Deadfall: An Alaska Mystery

This is my first book that I have read of Sue Henry's. The writing is good, plotting is superb. I will continue to read her books. This book is the first one in a long time that actually got me invovled with the characters. Although this book is not perfect, the writing and story is good enough to always keep you turning the page.

Why does the strong and independent Jessie, who bravely and singularly chases a scary killer through the woods at night, fall apart during critical moments? At one point, Jessie had her pistol, the distraction, a comrade to help her, and the perfect opportunity to shoot her attacker dead. Instead, she spins around and races for the exit with her pistol tucked inside her shirt. She hides in the woods, leaving her unarmed comrade at the mercy of the now-scalded and very angry killer. It infuriated me that she didn't just shoot the SOB when she had the chance.

The perp was...who? Did I miss something? I'm confused about his motives and why he chose his complicated method of terrorizing Jessie.

This book kept me interested up to a point. I love strong female characters, but not when they turn into jellyfish and need a man to come to their rescue. It's insulting. Are all of the Arnold and Jessie books like that? This is my first Henry read. I'll try another because I love the Alaskan setting and writing style, but I already don't like Jessie as a character, not if she continues to turn into rubber when the chips are down just to extend the novel's length.

I enjoyed this book for the suspense - it had plenty. Jessie shines in this one. I was puzzled by the convoluted motives of the bad guy.I guess Sue Henry wanted to make the book as mysterious as possible. I felt the frustration that the main characters had, but went along with the story anyway. I felt strongly agitated when the bad guy went after the dogs. I would give a lot to have a friend like Tank.:) The ending was really a reach but all's well that ends well. Altogether it was a competent and enjoyable read. On to the next.

I have to say that the quality of writing, the setting, action and details in this book were excellent, and the story well put together. I guess I would give it 3 and a half stars really. I haven't read the other books in the series, and this book is prompting me to find the others to read. Dispite the problems with the book, the richly described setting and conflict pulled me in.
The book does something of a "time jump" in which every other chapter is devoted to charachters in seperate places, and are also seperated by a day. I think this was a clumsy, and somewhat confusing way to let readers in on some facts.
Like other readers, I found the motive too far fetched to involve the people it did. Why didn't the perp just go directly to the problem he had?? I would say more but I don't want to give it away. Jessie took some actions which I keept thinking "No! Don't do that!" at her in the final conflict. Also, Jessie's conflict of independance vs. commitment to Alex, was, I felt, an afterthought to the story which soured an otherwise good ending.

In this 5th. book of the series, Alex's girlfriend Jessie is being harrassed and threatened. Alex decides that Jessie needs to go to a remote island where she can be safe and he can find the culprit. There is a lot of suspense in this book, and the usual wonderful descriptions, but there are some flaws which are not evident in Henry's other books. The reason for the harrassment is hard to believe and is too convoluted to ring true. Also, author Henry seems to be changing her mind as to who is the main character in her books. The earlier books in the series are labelled at the Alex Jensen Mystery Series, but now that Jessie is emerging as the main character, they are called the Alaska Mysteries. There also seems to be a lot of ambivalence on Jessie's part as to what is more important--her relationship with Alex or her independence. If you can swallow the improbable ending, the book is still a good read.

Like many of the other reviewers, I've read all of the earlier Sue Henry/Alex Jensen books. I've recommended Murder on the Iditarod Trail and Sleeping Lady to many people. I won't be recommending this book.
With Deadfall, it felt as if Henry was struggling to find a plot and/or meet a deadline. The first half of the book was very ponderously plotted. The pace picks up in the second half. The good news is that it's really hard to guess who the stalker is. (One thing I like about this series is that the "bad guy" is often the last person you'd suspect.) The bad news is that the logic behind the stalker is pretty far fetched -- and if you missed the clue in the early pages, it isn't repeated as they unwind the story at the end.
I'm also enough of a romantic that I'm growing a little impatient with Jesse's ambivalence about making a commitment with Alex. Jesse's "I'm an independent woman" attitude just doesn't quite work for me -- particularly when she's just relied on a group of men to help her. He's a good guy Jesse -- wake up!
Finally, I listened to the unabridged audiotape of the this book which may have lessened my enjoyment of this tale. The narrator (Peiffer) speaks with only a little more emotion than a monotone. Dialogue, in particular, comes across in a painfully stilted voice. This may be a better series to read in printed text.

As always, Sue Henry writes a gripping story. I confess that I don't like stalkers, so I cheated and read the ending before reading the second half of the book. A very good read!

Loved the story. Bigger print would be nice.

Love Sue Henry books.

I have been interested in Alaska ever since going there on a cruise. Love to read any books by Alaska authors and stories about there. This one is very suspensefull. Had me guessing all the way through it. Love the discriptions of the landscape too.