Under The Ice: A Gus LeGarde Mystery

First, this is not a mystery book. No detectives, sleuths or other characters trying to solve a crime with the reader. Nor is it a thriller with suspense that leaves you on the edge of the seat where you can\’t put the book down. So if that is what you are looking for, stop now and look elsewhere. That being said, I would classify this book as contemporary fiction. Basically, it is told from the point of view of a stepfather that loves his adopted stepdaughter who is a typical, rebellious teenager wanting to connect with her biological father released from prison. In a nutshell, if her mouth is open, she is lying and the ears aren\’t listening. The book is well edited and the author has a simple, light writing style appropriate even for teenagers. Unfortunately, I found the story boring, predictable and the ending dragged on and on. This book might be enjoyed by those who like stories about typical, blended family issues. It just wasn\’t my cup of tea.

Family and friends are a very important part of Under the Ice. The relationships among the characters was warm and believable. Other than that, the rest of the story was slow going. Since this is the 9th book in the series, I wonder if I would have liked it more if I had read the other books in the series first. The narrator was ok, but the voices of some of the characters were fake and whiny. This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast.

Camille LeGarde (wife/mother), & Professor Gus LeGarde (husband/step-father, narrator), were very worried about Shelby LeGarde (teen daughter) it was way past her curfew. 2 hours late grounding might teach her. Mrs. Adelaide Pierce (housekeeper/nanny) was trying to keep up with a household full of pets, Celeste (14-month twin granddaughter), Marion (14-month twin granddaughter), & Johnny (5, grandson). Others at the evening meal are: Freddie (Gus’ daughter), Great-Uncle Siegfried (German, Elsbeth’s twin), Officer Joe Russell, Officer Adam Knapp, & Maddy (Camille’s mother/in-law, Joe’s GF, Conaroga U music dept. secretary). Joe announced he would like permission to marry Freddie. Rochester TV news flash a 4-county major drug bust. The water was seeping in. Joe was still screaming his dead wife’s name when the EMT arrived. Officer Knapp had arrived on the scene. Later, Gus answered the phone it was Greg Robinson (Shelby’s biological father, abusive, prison). He let Camille know. The female body found frozen in Mendon Pond had been ID as Lisa May Albertson (45). Shelby introduced her new acquaintance Rolf Ebner (German). Doc Mattson got Joe into therapy/groups. The roads were icy & very slick. The trees were streaked with ice. Camille had taken Shelby & went to get more flashlight batteries. She had not returned home. Camille’s VW Beetle was empty & parked behind the shed. This was not good. What happened to Greg Robinson? I did not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers & authors, I am under no obligation to write a positive review. Only an honest one. A very awesome book cover, great font & writing style. A very well written thriller book. It was very easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a great set of unique characters to keep track of. This could also make another great mystery movie, or better yet a mini TV series. There is no doubt in my mind this is a very easy rating of 5 stars. Thank you for the free author; BookSends; Amazon Digital Services LLC.; book Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)

The plot is a good one and in the end I did finish the book so I have to say I enjoyed it enough to keep reading – as opposed to some books I end up putting down when they don\’t keep my attention, however, there is a such thing as TOO much detail. I found myself skimming over every scene describing their dinner and chores and playing with the grandkids. (yawn) I wanted to get to the suspense but some of the pages were just full of \”fluff\” to make the story seem longer. I think a lot more could\’ve been written about Camille\’s past in greater detail which would\’ve added to the suspense of Greg\’s release and intentions. Some characters were introduced in 2 sentences or so and didn\’t really add to anything in the current story (Elsbeth?) but might\’ve been interesting as a backstory if there had been more detail there. The last few chapters don\’t seem to be more than a small after-the-drama-has-ended wrap up of feel-goodness. I\’m giving 3 stars because I finished it (in about 3 days) and I\’d possibly read something else from this author. (EDIT: Apparently I did not realize this is the 9th book in a series – Kindle did not have that in the title when I downloaded it but on the Amazon page as I uploaded my review I just noticed it! So I\’ll leave my original comment because even a good series gives you some sort of what-happened-in-the-first-few-books recaps and this one didn\’t but since I have not read the first 8, there is a great possibility that people who HAVE read them know these characters well already. Actually, this makes me more interested in going back to the beginning so thanks, Amazon, for the full title. lol

Apparently this is number nine in the Gus LeGarde Mystery series. So I would give this author a pat on the back for how well this book is written. Having not read a single previous book in the series I dropped right into this one, picked up the characters, the locations and their lives all without realizing it was the ninth in the series until the very end when prompted to buy another in the series. As mentioned above the characters and locations are all well written and you are immediately drawn into this busy family and their lives together. The story is mainly about Gus Le Garde and his step-daughter, Shelby. She is the main reason the book has dropped a star from me. Apparently she was in a coma from the age of 6 to 15, then came out and is living a normal teenage life, with the teenage attitude accompanied and even learning to drive. All a little bit far-fetched. That aside, the storyline is actually really good. Shelby has discovered boys and dating, has the typical teenage angst and more importantly her biological father is getting out of prison and has apparently turned over a new leaf. Plenty to keep Gus on his toes and concerned about her. But with several grandchildren cluttering up the house, a serious flu and his best friend becoming so paralysed with fear he is practically homebound, Gus certainly has his work cut out for him. Can he keep it all together? Guy is a likeable character who you do root for quickly. He is just nice, an all round good guy who seems to come up against problem after problem. This novel is somewhere in between the genres of cosy mystery and thriller. Something that can be read quite quickly, easily and manages to keep the reader engaged.

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