Patrick F. McManus, Avalanche

Avalanche

Patrick F. McManus

Simon & Schuster, Mar 2007, $24.00

ISBN: 141653265X

Blight County, Idaho, resident Blanche Wilson reports her spouse Mike is missing. After obtaining information from Blanche, co-owner of the Branch Lodge with her husband, Sheriff Bo Tully obtains the assistance of his father, retired sheriff Pap, and their tracker friend Dave to go into the nearby mountains to find Mike, but first plan a couple days asking questions while relaxing at the affluent wilderness lodge.

However, their trek proves dangerous when the father and son team barely survive an avalanche. Disturbed by the rockslide, mostly because he does not trust coincidence; the trio finds Mike's corpse, which turns the missing person investigation into a homicide case. They soon learn that Blanche has multimillion reasons to see Mike dead.

The second Blight Country police procedural (see THE BLIGHT WAY) is lighthearted fun as the hero sees a chance for a free soak in a hot tub while reading Danielle Steele's newest tale. However, the suspiciously occurring avalanche changes his R&R concept as he and his companions believe someone wanted them dead. The whodunit is enjoyable though somewhat straightforward, but takes a back seat to the camaraderie between father and son.

Harriet Klausner