First, let me admit to being biased. I recently appeared in Alaska as an author at the Left Coast Crime mystery convention that Sue Henry had a major part in arranging. I also had a room at the Anchorage Hilton with a spectacluar view of the genuine Sleeping Lady. My view of that mountain was nada compared to Sue Henry's Alex Jensen novel SLEEPING LADY. Ms. Henry's scenic descriptions are unequaled in contemporary fiction. She also knows her territory--Alaska--well. By reading these Alex Jensen books, one learns what our last frontier is all about and what one needs to do to survive in that rugged land. The plot twisted and turned to the last page, and I felt the mystery was handled excellently. I am enjoying how Ms. Henry's characters are growing with each book. All in all, SLEEPING LADY is a terrific novel. If you've been to Alaska, as I have, you will love it. If you haven't been to Alaska, you will love it even more (and also add that great state to your travel plans). I encourage everyone to read Sue Henry's SLEEPING LADY.

Not only does Sue Henry make the Alaskan landscape come alive, but she puts us right into the mind of a grizzly bear. One winds up rooting for the bear...

This time, Ms. Henry has an ending that I literally did not see coming. Wow.

The gruesome discovery of Norm Lewis' missing plane, after six months under water and ice, is only the beginning of Alex Jensen's problems. Rochelle Lewis insists on "helping" the police, as they try to identify the mysterious woman found in the passenger seat and look for Norm, who wasn't in the plane but hasn't been seen since that fateful day. Poachers, stolen planes, a stubborn pilot looking for her pilot husband, and Aklak the grizzly bear all contribute to a trying wilderness trek, as Alex looks for answers.

In each book, one learns a little more about State Trooper Alex Jensen and musher Jessie Arnold, and soon begins to think of them as close friends, instead of fictional characters. But Alaska is the star here. Whether or not you ever plan to visit, you must read these books. Sue Henry will take you to the real Alaska.

Another fine keeper from a truly talented writer. Enjoy it.

Yes, I was snookered by the ending of this book. Never saw it coming. And I liked the fact that I didnt.

Norm Lewis is missing and a woman is found shot dead in his plane bogged down in water. His wife, Alex Jensen and a few others plod into the wilderness after their plane is grounded in an effort to find Norm and instead, find trouble in several forms.

The opening chapter is marvelous. After being to Alaska and seeing a few grizzlies in the wild, you never want to see any animal become extinct. They work on instinct and have no intention of going after us unless we are in their way.

What a book! An exciting read. The ending is cheating but what the heck! I like to be snookered once in a while...in a good way. On to the next. :D

I can never be critical of a book that transports me to the beauty of Alaska and the Yukon Territory. Sue Henry gives such great visuals through Jessie that I feel like I am in the sled with her. I especially enjoy the detail given to the dogs. Sled dogs are marvelous animals and the relationship between musher and dogs is so well illustrated in these pages. I enjoyed it as much as Murder on the Iditarod Trail.

Sue Henry is back to her best form in this sixth book of the Alaska Mystery Series. Jessie Arnold decides to forego the Iditerod in order to compete in the less famous but more rugged Yukon Quest. Partway through the race, one of the mushers is kidnapped and Jessie is asked to deliver ransom to the kidnappers while she is in the middle of the race. As always, Henry's descriptions make the reader feel the freezing temperatures and stark beauty of the Yukon and the Alaskan wilderness. She also describes well the feelings of the characters who are put in dangerous situations. Henry deals with Jessie's ambivalent feelings about her relationship with Alex Jensen in this book. This is the best in the series since the first novel, Murder on the Iditerod Trail.

I discovered Sue Henry only a few months ago and devoured all her books in a short period of time. I read them in almost one sitting.

Ms. Henry's books concentrate on Alaskan history and an environment few of us can imagine, fabulous characters, and page-turning mystery and excitement. I find that I'm torn between Evelyn Wood-ing it to find out what happens and re-reading passages again and again because of the flow of the words and the descriptive phrases and language.

Jessie Arnold is taking her team on the Yukon Quest this year, instead of the familiar Iditarod. The Yukon Quest is run shortly before the Iditarod and she's decided to try the race from Canada into Fairbanks, Alaska. It's earlier in the year, the trail is rougher and the conditions harsher, but she's eagerly up to the challenge.

Racing, or involved behind-the-scenes, are several friends and acquaintances, legends and loners. It's exciting when you realize that this race, like the Iditarod, honors people who forged this area for the rest of us. A wonderful mix of history and current events, the race gets going and a novice racer is kidnapped and Jessie is singled out by the kidnappers to be the go-between.

Plus, Jessie's got her own personal problems to sort out. Gee, as if running the race for the first time weren't enough to deal with!

I love this book and was truly sorry to get to the end of it. July 5th can't come fast enough for me - that's when Ms. Henry's next book comes out.

Sue Henry knows how to keep a good mystery going without losing her audience. At the same time, she is able to weave true Alaskan scenery and high adventure into the tale while painting a true-to-life canvas of the Northern lifestyle. "Sleeping Lady" keeps the reader guessing up to the very end -- not a boring page from cover to cover. After reading quite a few of Henry's books, it's always a pleasure to know that she continues to surprise and delight with her knowledge and awe of our beautiful 49th state.

I really enjoyed Murder on the Iditerod Trail and have read all of Henry's books since then. I was immensely pleased to find this one featuring Jessie again,rather than her boyfriend Alex. Jessie is a terrific character set in her element of Alaskan mushers and I would love to see more of her. The book starts out very well and then crashes badly when the motivation of the villain is exposed. I don't want to spoil the plot for anyone,but the reason for the entire plot sequence becomes highly unlikely and emotionally unsatisfactory. The independent female lead ends up incompetent. The reader is left yelling "don't go in the cellar with the light off" like in a B horror movie. It was very disappointing and a betrayal of the character to have her mouth words of female independence at the end when she flubbed it in traditional dumb heroine fashion in the previous chapter. I might have forgiven Jessie's actions ( we all have dumb moments) if I had been able t! o accept the plot device that drove the action. When the explanation for the stalking was made I found it totally unlikely. Much like hitting your toe with a hammer and blaming Bob Vila! Sorry Ms. Henry I'll give you one more try but that's it.

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.

Sue Henry's writing is right on mark with descriptions of Alaska, life on the last frontier, and a solid mystery. As an Alaskan, I enjoy the place setting and appreciate Henry's eye for detail. I read the book rather breathlessly - not wanting anything terrible to happen to the lovable character Jessie Arnold and favorite lead dog, Tank. Additionally, the side-story of Jessie and Alaska State Trooper Alex Jenson's love-affair, is intriguing and beleivable.

Regular readers of Sue Henry's books will doubtless want to read Beneath the Ashes, if only to keep up with the activities of the protaganist, Jessie Arnold. But be warned, this is not up to her usual standards. Like earlier books, the best thing about Ashes is the descriptions of Alaska and sled dog racing but, while the description of the process of training young dogs is interesting, on the whole there less of this type of material than usual. In her other books, Henry's typical plot device is "spot the loonie", that is, figure out which of these seemingly normal people is actually a homicidal nut case. She has real problems figuring out how to deal with the situation in this book where the question is: "which of these nut cases is the killer?" As a result, by the time all is revealed you really don't care very much.

Spring is the time of year that Jessie Arnold uses to train her young sled dogs for the coming season. After a long spate of rain, Jessie goes to Oscar's Other Place to unwind with her friends. Later that night the place is burned down and a body found in the ruins. An old friend asks Jessie to shelter her and hide her from an abusive spouse, so she does. This friend, Ann Holman, was suspected of setting a fire that killed two small children ten years before. The arson investigator is sure that Ann is involved in this case also, and will do anything to prove it.

This mystery was very enjoyable. I loved the setting and the main character's unusual occupation, training and racing sled dogs. I missed the Alex Jensen character at first, but soon forgot about him in the excitement of the plot. This is a fastmoving story with lots of twists and turns.

The call from old friend Anne Holman came out of nowhere since kennel owner and dog trainer Jessie Arnold had not heard from her in years. A frantic Anne told Jessie she was coming to Alaska to spend a few days. That night, a fire rages at Oscar's Other Place killing someone.

Upon seeing Anne at the Anchorage Airport, she looks anorexic and so different that Jessie fails to recognize her. The scars and visible bruises inform Jessie that Anne is an abuse victim who apparently is running away from her husband Greg. Soon the fires begin in earnest including Jessie's house with the canine trainer inside. Jessie begins to wonder if Annie is a victim or a culprit causing arson and death.

BENEATH THE ASHES is an exciting Alaskan mystery that focuses on the relationship between Anne and Jessie. The story line grips the reader as the audience wonders whether Anne is a lunatic or the prey of some unknown assailant. Though different from her usual superb Sue Henry mysteries, fans of the series and regional tales will find great joy from this excellent tale.

Harriet Klausner

I didn't find this book nearly as good as the previous books, something was definitely missing. I miss the Alex Jensen mysteries which started the series. Hope she brings him back soon.

This is the latest in the Sue Henry Alaskan Mystery Series. In this one Jessie is finally rebuilding her cabin, which was devastated 2 books ago. She has a group of people who are helping her make this go much quicker than the first one. But, things come to a screeching halt as soon as a dead body is found on her property as part of the excavation. This leads to the mystery of who this person is and how they got there. Then there is also something that is found on the body that might tie the skeleton to another unsolved murder.

As part of this story you will again see some of the characters from the past books. You will feel for Jessie as she and 2 others crash into a glacier (not telling who) and one of them dies. You will also be taken on a wild emotional ride at the climax.

Sue Henry continues to paint a wonderful picture in my mind about this part of Alaska and what things are not taken for granted that the rest of us do. As usual there is just a little bit about sled dog racing in this one. I hope there is more in the next.

I have just recently read this book and found it good. The only problem was i suspected who did it from the start. There was also one other thing that bothered me. In the story it said Becker started talking about the girl he was dating, but in Murder On The Iditarod Trail there was something about the wedding-ring status of Cas and Becker. I don't know if i missed something about if he got divorced or Henry forgot about that. I also do like that someone more permanent in Jessie life though I would have liked to see Alex and Jessie back together. I also would like to see in Alex in her next book like one about things in Idaho.

I must say I am stunned by the reviews here on Amazon. I have read all of Sue Henry's mysteries and consider them competent, quick reads but nothing out of the ordinary. I don't in general recommend them to anyone and Henry never springs to mind as a personal favorite mystery writer. I find her writing a bit clumsy, the plotting and description a bit plodding and boring. In fact, the books inspire skimming.

Yes, I like the characters. Yes, I love the whole idea of dog sled racing and the Alaskan setting. This makes the series worthwhile, the hook which draws me in. But I find the whole series rather hackneyed, to be honest. The glowing joy I am reading startles me. Yes, by all means read these and enjoy the Alaskan setting and mystery, but this isn't phenomenal mystery writing at its finest by any means.

At the same time Dana Stabenow is getting far more lukewarm reviews from readers and I find her infinitely superior in characterization, plotting and style. Stabenow's writing glows and her books are the sort that are hard to put down. They are moving and resonant- evocative and yet full of the bite one wants in a good mystery. They do not read like anyone else's novels, which is more than I can say for Henry. Stabenow has a distinct voice and Henry has a novel setting which is almost a gimmick along the lines of tea shop and cat mysteries.

I have read all Henry's mysteries, I will continue to buy and read them. They are decent enough for what they are- quick, light entertainment but not particularly engaging or profound.
Stabenow on the other hand is not only good mystery reading but good writing- someone who can tell a story clearly and beautifully without resorting to the nonsensical, fireworks tricks so much of Modern Literary Fiction has made so common rendering prize winning modern fiction useless as far as enjoyable reading is concerned.

I recommend Sue Henry's books often. My interest in dog sledding drew me to her novels but I also enjoy her descriptions of Alaska. She does a great job of describing the trip along the Alaskan Highway. My wish to take that very trip was definitely reinforced. But I still rate this book lower than the others I have read. The story was difficult to accept and I found myself disliking Jessie Arnold. I agree with a previous review that she comes across as self centered. But more than any of that, I missed the dogs in this book. I believe Sue Henry writes best when she is telling us about Jessie's love of her dogs and sledding. She portrays Jessie's enthusiasm very well and brings tears to my eyes with descriptions and anecdotes about her dogs. Sue Henry writes for lovers of Alaska, winter and dogs.

After a couple of earlier books which were not up to Sue Henry's usual standards, she provides a strong entry for the Alaskan Mystery series with her book, Dead North. Jessie is distressed by the destruction of her cabin by fire, as described in the previous book, Beneath the Ashes. While waiting for her cabin to be rebuilt, Jessie is living in a tent which lacks many of the comforts of home. Fortunately a friend has purchased a Winnebago and needs someone to drive it to Alaska for him. Jessie agrees to do so and she departs on what she thinks will be an adventure and a good sight-seeing trip. She meets Maxie, a compatible older woman and they strike up a friendship as they travel north through several RV parks. At the same time, Jessie meets Patrick, a young man with a troubled past who is very secretive about his life yet who appeals to the two women for help. They agree to bring him along with them, but trouble seems to follow them, and they begin to debate the wisdom of taking Patrick under their wing. As usual, this book contains wonderful descriptions of the breath-taking Alaskan and Canadian scenery and some pretty suspenseful chase scenes.