Snow Kill
In the remote backwoods town of Dunston, N.H., EMT Chad Duquette is slowly getting over his wife's death in this so-so whodunit, Eslick's second novel (after Tracked in the Whites). Chad ploughs snow, romances a new lady in his life, sees a shrink when his demons prove too much--and responds to emergency calls, one of which takes him deep into the woods to attend to a hunter with a gunshot wound in the leg. Chad has scarcely patched up the victim, Joseph Rodriguez, when a shot rings out, instantly killing one of the men who led him to the scene, Glenn Chambers. Chad makes it to the hospital with Rodriguez, but Chambers's body disappears, only to turn up elsewhere gutted like a deer. The residents of Dunston fear that the local hunters have suddenly become the hunted. After a schoolgirl addict dies, Chad soon has drug problems of his own: someone plants cocaine in his truck. He has also pocketed the handgun from the scene of the shootings that turns out to be the weapon used to kill Chambers. Now the prime murder suspect, Chad has to go on the run. By any standard, this novel is a less than stellar read, filled with lethargic prose and featuring a hazily defined and unremarkable central character. The solution involves occult worship and generally makes sense, but getting there requires the reader to wade through many pages of hunting and medical detail that, while providing authenticity, contributes very little suspense. (May)Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.