DEAD STILL - A Suspense Novel by David Wolman
iUniverse
2021 Pine Lake Rd, Ste 100, Lincoln, NE
Genre: Fiction/Mystery
Rating: Highly Recommended
ISBN: 0595396682, $14.95, 214 pp.
This novel took me longer to read than normal because of the quality of writing. Wolman had me hooked until the very end. About the story, allow me to quote from the back cover:
"Dead Still plunges into the arcane world of identity theft, insurance fraud, sex, and murder. A vicious killer, an unlikely hero, and a country physician are linked by coincidental events that include a near-death dogsled escape from the frozen terrain of northern Maine and a lethal chase through the treacherous caverns of Virgin Gorda, in the British Virgin Islands."
David Wolman is a consummate writer, and you won’t be disappointed. His medical knowledge, survival skills and expertise at dog sledding come through clearly to make Dead Still a fascinating, suspenseful mystery, and I quote from pages 136-137 when Susan is left in an unfamiliar wilderness to die:
"She hoped she would live long enough to sort it all out.
"As she reached the shelter of tall cedars, she tried to calm herself. She reminded herself of the most important theme of survival courses she had taken and taught–avoid panic. Logic and reason were to be relied on. Her knowledge of survival skills would pull her through.
"But, in the long run, her will to survive was the key to survival.
"First, she needed shelter and time to think. She needed to concentrate on the task at hand. That would keep her from panicking. Focus. Focus. She guessed it was about four o’clock as the light was already fading, augmented by the storm with its russet clouds racing above. She quickly found a spot with well-packed drift snow. Using a pine bough and her gloved lands, she dug a chest-high hole into the drift. She proceeded to dig a horizontal rectangle at shoulder height, creating blocks as she removed the snow. Then digging upward into the rectangular area, she fashioned a sleep platform out of packed snow above ground level. She extended the entrance. Then she covered the triangular opening with show blocks she had removed. Using her hands, she made a ventilation hole in the top of the cave. She had practiced this rudimentary shelter building many times, and many times on the Iditarod trail she had slept in such a snow cave to escape storms. So far, it was just Survival 101."
Will Susan survive? Will someone come to her rescue? Guess you’ll just have to read this novel to learn the answers to these questions and why she was left to die.
David Wolman is the author of Little Boy Lost and Whispers on the Nile. Wolman’s poetry was the inspiration for the musical work, The Long Bright. He reviews theater and classical music. He is an educated, talented writer, and I highly recommend this novel.
Reviewed by Kaye Trout - December 2, 2006
2021 Pine Lake Rd, Ste 100, Lincoln, NE
Genre: Fiction/Mystery
Rating: Highly Recommended
ISBN: 0595396682, $14.95, 214 pp.
This novel took me longer to read than normal because of the quality of writing. Wolman had me hooked until the very end. About the story, allow me to quote from the back cover:
"Dead Still plunges into the arcane world of identity theft, insurance fraud, sex, and murder. A vicious killer, an unlikely hero, and a country physician are linked by coincidental events that include a near-death dogsled escape from the frozen terrain of northern Maine and a lethal chase through the treacherous caverns of Virgin Gorda, in the British Virgin Islands."
David Wolman is a consummate writer, and you won’t be disappointed. His medical knowledge, survival skills and expertise at dog sledding come through clearly to make Dead Still a fascinating, suspenseful mystery, and I quote from pages 136-137 when Susan is left in an unfamiliar wilderness to die:
"She hoped she would live long enough to sort it all out.
"As she reached the shelter of tall cedars, she tried to calm herself. She reminded herself of the most important theme of survival courses she had taken and taught–avoid panic. Logic and reason were to be relied on. Her knowledge of survival skills would pull her through.
"But, in the long run, her will to survive was the key to survival.
"First, she needed shelter and time to think. She needed to concentrate on the task at hand. That would keep her from panicking. Focus. Focus. She guessed it was about four o’clock as the light was already fading, augmented by the storm with its russet clouds racing above. She quickly found a spot with well-packed drift snow. Using a pine bough and her gloved lands, she dug a chest-high hole into the drift. She proceeded to dig a horizontal rectangle at shoulder height, creating blocks as she removed the snow. Then digging upward into the rectangular area, she fashioned a sleep platform out of packed snow above ground level. She extended the entrance. Then she covered the triangular opening with show blocks she had removed. Using her hands, she made a ventilation hole in the top of the cave. She had practiced this rudimentary shelter building many times, and many times on the Iditarod trail she had slept in such a snow cave to escape storms. So far, it was just Survival 101."
Will Susan survive? Will someone come to her rescue? Guess you’ll just have to read this novel to learn the answers to these questions and why she was left to die.
David Wolman is the author of Little Boy Lost and Whispers on the Nile. Wolman’s poetry was the inspiration for the musical work, The Long Bright. He reviews theater and classical music. He is an educated, talented writer, and I highly recommend this novel.
Reviewed by Kaye Trout - December 2, 2006
posted by Kaye | 10:14 AM
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