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Cecil Younger #6
Cold Water Burning
P.I. Cecil Younger works out of Sitka, Alaska, a land of perfect beauty and not-so-perfect lives, where there is nothing more dangerous than an unsolved crime—except maybe the man trying to solve it…
Three years ago someone brutally killed four people on the scow Mygirl. In a crowded courtroom Cecil Younger helped the accused go free. Now the man charged with the Mygirl murders has disappeared. As a storm bears down on the Alaskan coast, two people connected with the case die in separate, sudden, and bizarre explosions of gunfire.
Younger is certain that someone is trying to finish the grisly job begun on the Mygirl three years earlier. But to prove it he must chase down a wooden sloop on the wind-lashed sea. Out in the lethal storm Younger will come face-to-face with the shocking truth that has already twisted so many lives—and now could end his own.
Three years ago someone brutally killed four people on the scow Mygirl. In a crowded courtroom Cecil Younger helped the accused go free. Now the man charged with the Mygirl murders has disappeared. As a storm bears down on the Alaskan coast, two people connected with the case die in separate, sudden, and bizarre explosions of gunfire.
Younger is certain that someone is trying to finish the grisly job begun on the Mygirl three years earlier. But to prove it he must chase down a wooden sloop on the wind-lashed sea. Out in the lethal storm Younger will come face-to-face with the shocking truth that has already twisted so many lives—and now could end his own.
224 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
37 people are currently reading
161 people want to read
About the author
John Straley
41 books195 followersNovelist John Straley has worked as a secretary, horseshoer, wilderness guide, trail crew foreman, millworker, machinist and private investigator. He moved to Sitka, Alaska in 1977 and has no plans of leaving. John's wife, Jan Straley, is a marine biologist well-known for her extensive studies of humpback whales.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
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June 18, 2019This hardcover edition is signed by John Straley with the addition of "Sitka" (added by the author) to the line indicating where Bantam Books are published.
July 30, 2018
Back to form for Straley. He has a way of constructing a mystery and keeping you frustrated until the very end trying to figure it out. But his aren't those "Darn! I should have seen that coming" types of stories, and this one certainly isn't.
I won't go into any plot details here, just observe that I'm always how surprised how long it takes me to read one of his 200 page novels. I can zip thru a Sandford novel with twice the pages in half the time, it seems. I think it's called pacing. You have to be a bit more patient with Straley. But he's worth reading.
I won't go into any plot details here, just observe that I'm always how surprised how long it takes me to read one of his 200 page novels. I can zip thru a Sandford novel with twice the pages in half the time, it seems. I think it's called pacing. You have to be a bit more patient with Straley. But he's worth reading.
July 20, 2020
There are more violent deaths in this book than there were at the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. And yet, I did not ever feel that the violence was there for the sake of violence. Much of the book is somber and dark, as is the case with all of this series.
Cecil Younger is a private investigator in Sitka, Alaska. Most of his work is gathering evidence on behalf of defendants in trials. Three years before the book begins, Younger helped defend a man accused of committing four murders; two of the victims were children. The man who had been accused of those killings and then acquitted has disappeared. All the people known to have been in any way involved in the murders - police, witnesses, family members of the victims - are now caught up in the continuing tragedy.
Younger lives with his girlfriend and their infant daughter, as well as with another man to whom Younger is guardian. That man "has been called everything from retarded to autistic to learning impaired." He is a fascinating, highly sympathetic character, who has been with Younger throughout the series. The first sentence of this book, showing Younger's thoughts in a moment of great stress, says that that man has died and that Younger is floating in the sea in a survival suit, but that he sees no possibility that he will actually survive. The first half of the book is a long flashback telling how that came about.
The story is narrated by Cecil Younger. The reader never knows more than Younger does. Younger admits to many imperfections but always seems a rather admirable figure. He goes in pursuit of a victim of kidnapping, taking a small boat into a violent storm, and tries - not always successfully - to assist friends and acquaintances who are in trouble.
I very much like that Younger in a committed relationship and with a child is not the exact same person that he was in earlier books in the series. He is constantly conscious of the changes in his life and clearly loves his family.
Straley is noted for the excellence of his prose. (He is also known for his poetry.) My favorite section of the book is the first pages of Chapter Nine, in which Younger is adrift in the freezing sea in the survival suit mentioned above. This is unfortunately too long to quote at length. Younger encounters whales and seabirds; even in his desperate situation, he attempts to help an injured heron. He also, peculiarly, finds himself in the midst of a great many athletic shoes, also floating; "hundreds of them, maybe thousands, with knobby rubber treads and fat tongues flopped out like open mouths."
Cold Water Burning, originally published in 2001, is the sixth book in the series. The next volume, Baby's First Felony, did not appear until 2018.
This is a constantly intriguing series and Cold Water Burning is a fine entry in that series.
Cecil Younger is a private investigator in Sitka, Alaska. Most of his work is gathering evidence on behalf of defendants in trials. Three years before the book begins, Younger helped defend a man accused of committing four murders; two of the victims were children. The man who had been accused of those killings and then acquitted has disappeared. All the people known to have been in any way involved in the murders - police, witnesses, family members of the victims - are now caught up in the continuing tragedy.
Younger lives with his girlfriend and their infant daughter, as well as with another man to whom Younger is guardian. That man "has been called everything from retarded to autistic to learning impaired." He is a fascinating, highly sympathetic character, who has been with Younger throughout the series. The first sentence of this book, showing Younger's thoughts in a moment of great stress, says that that man has died and that Younger is floating in the sea in a survival suit, but that he sees no possibility that he will actually survive. The first half of the book is a long flashback telling how that came about.
The story is narrated by Cecil Younger. The reader never knows more than Younger does. Younger admits to many imperfections but always seems a rather admirable figure. He goes in pursuit of a victim of kidnapping, taking a small boat into a violent storm, and tries - not always successfully - to assist friends and acquaintances who are in trouble.
I very much like that Younger in a committed relationship and with a child is not the exact same person that he was in earlier books in the series. He is constantly conscious of the changes in his life and clearly loves his family.
Straley is noted for the excellence of his prose. (He is also known for his poetry.) My favorite section of the book is the first pages of Chapter Nine, in which Younger is adrift in the freezing sea in the survival suit mentioned above. This is unfortunately too long to quote at length. Younger encounters whales and seabirds; even in his desperate situation, he attempts to help an injured heron. He also, peculiarly, finds himself in the midst of a great many athletic shoes, also floating; "hundreds of them, maybe thousands, with knobby rubber treads and fat tongues flopped out like open mouths."
Cold Water Burning, originally published in 2001, is the sixth book in the series. The next volume, Baby's First Felony, did not appear until 2018.
This is a constantly intriguing series and Cold Water Burning is a fine entry in that series.
September 17, 2024
Well written multiple murder mysteries.
August 29, 2018
Like all of the Straley mystery novels, this is worth reading for the Alaskan setting and fine writing. Here the plot itself gets a little too convoluted with multiple killings and multiple motives and multiple suspects. I do always enjoy seeing the progression of a character's life over successive novels. In this one, Cecil Younger's daughter Blossom is just a baby. We'll see her in a later book as a rebellious teenager.
August 19, 2017
i fell in love with john's books when I read his first "Cecil Younger" Alaskan mystery, "The Woman Who married A bear" actually I fell for the title and the gorgeous cover before I fell for the book...:) wonderful writer, wonderful series and a really nice guy
August 12, 2017
This might have been the best of the 6 Straley books I have read - tight, action-packed with a bit of a surprise at the end. Thus ends my Alaskan odyssey.
January 7, 2022
Once again Straley makes sometimes thoughtful, sometimes cryptic observations of Alaska, it’s people, it’s weather, the justice system that is often anything but just and the actions and musings of murderers. I wonder if a child growing up clothed in their parents’ disappointments will always ever stumble along ineffectually and always and ever doubting themselves? The believing brain of the world will most often sell a person short.
December 9, 2024
Cecil concludes at the end of the book:
“I am not the sole author of this story of my life, and that all my luck, both good and bad, will follow the lay of the land.”
This is a natural conclusion as he is survives the twists and turns of the unfolding circumstances of his investigation. His inability to affect his environment grounds his character. Overall, standard murder mystery, set in Alaska.
“I am not the sole author of this story of my life, and that all my luck, both good and bad, will follow the lay of the land.”
This is a natural conclusion as he is survives the twists and turns of the unfolding circumstances of his investigation. His inability to affect his environment grounds his character. Overall, standard murder mystery, set in Alaska.
October 2, 2018
Three years ago, private investigator Cecil Younger helped free a man accused of murdering four people on a boat.
Now the accused man is missing and Younger has been asked to find him.
With a killer storm bearing down on the Alaskan coast, Younger has to go to sea when his roommate is taken hostage aboard a fishing boat.
The characters, the color and the writing remain pitch perfect.
Now the accused man is missing and Younger has been asked to find him.
With a killer storm bearing down on the Alaskan coast, Younger has to go to sea when his roommate is taken hostage aboard a fishing boat.
The characters, the color and the writing remain pitch perfect.
January 3, 2019
First Straley book I've read but part of a series, Set in Sitka. Cecil Younger, Private eye is haunted by a fire that killed a family three years ago. Now the person who was tried and found innocent of the crime is missing and his wife hires Cecil to find him. Good plot, good characters, but setting is outstanding. BTW it's a good read too.
September 26, 2021
Liked the description of place throughout the book- small town, changing weather, birds.
Liked the mystery of what happened onboard the Mygirl and the gradual discovery of relevant characters and their motives.
Liked the mystery of what happened onboard the Mygirl and the gradual discovery of relevant characters and their motives.
December 14, 2021
This installment of the Cecil Younger series was similar to the first few books in that the mystery was both interesting and made sense. There were enough twists and turns to keep you wanting to know what would happen next and there were even a few moments that genuinely surprised me.
September 1, 2017
I always enjoy John's books
June 20, 2020
Love John Straley’s work. This is one of his best.
December 9, 2020
Just can't recommend this series enough. Beautuful writing, excellent characterization, highly engaging story.
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March 1, 2021enjoy any Alaska setting thriller
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March 31, 2021Reread. Forgot how completely fucked up this book was. Like I enjoyed it, but also yikes™️
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May 31, 2021i love reading about his adventures, without having to experience them myself
July 22, 2025
great Cecil mystery! Good plot, good writing, and fun southeast Alaska setting/vibe.
April 26, 2015
Cold Water Burning by John Straley is the 6th book of the Cecil Younger mystery series set in contemporary Sitka Alaska. Cecil Younger is an intermittently-employed private investigator. He states in Cold Water Burning that he is always an investigator for the defense, although in a previous book he was hired by a private company to investigate the suspicious frequency of deaths on a cruise line.
The Cecil Younger series portrays Alaska as a land of misfits, people who could not succeed in the Lower 48, and would not wish to anyway. Cecil lives with his girlfriend Jane Marie, their infant daughter Blossom, and retarded friend Todd. Cecil realizes several times in this book that he now has a family, and should behave responsibly. Does it change his behavior? Nope.
According to this story Cecil has a long-standing relationship with retired police detective George Doggy, best friends with his late father, although I don't recall Doggy ever mentioned in earlier series books. Doggy has offered Cecil a steady job, now that Cecil has a family and needs to settle down. Cecil is reluctant to accept Doggy's offer, apparently due to an unsolved murder case (but I suspect it's really due to Cecil's abhorrence to steady work). Years ago on a private boat called the Mygirl, most of a family was killed, and the boat burned. Cecil defended the primary suspect Richard Ewers. Ewers was not convicted, although Doggy, who investigated the case, was certain Ewers was guilty.
Primary characters in the story are Jonathan Chevalier, brother of Albert, a murder victim onboard the Mygirl, and Sean and Kevin Sands, children/siblings of the family murdered onboard. Most important and most interesting character in the story is a tremendous violent storm that strands many of the primary characters at sea. I had trouble relating to any character in the story. The plot plods in a confused snarl except during the storm. Cecil eventually reveals a convoluted sequence of events to explain the Mygirl murders and all subsequent murders.
This book seems to be the end of the series. I started the series with great interest after vacation trips to Alaska, but my interest has decreased as the series continued. I read this book out of a general desire to finish series I've started, and in particular as part of a Finish the Series reading challenge.
The Cecil Younger series portrays Alaska as a land of misfits, people who could not succeed in the Lower 48, and would not wish to anyway. Cecil lives with his girlfriend Jane Marie, their infant daughter Blossom, and retarded friend Todd. Cecil realizes several times in this book that he now has a family, and should behave responsibly. Does it change his behavior? Nope.
According to this story Cecil has a long-standing relationship with retired police detective George Doggy, best friends with his late father, although I don't recall Doggy ever mentioned in earlier series books. Doggy has offered Cecil a steady job, now that Cecil has a family and needs to settle down. Cecil is reluctant to accept Doggy's offer, apparently due to an unsolved murder case (but I suspect it's really due to Cecil's abhorrence to steady work). Years ago on a private boat called the Mygirl, most of a family was killed, and the boat burned. Cecil defended the primary suspect Richard Ewers. Ewers was not convicted, although Doggy, who investigated the case, was certain Ewers was guilty.
Primary characters in the story are Jonathan Chevalier, brother of Albert, a murder victim onboard the Mygirl, and Sean and Kevin Sands, children/siblings of the family murdered onboard. Most important and most interesting character in the story is a tremendous violent storm that strands many of the primary characters at sea. I had trouble relating to any character in the story. The plot plods in a confused snarl except during the storm. Cecil eventually reveals a convoluted sequence of events to explain the Mygirl murders and all subsequent murders.
This book seems to be the end of the series. I started the series with great interest after vacation trips to Alaska, but my interest has decreased as the series continued. I read this book out of a general desire to finish series I've started, and in particular as part of a Finish the Series reading challenge.
February 19, 2017
John Straley's books are not very long; however, they are jammed packed story that keeps you reading into the wee hours of the night!
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February 28, 2012Just finished reading an interesting novel that was a gift from one of our reading group that lives in Alaska.
The story line is based on a private detective living in Sitka that seems to be at loose ends in his personal life trying to solve the murder of a mother, father, and their son & daughter operating a fish buyer barge anchored off shore near Sitka.
The author did a great job of describing the ins and outs of interpersonal relationships and leaves the reader with a better understanding of the really important things in our lives. One of the points the story line brought out is the fallacy of believing that we can go thru life like a wisp of fog, not being seen by others or having an impact of any kind on others in our lives.
I thought the author did a great job of weaving an interesting maze which led the reader down some interesting blind channels before a surprising and insightful ending.
The story line is based on a private detective living in Sitka that seems to be at loose ends in his personal life trying to solve the murder of a mother, father, and their son & daughter operating a fish buyer barge anchored off shore near Sitka.
The author did a great job of describing the ins and outs of interpersonal relationships and leaves the reader with a better understanding of the really important things in our lives. One of the points the story line brought out is the fallacy of believing that we can go thru life like a wisp of fog, not being seen by others or having an impact of any kind on others in our lives.
I thought the author did a great job of weaving an interesting maze which led the reader down some interesting blind channels before a surprising and insightful ending.
August 4, 2016
I read one of John Straley's books back in the 90s and was impressed by his writing. So I decided to read Cold Water Burning this year. Straley has an interesting voice - here's a short quote from a scene with the main character's girlfriend in chapter 7: "stroked each other, saying each other's names in the dark, filling each other up as if we could pour ourselves back and forth, spilling and refilling our bodies over and over again."
The mystery wasn't predictable, but I found it hard to sustain my interest. There was a little too much local color (blues bands and minor characters) and scenic descriptions (lots of talk about birds) - I felt it got in the way of the central story.
I was particularly interested in the roommate character Todd, whom the author hints is autistic. I thought Straley did a good job describing the character's intense focus on interests and his need for routines and "protocols." When faced with an unusual situation, this trait could be life-threatening.
The mystery wasn't predictable, but I found it hard to sustain my interest. There was a little too much local color (blues bands and minor characters) and scenic descriptions (lots of talk about birds) - I felt it got in the way of the central story.
I was particularly interested in the roommate character Todd, whom the author hints is autistic. I thought Straley did a good job describing the character's intense focus on interests and his need for routines and "protocols." When faced with an unusual situation, this trait could be life-threatening.
July 18, 2016
Cecil is a private investigator at Sitka, Alaska. Several years ago he worked for the defense attorney in a murder trial and the evidence he collected help free the accused killer. Now the killer’s wife has showed up looking for her missing husband and $50,000 paid to him by a tabloid for his story. Soon others associated with the case are acting strangely, disappear, or die.
Cold Water Burning by John Straley (Bantam Books, 2001) has a plot line that offers intrigue, mystery, danger, and plenty of room for smart sleuthing. But I was disappointed by the contrived, stiff, and awkward story and the half-baked character development. It seems like the author tried to stuff into the short novel all of the glitzy and convoluted ideas he could think of. His efforts left a tedious and unfocused book.
Cold Water Burning by John Straley (Bantam Books, 2001) has a plot line that offers intrigue, mystery, danger, and plenty of room for smart sleuthing. But I was disappointed by the contrived, stiff, and awkward story and the half-baked character development. It seems like the author tried to stuff into the short novel all of the glitzy and convoluted ideas he could think of. His efforts left a tedious and unfocused book.
May 9, 2012
I found this one pretty grim. I realized halfway through that I shouldn't blame a murder mystery for grimness but it wasn't what I was looking for. By the end things were better but yikes this is a take no prisoners story.
September 5, 2014
best one yet... one of my fav authors
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January 26, 2021It was interesting for a medium-paced detective story. Not too thrilling- it wasn't an edge-of-your-seat read.
September 6, 2014
I like characters with much more depth. This isn't my type of fiction.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews