DISTANT EARLY WARNING

In this mystery series entry, an Alaskan police squad dives into a decades-old homicide case with few clues to go on.

The Alaska Investigation Bureau’s Cold Case Unit often concentrates on “solvables”—cases that could be easily closed, for example, with new DNA tests. However, Annie Brewster wants her team to proactively solve a more difficult case, so they focus on a case from 20 years ago. The corpses of two Indigenous Inupiat men—Bertram Tusroyuk and his cousin Freddy Nanatooluk—were found wrapped in sheets, and an unidentified White man’s body was discovered stuffed inside a mattress. Astonishingly, the investigators back then didn’t consider these to be murders, as the bodies showed no signs of trauma, though the cops did collect some items they found near the mattress as evidence. Annie and the team, including new partner Arturo Felize, have just a few clues, including a mysterious key and what appears to be a partial page of a book. It’s up to them to gather DNA and prints; interview relevant people such as the cop who inspected the original scene; and identify the John Doe. Annie surmises that the cases are murders and that their killer may have murdered others. As in the first installment, Just Politics (2021), Nancy Buell, with Bill Buell, develops an assiduously detailed investigation. Annie picks apart and pieces together evidence until it makes sense; and even when the team has a suspect, she keeps working for the strongest possible case. The authors include spoiler-heavy nods to the earlier novel as well as a separate investigation into missing girls, which stays mostly on the back burner. Alaska, in this book, is shown to be about much more than snow; the narrative unfolds in the spring and summer as Annie passes lush greenery and enjoys breezy walks with her beloved, Fred, and their dog, Bones: “Annie didn’t think about anything but the dog, the green trees, the creek that glistened in the afternoon sun below them, and the amazing mountains in the background.” Despite a gratifying resolution, some plot threads hint at another installment.

A densely plotted, absorbing murder mystery set in a vibrant landscape.