Alone on the Ice by David Roberts

Excellent book. I was wondering why the average rating of this book was under 4*s on Goodreads after I finished it, so I read some of the reasons for the low ratings. I stopped after a few minutes because the people who gave this book a 1* or 2* rating really should stick to reading other genres. Seriously. One 1* rater complained because of all the information about the other teams/explorers that were included in the book. This information added depth to the story!! It added important perspective to what the goal was: to map out Antarctica - the borders, the glaciers, to see what was actually ice-covered land mass vs. islands of rock surrounded by frozen water. This book is an incredible story. It is well-researched and well-written. The author talks about his sources (mainly diaries of the explorers and older books written about these expeditions) and at times why he was skeptical about some of the things published by family members years later over the actual diaries of the men themselves.

Certainly explorers of a "new world" need to be brave and physically strong, but I think the most important characteristic is mental strength. These were not average men. They were exceptionally intelligent, strong both physically and mentally, and were deeply invested in their missions. It's difficult to even imagine the hardships these men endured while attempting to fulfill their innate curiosity about the unexplored regions of our world. Of course their will to survive passes most others. Near starvation, with skin falling off, hair coming out in clumps, no equipment, eating dog meat/organs who had been starving themselves, trying to walk through frigid temperatures, wind, snow for 5-15 miles per day. It truly is incredible.

Douglas Mawson's journey by sledge, using both dogs and manpower, is a story of endurance and tragedy. Mawson was a scientist. He explored the Antarctic to collect samples, data, mapping and discovering that which no other man ever had. What was really interesting to me, as well, is how often Mawson and the numerous other men he traveled with (who kept diaries) downplayed the hardships, both in the weather/wind/ice/snow and the conflicts between men. These men arrived in Antarctica to "over winter" a year before the various expeditions. The first hardship was getting there by ship, which was dangerous in and of itself, and then trying to find a place for the ship to drop anchor to haul all the supplies, men and dogs to shore without the ship crashing into ice or being frozen into the water.

Again, this is an amazing story and I highly recommend it - to those who value the intense research and authenticity of this man's journey, as well as those like Ernest Shackleton, Frank Wild and Robert Falcon Scott (who ended up dying on one of his own quests in the Antarctic).

Phenomenal story.

Wendy's Rating: *****

Midnight in Death

This is a short book (90 pages) that follows Book #7. It takes place between Christmas and New Year's Eve. I am honestly not sure why! Can't Eve and Roarke have their first Christmas together without Eve being involved in a series of murders? This murderer was brought to justice three years previously by Eve and a number of other people (lawyers, a judge, therapist, etc). He was jailed for his crimes, but escaped during a medical transport. He is a serial killer who experimented on how much pain certain people can tolerate before they die. Pretty gruesome stuff. In this short story, Eve is his main target. Unfortunately, he tortures and kills a few people before he gets to Eve.

I don't know how Eve could do her job as effectively without the assistance of Roarke and his ability to bypass security systems, both online and at physical locations. It sure makes Eve's job easier! Ha! His research capability certainly shortens the time when tracking down information. I think they make a good team. In this book, Eve comments that Roarke would make a good cop. I agree. It helps to have a ton of money too.

Peabody is still recovering from her ordeal before Christmas, but she does join Eve on this case. She even travels off-planet with McNab. They have declared a "truce", which is nice. Apparently, I have a difficult time reading about interpersonal conflict, because I was relieved that Peabody & McNab AND Eve & Summerset did not bicker in this story. Roarke was a little more chill as well, especially considering that Eve set herself up as bait to re-catch this killer.

Short & not sweet, considering it involved torture and murder. But entertaining.

Wendy's Rating: ****

Holiday in Death by JD Robb

Book #7 of the series. It's interesting to me that I love reading about the holiday season even in March! Also, these holiday murders are gruesome. The serial killer's "theme" is the Twelve Days of Christmas (the song). Since Eve Dallas was injured in Book #6, she is just returning to work (too early, in everyone's opinion except her own) at the time of the first murder. She takes the case to prove to herself that she can still do the job with the same dedication, intensity, and success rate as before her injury. Unfortunately, this particular case also makes her face her own personal demons from her childhood of incestual abuse at the hands of her father. In other words, Eve Dallas is a mess in this book!

The killer chooses his victims through a dating service called Personally Yours. This is a high-end dating service that includes spa treatments and high-end cosmetic products on site. It's owned and run by a brother/sister team, Rudy & Piper Hoffman. The victims are both female and male, and they don't seem connected in any way except they all have profiles at Personally Yours. This gives Peabody and McNab an opportunity to expand their detective skills by going undercover and setting up their own profiles at Personally Yours. McNab drives Peabody crazy and she doesn't want anything to do with him (and obviously, McNab is crazy for Peabody), so them working together provides for some interesting interactions.

Eve does seem to get caught up at times in trying to get her personal suspect to fit in the "murderer box" even when there is evidence against her thoughts. She is not always able to separate her own personal baggage from the evidence in a case. I was so happy to see her finally admit that by the end of this book. It's very frustrating to me! Ha! I also hate how she runs herself into the ground time and time again. I like that she's feisty and determined, but what good is she to anyone half-dead? Honestly.

With that being said, I get that Eve's life is a journey and she has developed quite an awesome support team. I am looking forward to seeing how she grows as a person (and not just a detective).

Wendy's Rating: ****