Elderly Pennsylvania State lawyer Albert Gordon dies quietly in his rural home - and is found under a mound of junk that the compulsive hoarder had collected. The Hookstown police get involved when the townsfolk narrowly escape death on cleanup day - a bomb has been planted in the cellar.

Local police detective Cameron has her hands full already with the aftermath of the bombing, when the body of a woman is discovered hidden in a freezer in the cellar. The body that was discovered used to be a porn star named Cherry Pickens, whose unsolved disappearance in the 1980s baffled the FBI. Cameron's boyfriend is local prosecuting attorney Joshua, widowed with five children. Between his kids and her large black and white Maine Coon cat, which draws shrieks of 'Skunk!' when people notice it, their personal life is crowded. Joshua is also executor to the Gordon estate so Cameron feels justified in sharing case information. The dead woman's fingerprints show that her real name was Cheryl Smith, a girl who left Hookstown decades ago after she was implicated in the disappearance of another girl in a bout of jealousy. Why did she return, and why was her body hidden for so long?

The early part of DEAD ON ICE feels hard to get into because there are so many characters. Scenes switch and townsfolk are introduced in large numbers. Only when matters settle down to a straight investigation did I really feel at home in the location. After that the detective work feels genuine and the cold cases which arise are linked to the brooding presence of a grudge. "Loyalties have a way of dissolving over the years," comments an older detective, and the truth will out. The scenes shift from a computer shop to a wealthy winery, a small homestead to a Sunday school class. But more than one grudge is held, and matters quickly turn bad, with a shooting, arson and assaults muddying the waters.

DEAD ON ICE is Lauren Carr's sixth mystery and she has filled it with twists and turns. I did guess the identity of one killer but not another, and mystery fans will be kept busy following the clues and unravelled secrets. Perhaps the most enjoyable character for me is the large cat, Irving; he livens up many scenes and his meeting with an actual skunk dismays his owner. Give this story a try and see if your guess is as good as mine.