description: The Barnes &amp; Noble ReviewElizabeth McGregor has the gift of seamlessly blending past with present, fact with fiction. She performs this feat brilliantly in The Ice Child, a spellbinding tale of triumph and tragedy. Archaeologist Douglas Marshall has long been obsessed with uncovering the fate of the missing crewmen who sailed under the direction of Sir John Franklin 150 years earlier, seeking a Northwest Passage through the Arctic. When Marshall himself disappears during his latest expedition, journalist Jo Harper is assigned to write a story about him. As a result, she becomes enthralled with both the man and the ghosts he's been following.When Marshall is eventually found, he and Jo meet and become lovers. But their plans to marry are cut short by a horrible tragedy that forces Jo to cope, by herself, with an unexpected pregnancy; Marshall's embittered ex-wife; and Marshall's 20-year-old son, John, who blames himself for what has happened. Jo then gives birth to her son, who, at the age of three, is diagnosed with a potentially fatal disease, and whose only hope for survival is a bone marrow transplant from his half brother. But John can't be found, because he has disappeared into the Arctic to follow in his father's footsteps, searching out the fate of the Franklin expedition. McGregor deftly ratchets up the suspense by alternating stories, moving back and forth between this modern-day struggle for survival and an accounting of the Franklin Expedition's ultimate fate (mostly imagined, but constructed from documented facts). McGregor tosses a third tale into this mix as well, by documenting the seemingly random meanderings of a renegade polar bear. But the bear ultimately plays a pivotal role in the story and proves to be every bit as fascinating as any of McGregor's other characters. (Beth Amos)
title: The Ice Child
titlecomplete: The Ice Child
genres: Thriller, Fiction, Contemporary, Canada, Action, Historical, Roman, Historical Fiction, Adult, Audiobook
ratings_count: 580
places: Nunavut
publisher: Recorded Books