, 2000

About the author

Sue Henry is the author of 17 novels in two award-winning Alaska mystery series. Her first book, "Murder on the Iditarod Trail" (1991), was well reviewed and won both the Macavity Awards and Anthony Awards for best first novel, prompting the author to develop a series based on this book's characters, Alaskan state trooper Alex Jensen and Jessie Arnold, a sled dog racer.

In 2005, she started a new mystery series featuring a 63-year-old widow, Maxine McNab, travelling in her Winnebago with a miniature dachshund, Stretch. Maxine had appeared in Dead North (2001) in the first series.

Murder on the Iditarod Trail was filmed for television as The Cold Heart of a Killer (1996) starring Kate Jackson, who bought the rights to the book. Sue Henry lived in Alaska for more than a quarter of a century, and brought history, Alaskan lore, and the majestic beauty of the vast landscape to her mysteries. She also taught writing at the University of Alaska, Anchorage.

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book but I miss Alex. I was stumped figuring out what was going on and was glad for the explanation at the end. I do love the Alaska setting in these books.

[Loraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good Sue Henry Alaskan mystery. This is not Christian fiction but is clean other than 2 profanities. Henry's knowledge and research of both Alaska and dog racing is phenomenal, and she always makes me feel like I am right there in the midst of the action. Plenty of twists and turns to keep me guessing as to the culprit. I did miss Alex Jensen in this one and feel he adds to the investigation when he works with Jessie. I hope he reappears in the next book and that he and Jessie patch up their relationship.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars for this Jessie Arnold mystery.
In this one, Jessie and Alex are no longer together; there are new pups to train, and a call from an old friend sets into motion murder and arson. A compelling mystery and an assortment of characters from Alaska, and as always, we learn just a little more about the sport of mushing and dog training.

I could not go a full 4 stars as I was a bit disappointed in the ending. I felt there were still some unanswered questions and I felt just leading up to the last chapter that there must be a few pages missing as we went from point A to point B instantly. Other that that, however, I really enjoyed the book.

[Tomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far I have loved all the books in this series, until this one. It was a hard to follow, very convoluted plot line. The characters, even the main ones, were stiff. The whole feel of the book was just off kilter.

[Dianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm missing Alex in this one! :( But still loved it!

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another page turner , starting with the first chapter!

[Wanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jessie has an acquaintance call her and ask her to pick her up at the airport and allow her to stay for a few days. She has been up most of the night as a fire has burned down a friends pub a short distance away from her. The woman who stays with her, Anne, is very demanding and doesn't answer any questions and irritates Jessie a lot. She just wants to help her with what she wants to get down and then get rid of her. Instead she is drawn into a series of murders and fires. The arson investigator is very rude and thinks she has something to do with the fire at the pub and that she is aiding Anne. She asks the troopers to get another investigator and he is more sympathetic but then another fire seems to lead to Jessie.
Eventually Jessie is able to prove her innocence but it takes a lot of effort and danger on her part. The troopers are a little late coming to her aid and hinder her a bit. She is concerned with getting her sled dogs out training and her assistant is trying to help but inadvertently causes some problems. Jessie is also getting over a relationship with a trooper who lived with her for awhile.
A good read with some intrigue. Anne is quite irritating as she never answers questions, lies a lot and is just annoying. Love learning a bit about racing and taking care of sled dogs. Love the relationship Jessie has with her dogs. Love the descriptions of the landscapes in the area. Jessie is a very independent and tough woman.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sue Henry
Beneath the Ashes
Date started: 12/04/18
Date ended: 12/06/18
Review : 5☆

I love Sue Henry's Alaskan Mysteries with Jessie & Alex. I was disappointed that Alex Jensen was not in this book but hope to see him in future ones. But Alex did make the decision to move back to Salmon, Idaho without consulting Jessie. Also a bit surprised he wasn't called to help Jessie with all the problems she was having. (No Spoilers) Sue Henry's knowledge & description the Alaskan Wilderness makes you feel like you're standing next to Jessie enjoying the beauty of her surroundings in the midst of the wilds. And her knowledge of sled dogs, mushers & racing is exceptional. Makes you want to be right beside Jessie while she's training & running her dogs & future dogs. As for the storyline, lots of twists & turns. A murder in the first few chapters is always a plus in keeping my interest going to the very end. I gave the book 5☆'s as I couldn't put it down until it was finished in 2 days.

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another series I really like, especially now that I've been to Alaska. We didn't get as far off the beaten path as Jessie and the others, but we did spend a day in Talkeetna and got to meet a few mushers and some of their dogs. It's easier now to imagine how eager Jessie's dogs are to run when she takes them for training missions and races :)

This is the second consecutive book I've read with a primary character who is mentally unstable. Rather than being creepy like in the previous book, though, this one made me angry - that this person was able to control the actions of so many others because they didn't want to upset her. I suspected what she was up to long before anyone else in the book did, although I didn't have the motive worked out before the confrontation scene near the end of the book.

I'll admit that I was waiting for one thing to happen that didn't, which was disappointing, but I'm hopeful that maybe it might occur in the next book?

[Julie Trapp · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Jessie Arnold is in the off season of mushing training new dogs. Old friend, Anne, calls and wants to stay - abusive husband, scared, etc. Then, favorite bar burns down with a body inside, a dead body turns up in a burned trailer, and Jessie's cabin burns down - all suspicious. Is Anne a victim or a killer? Jessie needs to find out quickly before more tragedy occurs. The arson investigator has a history with Anne. She is/was a suspect in a fire many years ago that left 2 children dead and the investigator with burns that required him to leave firefighting for arson investigator. Anne's estranged husband follows her to Alaska, a treacherous trip by Jessie and Anne to both of their former cabins higher up in the mountains - all of this makes an interesting tale. Lots of great descriptions of the Alaskan wilderness and great secondary characters in the dogs.

[Molly · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you're working through this series, I'm pretty sure you can skip right over this installment. I think the only plot point that will matter later is that Jessie's cabin burns down (which is revealed on the jacket flap). There were some puppies; but otherwise, this was seriously WTH and pointless. I'm not even sure what happened in the end.
Also, at this point in the series, Jessie needs to realize that if something is mysteriously missing from her pack, it's gonna be a problem later.

[Nancy H · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent mystery set in the wilds of Alaska and featuring dogsled musher Jessie Arnold. When someone starts burning down buildings and is framing Jessie for the arson as well as a murder, she has to find out who is causing the problem and exactly why an old acquaintance suddenly shows up needing her help. There are as many twists and turns in the story as there are on a dogsled trail.
This is another great mystery from Sue Henry.

[Jacquelyn Schingeck · Rating 5 out of 5]

In an effort to help an old friend, Jessie agrees to have her stay with her and then takes her to where she used to live to reclaim something she had buried years ago. This friendly assistance got her in the middle of a rash of set fires, one of them being Jessie's own cabin. With almost everything she owned burned to a crisp, she is now also a suspect in other fires and in the middle of her friend's problems.
Very good read.

[Linda Pobanz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ashes

I felt badly for Jess when her house went up in smoke. It was remarkable that Tatum had started the fire , although I suspected him, it was strange that he died. I'm not sure about Hank, though, even if Jess went with him to bury Anne's baby. It's something I would definitely recommend!

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another interesting tale, but a little hard to follow towards the end--particularly for someone listening to the book and not giving it full attention. Henry spins a good tale, however. Set in Alaska (Wasilla and places north), it is interesting to hear about places one is familiar with. Also, there Henry intersperses interesting info about Alaska throughout her stories.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid

So, this one breaks my earlier rule - too much Jessie and no Alex seemed to require plot points that lean heavily in the TSTL direction. And a bit too simply ended - this was a complex story and deserved more nuance in the final scenes (also where did PB & Mac end up??). But the landscape and community remain highlights and Jessie is still great.

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good story with lots of twists and turns. Great information about Jessie and other members of her community with several acts of arson. Definitely recommend. Unfortunately I am reading out of order as I find books in the series, but still a great series! Lots of information about the dogs and dog sledding as well

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really should write a full review for this one, but since I won’t be posting reviews for every book in this series on booksta for it, I’m not going to.

Quick & simple: I love Jessie & Alex, and this whole series, and I do enjoy this one! This one was so heartbreaking with all of the arson. But I adored getting to see the community & cast of side characters rally for each other!

[Deanna Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is the only Sue Henry book I have read to this date and while the book did entertain me it is not my general cup of tea. But I would not seek out her books to read just because of my feelings about this book. But if I come across one of her books in my wanderings around I just might pick it up and read it as well.

[Donna Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

a nice easy read. I will read more books by her.

[Leah Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fire

Who is setting fires? Who is setting Jessie up? Why did her old neighbor come to see her? Who was the crazy one?

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series!!! It makes me want to take a trip to Alaska and get a Husky.

[Trish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Been a long time since I read the previous one of this series. This one seemed particularly convoluted, and the exposition at the end seemed rushed. Plus, I did miss Alex Jensen.

[Emily Bouska · Rating 5 out of 5]

She had me guessing until the end who done it! No dogs or mushers were harmed 😊

[Barbara Horton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve read quite a few of her books and always enjoy them! Love the way she brings the setting as well as characters to life!

[Eileen M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow suspense galore

Sue Henry masterful twists and turns. Authentic characters. Couldn't put it down. Want to read all her books on Alaska.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 Stars

[Jasmine Giacomo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ooh, Sue Henry knows how to write a sociopath. Sadly, once I'd had that realization after a couple of the character's scenes, it sort of gave a lot of things away. Even the "twist".

I was surprised that Alex Jensen was out of the picture, not having read the last book. I did read book 4, and his name was plastered on the cover. It surprised me that the series continued without him or his name.

I loved Jessie in this book. Her and her dogs. I know next to nothing about mushing, so it was a real treat to read the easy descriptions and information about it. The regular characters were a little harder to keep separate in my head.

The new characters, they stood out vividly. The husband, the wife, the arson investigator, and his replacement all jumped to the fore.

The plot felt very tight and interwoven. "Beneath the ashes" ended up applying to more things than I usually see tied into a title. Some involved real fire, and others were emotional or psychological. It was a real treat to see all the ways Henry worked that theme into the story.

The writing nearly killed me. A glorious cornucopia of typos, punctuation errors and homonym abuse (my pleasure at seeing "illusive" quickly faded when I realized they meant "elusive") filled this book. I didn't think it was possible for anyone to confuse "retched" with "wretched", though, since they're not even homonyms. But the editors of this book have managed to surprise me with their interesting skill set. It's almost turned into a game, reading this series and looking for which wacky mistakes will crop up next. But the stories are entertaining, so I'll keep reading.

[BCMUnlimited · Rating 3 out of 5]

See the official review: http://www.bookscompletemeunlimited.c...

Jesse, the main character, has broken up with her boyfriend, Alex, and is alone in this book. An old friend of Jesse’s calls her out of the blue and asks for her help. Anne, the friend, has some definite baggage from the past that Jesse is struggling to understand. Jesse regrets ever answering the phone when Anne called.

While Anne is in town, there are several cases of arson. She was accused in the past of starting a fire that killed and hurt people. She is adamant that she did not start any fires but a fire inspector seems to have a vendetta against Anne and is causing trouble for Anne and Jesse.

Ms. Henry writes a good book and you feel that you are really in Alaska because she has described in detail the scenery. I think all of Ms. Henry’s books so far are very descriptive so you are involved in the book right away. You become acquainted with how to train dogs for the races. I think there is a complex plot to this story. There are lots of possible solutions to the mystery of who is the arsonist.

I love the irony of the story being set in the cold Alaska but the story is about a hot fire! I think it is fun trying to figure out who did it and that is why I love this series of books. I felt this book was not so much about dog racing as Ms. Henry has written in her other books so it was a very different type of mystery to read this time. She focused more on the fires than on the dog racing and dog training.

[Jan C · Rating 3 out of 5]

These books aren't especially good writing. But I enjoy the adventure in them. She and her boyfriend have split up in this one and his best friend comes close to picking her up for being a firebug and a murderer. But, as noted elsewhere here, the best parts in these books are about the dogs and the mushing.

I like the antics of the young pups and how Jessie determines whether they would make better pets than members of a mushing team. For isntance, one of them decides it has had enough training for the day and just sits down. He is rewarded by being put in the sled. Bad pattern to start in one so young.