Gabriel McQueen is relieved to make it to his parent's
house for the holidays, right ahead of a big storm. But
when he arrives, Gabriel's father, the local sheriff, sends
him out to check on a town visitor who's been out of
contact since the huge ice storm began brewing.
Gabriel probably wouldn't have minded the task if it hadn't
been Lolly Melton he was checking on. She was in town
getting her family home ready to sell, and he would have
been happy to avoid laying eyes on her. She had irritated
and annoyed him when they were kids, and he'd done the same
to her, dubbing her Lollipop.
But when Gabriel arrives at Lolly's house, his military cop
instincts tell him something is wrong. There are strangers
wandering around downstairs, and they don't look like
friendly visitors. Sneaking in close to look, he sees drugs
on the dining room table. Then he sees Lolly preparing to
climb out of her bedroom window using sheets tied together,
and he knows she's in trouble.
Both of them, in fact, are in trouble because the storm has
hit and there's no way they can drive down the mountain
from Lolly's home. The terror mounts from there, with
Gabriel and Lolly fighting the elements and Lolly's
abductors.
I was disappointed in this Howard book. With her excellent
track record, this book felt shallow and like it was
reaching for a storyline. It was very short for a
hardcover, and things happened so fast that I felt as if
the characters didn't develop well. I just found it hard to
suspend disbelief and enjoy this book.
Gabriel McQueen has only just arrived home on holiday leave
from the service when his county-sheriff father sends him
back out again with new marching orders. A brewing ice
storm, and a distant neighbor who’s fallen out of contact,
have the local lawman concerned. So he enlists Gabriel to
make the long haul to the middle of nowhere, and make sure
Lolly Helton is safe and sound. It’s a trip the younger
McQueen would rather not make given the bitter winter
weather–and the icy conditions that have always existed
between him and Lolly.
But there’s no talking back when your dad is the town’s top
cop. And there’s no turning back when night falls just as
Gabriel arrives–and discovers that the weather outside
isn’t the only thing that’s frightful. Spotting strangers
in Lolly’s home–one of them packing a weapon–is all it
takes to kick Gabriel into combat mode. And his stealth
training is all he needs to extract Lolly from the house
without alerting her captors. But when the escape is
discovered, the heat–and the hunt–are on. And the winter
woods are nowhere to be once the ice storm touches down,
dropping trees, blocking roads, and trapping the fleeing
pair in the freezing dark.
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