Stone Cross by Marc Cameron

I’ve now reviewed all four of  Marc Cameron’s Arliss Cutter series, but I read this one out of sequence, Stone Cross being the second of the four books. I’ve raved about the other three, and this one gets the same reaction from me. It’s a great adventure in Alaska with Cutter and his US Marshall partner, Deputy Lola Teariki. In this case, they were both called to escort a judge to the interior of the state because his life had been threatened. Neither Marshall, Arliss and Lola, nor the judge, US District Judge J. Anthony Markham, are happy about the assignment. But, upon their arrival in Stone Cross, the Marshalls learn of a murder and some missing persons, and while their primary assignment is securing the safety of the judge, they also need to get to the bush in order to deal with the murder.

 

This is really the first book I’ve read that captures what life is like in the very rural parts of Alaska, “the bush.” As with all Alaska stories, the weather plays a predominant part in the proceedings. Birdie Pingayak is the principal of the Stone Cross K-12 school, a native Eskimo/Inuit, and she plays a significant role in the story. After all the characters struggle through horrible weather, the book concludes with a great dogsled chase through the worst blizzard that you can imagine. I was pulled into that event and was glued to every detail. 

 

This book lands in my “wow” category (I just made that up), and I give it my maximum recommendation. I advise you to read these novels in the intended order so you can appreciate the character development and necessary background on what brought these people to Alaska.

 

WCD