A Blizzard of Polar Bears - Alice Henderson

With winter temperatures here and snow on the ground in my part of the world, Alice Henderson's latest book, A Blizzard of Polar Bears, seemed to be a timely listen.

This latest is the second book in Henderson's Alex Carter series. Carter is a wildlife biologist. Her latest research posting takes her to Hudson Bay in the Canadian Artic to study polar bears. But someone seems bent on derailing her research - missing samples, break-ins, staff quitting and more. Why? 

I liked Alex as a lead character. She's dedicated, clever and a bit of a kick butt protagonist. She needs to be tough as she finds herself in more than one life or death situation. 

I was impressed by the detailed descriptions of Alex's research, methods, climate change and reasons why these studies are so important. It was only on looking at the author's bio that I discovered she is a wildlife researcher herself. The book benefits greatly from this insider knowledge. 

There are two threads to the plot with the first introduced in a prologue and the second in the Alex incidents. I wondered how the two would tie together? Well, they're tied together with lots of action! 

A Blizzard of Polar Bears is a different style of mystery and suspense, but one I quite enjoyed. If you've read Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon series or Randy Wayne White's Doc Ford books, you would enjoy this title. I'm sure there's more in store for Alex.

I chose to listen to A Blizzard of Polar Bears. The narrator was Eva Kaminsky. She's a talented reader that I've enjoyed in the past. Kaminsky's voice has a low, slightly gravelly, yet smooth tone. It's very pleasant to listen to. She enunciates well and easy to understand. The speed of reading is just right. Kaminsky really captures the danger and suspense of the plot with her voice, employing a staccato, clipped, tight voice that easily communicates the tension. She uses different voices for the characters.  Her reading has lots of movement, easily holding the listener's attention. Hear for yourself - listen to an excerpt of A Blizzard of Polar Bears 

(I'm always curious about the collective terms for animals. I had thought polar bears would be blizzard, but instead it is a 'celebration' of polar bears.)