The Ice Maiden

Detective Doug Bateman and Anne Quinn, investigator for the County Sheriff's office join forces to catch a serial killer.  What looks to be a random selection of victims, this killer abducts, tortures, and then he commits their bodies to the local lake.

After their bodies are left in the water, there isn't much left in the way of evidence.  Because of the out of way places he chooses and how easily he abducts the women seemingly out of thin air leads Doug and Anne to believe it's someone from the community ... one who is well-known.

Two bodies have been found already and when Doug's wife goes missing, he fears the worst. And Anne is next on the list.

Random ...... or is there a deeper meaning to the victims he has chosen?

This is a very well-written murder mystery with unforgettable characters.   The background of Maine blends beautifully with the story.  Maine is  described so well, it felt like I was there. The secondary characters are unique and lend much credibility.  There are a few surprises, little twists and turns here and there.  Keeping fingers crossed this turns into a series.

Many thanks to the author / Black Rose Writing / Netgalley for the digital copy of THE ICE MAIDEN.  Opinions expressed  here are unbiased and entirely my own.

3 and 1 / 2 stars

Detective Doug Bateman and Anne Quinn partner together to investigate the death of a woman found in the middle of winter in the ice in nearby Sebec Lake in rural Maine. The video feed they obtain shows only someone and the woman dressed in strange clothes walking towards the lake. The woman seems out of it. The “someone’s” face is covered by a long hood-like affair. It’s as if they knew very well that there was a video camera in operation. It suggests that the perpetrator is a local person.

Further investigation show that the designs on the clothing the woman was found in suggest a connection to the Inquisition. The autopsy of the woman shows that she was viciously tortured before her death. 

When more deaths occur, the tension ratchets up and the pace in our story moves along a little better. The killer taunts the detectives, almost daring them to catch him. When the murderer is finally apprehended, it is a surprise. 

This is a fairly well written and plotted book. It, at times, seemed to wander however. The descriptions of the Maine countryside were interesting, but the citizens were not. It is a slow read; not too much is going on for quite a bit of the book. This is my first B.D. Smith book and I am willing to give another of his novels a try. 

I want to thank Netgalley and Black Rose Writing for granting me the opportunity to read this book.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Black Rose Writing for a review copy of The Ice Maiden, a police procedural set in Maine.

The body of a young woman is found submerged in the ice. She has been mutilated and tortured using medieval methods. Doug Bateman of the Maine State Police and Anne Quinn of the County sherriff's office investigate what turns out to be a far from straightforward case with few forensic clues, a hidden motive and a rising body count.

I enjoyed The Ice Maiden which has a good plot and some surprising twists. It is not a particularly profound novel but being plot based it doesn't have to go deep on emotions and social issues. What it does do is paint a very good picture of small town, rural Maine and its inhabitants and their way of life. I like novels set in communities different to my own as they are always informative. It may not be for the squeamish as mutilations are inventive and graphic.

The characters are not particularly well developed beyond what is needed. They are pleasant, dedicated people with no vices, always a relief, who just get on with the job. Doug is separated from his wife after the death of their son but seems to be holding it together. Anne is an incomer  from Michigan which arouses some suspicion from the locals but her pleasant, can do personality soon wins them over.

I think 3.5* is an appropriate rating for this novel but I have rated it 3*, deducting 0.5* for the annoying frequent use of auto de fé instead of the correct auto da fé. Pernickety is my middle name.

The Ice Maiden is a solid read which I can recommend to anyone looking for few hours escapism.

Doug Bateman and Anne Quinn are thrust together in a race against a truly sadistic serial killer. Faced with gory reenactments of ancient ritualistic torture, they must solve the riddles the killer leaves behind without becoming victims themselves. Unfortunately, the killer's madness is very, very personal, and both Doug and Anne will put their lives on the line to stop him.

B.D. Smith brings an obvious love of the Northeastern US to light in this thriller, sprinkling great historical detail and culture into a modern day community. Smith makes a small town come to life by delivering genuine characters with well developed histories and personalities. Smith also writes a great evil madman, and manages to shine the spotlight on any number of potential suspects. Occasionally very graphic in nature, this story takes the reader on a roller coaster of fear, suspense, nostalgia, and romance; and if the reader dislikes David Abernathy as much as I did, a little quiet celebration when a Scottish highland bull bests a rogue ATV.

The writing, at times (especially at chapter beginnings) was too setting description heavy and would pull you out of the story. Ignoring that, the plot and writing were great. Very entertaining!

A couple out on a snowmobile ride find a fox in the middle of the frozen lake appearing to be interested in something instead of running off when they approach. Curious as to what holds his attention the couple approach to find what looks to be human remains that the animals have gotten a hold of so they call in the police.

Detective Anne Quinn out of the Piscataquis County sheriff’s office and Detective Douglas Bateman with the Major Crimes Unit of the Maine State Police find themselves teamed up to investigate when the body is determine to be that of a young woman. When more victims are found the detectives find themselves in pursuit of a serial killer that seems to be very familiar with the area and it’s residents.

The Ice Maiden is one of those books that simply turned out to be not really up my alley when I began reading this story but having a review copy I felt I would still see how the story turned out. In the end it was simply the style of the writing that has me rating this book at 2.5 stars and not the plot contained within or the actual writing itself, I’m just not a fan of the overly descriptive plot driven story the author came up with.

There were so many instances in this book I really wished the author would have just let the characters tell their story instead of describing every little thing in so much detail. For instance they are out to dinner one night and instead of a conversation flow between characters we get the author describing everything that would/could of been being said between them. Details down to the speed limit on the roads and the color of everything really don’t need to be included for a story to be told in my opinion.

However, with all of that being said about the style of the book there was still a decent thriller of a story with a serial killer on the loose buried in there. To me this was just too slow paced without enough connection to the actual characters but I’m sure the style would be a perfect fit for other readers out there so if it sounds interesting to you I’d still suggest giving it a try.

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Excellent book.  Great storyline and wonderful main characters.  I would recommend this book.

Great thriller!  Smith gives us not one but two great protagonists in Anne Quinn and Doug Bateman, the two cops investigating a series of brutal, ritualistic murders.  THE ICE MAIDEN  also gives us a great view into life in small town Maine, and the joys and limitations it includes.  Things wrapped up a little too easily in the end, but I still enjoyed the book very much.  Not for the faint of heart, though.  some of the descriptions of the murders are quite graphic..

The Ice Maiden by B.D. Smith, was the first book I’ve read by this author, and I hope that this might become a series. The book was very descriptive in scenery, characters and murders. At times I felt the character descriptions came in bursts or waves of information, but after a while it all just worked out. I thought both Doug and Anne were good leading characters, and the secondary characters helped support the plot with unique and creative personalities and situations adding to the credibility of the story. I’m limiting the details in this review, so the reader can enjoy the unfolding story. The plot was filled with historic info, tension, sadness, twists and many true to life situations.

I wish to express my thanks to the author, Black Rose Writing-publisher, and NetGalley for the digital copy of the book. The publication date was April 26th 2017, and the book is available in digital, Kindle Unlimited and paperback.

For me this was a 4 star read.

Anne Quinn, a investigator for Piscataquis County Sherriff’s office and Douglas Bateman, a detective for Maine State Police join forces to help solve the murder of a woman found in the middle of a frozen lake. The death is very odd with religious elements to the murder. However, this isn’t the only murder as the serial killer kills more woman and taunts the police with his crimes. 

This novel was well written with a good amount of suspense and action however I just didn’t enjoy it as much as I had hoped. The characters were well written except for the budding romance between Douglas and Anne. The kiss they shared seemed to come out of nowhere, other than someone telling Anne to go for it I would never have known she had feelings for Douglas.

The murders were well detailed with a lot of detail going into each murder and the religious ceremonies each one follows. I never did figure out who the actual killer was till the very end. Maybe other readers would have been able too but a key detail was left out until the very end. With murder mystery novels I like to try and figure out who the murder is. 

The novel had far too much dialogue for me. I felt the author was having everyone state what was going on rather than explaining it. I didn’t really need to know what everyone was wearing at every moment. I felt this took away from the novel. Some details were necessary but not everything. And why couldn’t the author write the details out instead of having the characters think/say them.

This was my first BD Smith book and certainly not my last.  I really loved the main characters and how they related to each other.  This looks like the beginning of a series that I will definitely pick up to read.  I loved the setting as well as the descriptions of the setting as I am not from America.  I enjoyed BD Smith's writing style.  Some parts of the book was a bit predictable but maybe it is because I have read so many detective stories.

Thanks to Black Rose publishing via Netgalley for the copy.

I like the characters and how they related to each other.  The story was intense and the torture or killing parts were very hard for me to read.  I could not image those poor girls going through that.  There were some good surprises and it was well written.  Sometimes descriptions on inane topics were not necessary but overall a good novel.  Thanks

The Ice Maiden is a quick, easy read that I really enjoyed. I enjoyed the writing style and all the unexpected twist and turns. This book kept me guessing as to who the killer was, in this story. One minute I thought maybe I had an idea as to who it could be and the next everything changes and again, you have to figure out who could be a suspect. In the end, I never suspected the killer to be a suspect and was surprised. I was also surprised by the motive behind the killings. The author goes into great detail in describing all that took place during the killings and the torture that the victims went through. This was one book that I did not want to put down!

This police procedural features Anne Quinn and Doug Bateman.  Two dedicated officers with a sadistic murderer. The book twists and turns with the serial killer taunting them, and body count mounting. I was sure I knew who the killer was on several occasions. It kept me guessing until the end. Supporting characters were excelent as well.