This is the fourth book of the series, and the first one I've read. The main character, Beth, is living in Alaska and hiding out from her abductor until the police find him and catch him. We get a little of the background of why she's there, and then she goes out to do the death walk. Basically, everyone from the village meets in town and they take head count to make sure no one has died over winter or stuck in their homes. 4 people are missing and through the search for them, Beth's acquaintance/friend Kay is found murdered. Thus Beth begins to stick her nose in everyone's business while being told not to by the local law enforcement. This reminded me a lot of the Rockton series by Kelley Armstrong, except there's a lot more cell phones and internet. While there's some great descriptions of the area, a lot of it is just Beth running back and forth to various locations asking a lot of questions. It was a fun story, though the ending was a little lackluster. I enjoyed the characters and definitely want to check out the other books.

This is the first book I have read in the Alaska Wild series. Unfortunately, it would have been better for me to have read the previous books in the order in which they were released. I feel like I was missing a lot of background information. This is a mystery book and it kept me invested in the story. The primary character, Beth, was well developed as well as some of the secondary characters. Definitely suspenseful and gripping tension as you flip through the pages trying to solve the mystery. I will definitely go back and read the earlier books in this interesting series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

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Once again, I blundered into a series, this time at book #4. I will say now, it is important to read this series in order. I was lost for parts of it and I missed some really important back story. I will be going back and reading the first three books in order! Winter's End is set in springtime in Benedict, Alaska. The annual Death March is set to occur, a seasonal ritual where the residents gather and set out in small groups to search the community for those who might have gotten ill or passed over the long, isolated winter. Just the day before, Beth had met and chatted with Kaye and Warren Miller, a young couple Beth just talked to the day before while walking her dog. The Miller family claims not to know where their son and daughter-in-law have disappeared to. As well, Beth, Orin and her dog, Gus, head to a secluded cabin to check on Al, a 94 year old man who lives alone. He is bad shape, so Orin goes for help. Several hours later, Police Chief Gril and his Deputy, Donner arrive without Orin as he has disappeared. What has happened to Orin? Where are the Millers? Are these cases connected?

Coming in at book #4, I have missed a lot of backstory, so the secondary storyline of Beth trying to locate her father had me a bit confused (my fault, not the author's). Beth is a successful mystery author, so her investigation skills and interest have developed along the way. She is also dealing with her own trauma, that adds another storyline to the book. Beth is a character that is dealing with PTSD from her past trauma and has been somewhat a loner. She is starting to make friends and had hoped that she and Kaye Miller would become just that. She is extremely worried about Kaye and begins to investigate the family. As in many stories about Alaska, the families tend to be somewhat insulated, often "preppers" and people who want to be left alone. The Millers fit this description. There are a lot of characters in the book, but Paige Shelton does a good job of making sure the reader gets to know them sufficiently to see their role in the story. She also describes the setting and lifestyle portraying the hardships, lack of amenities, loneliness, lack of friendship and communication, slower pace and danger of living in small town Alaska. The mystery was well plotted with twists and turns that kept me reading and listening whenever I had a few moments. Overall, this was a suspenseful story with a great mystery and some serious themes including: isolation, secrets, dysfunctional families, feuds, spousal abuse, PTSD and more. I did a read/listen with this book and enjoyed both formats. Suzie Althens narrates this story and does a great job. She gives voice to the various characters and uses expression to add suspense and tension to the story. I will definitely listen to other books she narrates.

This series is so immersive! The fourth in the series, there is a fabulous atmosphere, mystery that grips you and makes it impossible to quit reading. Narration on the audiobook was fantastic. Highly recommend this book, but especially the whole series! Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of the audiobook.

Winter's End by Paige Shelton
Narrated by Suzie Althens
Publisher: Dreamscape Media
Genre: Mystery & Thrillers
Published: December 6, 2022

Winter's End is the 4th book in the Alaska Wild series by Paige Shelton. I had not read the previous books and found this easy to read as a standalone mystery. I will say, that even after a week, this book is still sticking with me, so I will definitely be reading the previous books and any future ones to come!

I absolutely love Beth! She is such a powerhouse! She has overcome so much and is moving forward with her life. She is such an inspiration. I also loved getting to know the people in town.

The mystery was fascinating and kept me on the edge of my seat. I found this book to be captivating and I could not get enough of it! I can't wait to see what will happen next!

The narration by Suzie Althens was phenomenal! I really enjoyed listening to her bring this book to life! What a wonderful performance!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Not my type of likeing but the book was ok. I liked it enough to recommend it but not to reread it again

Winter's End is the 4th Alaska Wild thriller mystery by Paige Shelton. Released 6th Dec 2022 by Macmillan on their Minotaur imprint, it's 272 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. 

This is an engaging thriller/mystery series set in a very remote part of Alaska. Main protagonist Beth is a writer on the run to try to reclaim her security and heal herself from a violent abduction by a stalker fan. She's also the local reporter/news publisher and as such, something of a magnet for local happenings. The setting is beautifully drawn, stark and brooding. The plotting and tension arc never felt forced or too slow. The author is adept at her craft and the flashback interludes from Beth's point of view worked very well with the 1st person point of view. Although it's the 4th book in the series, it works very well as a standalone, and it's not necessary to have read the other books when picking this one up.

The language is slightly rough, but wasn't completely over the top or gratuitous. There is violence and psychological tension in the narrative, but again, I never felt the author threw it in without reason. There is potentially triggering trauma (the main character was abducted, held, and tortured for days which is mentioned several times in the story).

The unabridged audiobook version has a run time of 9 hours and 8 minutes and is capably narrated by Suzie Althens. She has a husky alto reading voice which suits the remote Alaskan setting and happily, her voice fades into the story and became unnoticeable to me after a chapter or so. She's adept with characters of both sexes and a wide range of ages, and the sound and production quality were high throughout the recording. I broke the book up in sessions synced between ebook and audio and found that functionality worked very well.

Four stars, an enjoyable and engaging read. With four books extant at this point, and a 5th due out in late 2023, it would make a good candidate for a binge/buddy read. Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

I feel this book was all over the place. I lost interest in it. I'm willing to read more from the author but this one just didn't touch my heart or my interest.

The amateur sleuth is smarter than the police force, not quite believable for me. When I received the audiobook from Netgalley I did not realize it was the 4th book in a series. I feel the author did a great job filling in the backstory and the book could be read as a stand a lone. If you like a slow building mystery, this book is for you, it's just not my cup of tea.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

When I started this book I did not know that it was the fourth book in a series, but that did not hinder my reading experience in any way. This book was very interesting as there were many different mysteries within this one book. I loved the backdrop of the story and the location in which it took place because it added a lot to the suspense.

As with her previous editions to this series, I very much enjoyed the characters and location of Alaska. There were many new neighbors introduced to us, so that felt odd as they were never mentioned before, yet "we walk the dog together often" seemed to be a repeated comment. We also didn't get as much romance this time, but we are to believe there will be another book in the series so hopefully she will have some time to reconnect with the love interest. I listened to the audiobook which has the same reader as previous. Those who enjoy quick cozy mystery reads will enjoy this one. Recommended for those taking Alaskan cruises and wanting to "catch the spirit" of the area.

Thanks NetGalley for the free audio edition, but as always thoughts are my own.

Winter's End by Paige Shelton is a delightful page turner from start to finish, full of twists and unexpected turns.

It's unfair of me to review, considering I had not read the other books in the Alaska Wild series, so there was a fair bit of background I was missing.

That being said, I enjoyed Winter's End! I loved the Alaskan setting and the pacing was good. I would be interested in going back to the start of the series to really dive in.

The narration was great, as well!

It was such a good story with complex characters and situations. It was so unlike other Paige Shelton books I’ve read. It was more complicated and more thriller than cozy. Can’t wait to read the first three of the series but I didn’t feel lost starting with it. The recap was natural and did not disrupt the story.

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This is the fourth book of the Alaska Wild series. Unfortunately I have not read the other books and found I was missing some details from the other books. Still I was able to get into the story and the mystery of the story.

In Benedict, Alaska spring begins with the death walk. Although this sounds morbid it is actually a celebration for the community to see their friends and families have survived the long winter. However this year one woman is missing and later is found murdered by the water. In an attempt to find out what happened Beth Rivers and her friends begin to look for clues and uncover long held secrets of their community.

Narrated by Suzie Athens, the book initially draws the reader in wondering what happened and why. The flow is quite good until midway when it slows down and becomes a bit boring. Thankfully it turns around again coming to a satisfying ending. I enjoyed the narration and would definitely listen to other books with the same narrator. I would also be interested in exploring the rest of the series.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to review this early release audiobook.

This is book 4 of the Alaska Wild series, but my first novel by the author and I enjoyed as a standalone.

I easily picked up the sense of the isolated town of Benedict, with its array of interesting characters. The descriptions of landscape added to the atmosphere. While not fast paced, the mystery drew me in and I found myself eager to know what happened next.

Overall 3.5*

Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to listen to the audiobook.

This is the first book I have read in this series but I was not lost.

This was great mystery as Beth tries to continue research for her missing friend Orin and figure out where a missing baby is and who the father is. This is a good mystery set in beautiful wild of Alaska and about as far away from Scottish bookshop as you can get. That is where Paige Shelton’s other series is set in 😊.

I listened to an audiobook - the narration was good.

I enjoyed this book and already reserved the first book so I can read rest of the series.

This is my opinion of audiobook I received from NetGalley.

I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed it. I would read more of this series, though I did not know it was part of a series when I selected the book. I have not read this series before. This book stands on its own. Parts of the narrative refer to events in previous books, but not so it would seem redundant to those who are following the series. These references were also intriguing enough, without giving the whole story away, to make me want to read the series from the beginning.
The author developed the setting, atmosphere, and characters well. Dialogue was believable and the situations seemed realistic.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this one! I will definitely be checking out the others in the series. The author does a fantastic job setting the scenery for this beautiful but creepy setting. I loved the character's as well! Thank you NetGalley and to the Publisher for the ARC.

I really love a snowy mystery and Winter’s End by Paige Shelton is a great one. This is the first I’ve read, but fourth in the Alaska Wild series. Beth came to Alaska to escape a terrible trauma and now considers the small town, full of rough and quirky people, home. The peace of the town is disrupted when Beth’s friend is found dead. Her death causes old feuds to rise between two families of the town and Beth is caught trying to separate old grudge from new. This book has a lot of cozy elements (small town, cute dog, she’s a writer) but also a lot of heavier themes (a missing father, deep trauma from kidnapping, a lot of troubled pasts). I really like it but I did have to take a few breaks when it got intense. I would say Beth makes some really dangerous decisions and I was really confused about her dad in all of this. I would say this is a great read for a mystery lover looking to be on the edge of their seat. Happy reading! @netgalley #wintersend #paigeshelton #alaskawild @macmillan.audio