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A review by mollyringle
Death at Glacier Lake by Pam Stucky
5.0
I can be wary to pick up mysteries, for a couple of reasons. One is that the formula of the genre (as with many genres) often leads to a two-dimensional cookie-cutter feel for the characters. Another is that it creeps me out to call murder "cozy," as many of them do. However, having read Pam's Wishing Rock series, I knew her talent for producing well-rounded, interesting characters, as well as bringing settings to life, so I knew I could trust this book not to suffer from those problems. And my instincts were well founded!
The characters felt like real people--some likable, some not, and some startling for what they're hiding; though, as narrator Mindy points out toward the end, don't we all have some darkness inside us? Also, although this book doesn't contain gore and could thereby get called a cozy mystery, it never makes murder feel bizarrely like a fun little puzzle to solve over a weekend, the way some such books do (which is what weirds me out about them). The murder shakes Mindy and the others at the resort exactly as such an event should, and dredges up plenty of upsetting memories and accusatory emotions among the group. It felt true to life, without ever getting depressingly heavy--because another thing Pam excels at is keeping just enough wry humor and human warmth in her writing.
And the setting might be my favorite feature of all! Somehow, despite living in the Pacific Northwest most of my life, I've never been to the North Cascades, but from the beautiful description in this novel, I now most wholeheartedly want to go. As long as, uh, no one gets killed.
The characters felt like real people--some likable, some not, and some startling for what they're hiding; though, as narrator Mindy points out toward the end, don't we all have some darkness inside us? Also, although this book doesn't contain gore and could thereby get called a cozy mystery, it never makes murder feel bizarrely like a fun little puzzle to solve over a weekend, the way some such books do (which is what weirds me out about them). The murder shakes Mindy and the others at the resort exactly as such an event should, and dredges up plenty of upsetting memories and accusatory emotions among the group. It felt true to life, without ever getting depressingly heavy--because another thing Pam excels at is keeping just enough wry humor and human warmth in her writing.
And the setting might be my favorite feature of all! Somehow, despite living in the Pacific Northwest most of my life, I've never been to the North Cascades, but from the beautiful description in this novel, I now most wholeheartedly want to go. As long as, uh, no one gets killed.