Book Review: The Girl in the Ice

The Girl in the Ice by Robert Bryndza

This is the first in a long-running series that a dear friend recommended, so I’d hoped it would really capitvate me. It’s a rough start. No cliche left unexplored in this police procedural. What at first seems like a simple murder investigation of the daughter of a rich family turns out to be the tip of a deeper, darker mystery involving multiple victims and a sex trafficking ring.

Sort of. That was hinted but not really clarified. But then, not a lot of the motivations in this book made much sense. Why did the killer do it? (just evil, I guess) and why were the other murders covered up? And how were the other murders covered up? If you don’t think too much about how the plot is working, then, scene by scene it works okay, but even a moderately competent book club would tear this plot apart.

I think this book came out ten years ago, so I’ll forgive it some of the well-worn tropes, but man, it was pretty formulaic. Embittered but idealistic detective in a hostile work environment is put on a challenging case by a boss who says he’s doing her a favor so she can overcome the stigma of her recent tragedy. But no one believes her hunch, and hte official line of questioning goes in a completely different direction. The chief even throws her off the case, but of course she plays according to trope and keeps hunting even though she’s not supposed to. Every plot twist hits at exactly the time you’d expect, if you’ve read or seen enough police procedurals. Okay, here’s where she gets attacked by the killer, to let the reader know when she’s getting close. Okay, here’s where she gets vindicated when the main inquiry falls through. Here’s where they arrest the wrong person. Here’s where they find out who the real killer is. Here’s where the real killer gets one more shot at her. Yawn.

I would have forgiven the formulaic plot but the characters also seemed standard-issue. The straight-evil villian whose motivation is “killing is fun.” The boss who’s under pressure from higher up. The cat-loving spinster who doesn’t dress well. And Erika herself seems straight from central casting. She has to out-macho the men to succeed, she’s an idealist who cares too much about the job, she neglects her health and her relationships in the pursuit of justice.

Maybe the series gets stronger as it goes along, but this one is worth missing.



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