The Dead of Winter: Amazon.ca: Paula Gosling, Liza Ross: Books

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Books in Canada

Writers often toil on their books for years and for very little financial compensation. Imagination is a capricious creature, and the writing process a snarling leash. Out of respect for these considerations, judging a book as bad seems churlish. Call me churlish, then-Dead of Winter by best-selling author Lisa Appignanesi is a bad book.

Styled as a mystery-did movie star Madeleine kill herself or was she murdered and, if so, by whom?-with philosophical pretensions (exploring the relationship between images and desire), Dead of Winter fails in both intentions. As a mystery, it remains predictable. As an examination of female representations, sexual jealousy, and obsession, it is simplistic and trite.

Pierre Rousseau is the main character, both amateur sleuth and suspect in the case of his estranged wife's death. A lawyer, notary, former journalist, and radical, he is self-centered and pathetic. The others are stock characters who remain unironic stereotypes: Madeleine is the flamboyant and promiscuous actress; her mother is the grande dame; the city detective is cunning and slick; the town sheriff is an incompetent boor; Pierre's friend is a gentle, bearded artist; Madeleine's agent is an elegant and cold Parisienne; and the townspeople are prejudiced busybodies. New characters keep popping up in the plot as conveniences, necessitating lengthy explanations of their connection to Pierre's history.

The diction demonstrates familiarity with a thesaurus but lacks precision. The imagery is strained and overly enamored of the pathetic fallacy. There are overdetermined descriptions of clothing and decor. The thematic analysis is solipsistic, and the plot resolution unrealistic and yet predictable.

The only bits of interest have to do with the Quebec settings. Although she is now settled in London, England, Appignanesi grew up in Montreal and authoritatively delves into the history of the Duplessis and FLQ years and the politics of the separatist movement. The Montreal Massacre is even implicated in Madeleine's death in an intriguing way. This is a fresh context for a mystery and a rich, disturbing background for the theme of men stalking women. It is a shame that this literary potential is largely unrealized. As the novel stands, it is crying for CBC to turn it into a made-for-TV movie, starring Céline Dion as Madeleine. Jennifer Duncan(Books in Canada) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

The town of Blackwater Bay, Mich., the inspired setting for A Few Dying Words, is back. Gold Dagger winner Gosling uses two main characters to hold together this intricate tale of big-time mob doings and small-town dirty laundry: Jess Gibbons, a 30-something home-economics teacher; and stolid Sheriff Matt Gabriel. In the middle of a harsh winter, Jess, a little bored and a little depressed, can't know that when a local fisherman glimpses a corpse floating beneath the ice, events will conspire to give her more excitement than she bargained for. Meanwhile, Matt is mystified by the corpse's identity, and the homecoming queen has been throwing wild parties and may be living a secret life. Jess is still cooking gourmet meals for her five housemates, but the air is charged and everyone is on edge, including Jess's normally placid cats?and it's not just cabin fever. This complicated puzzler, pivoting from cozy sewing circles to talk of mafia hit men and cocaine dens, comes to its brilliantly staged conclusion at the annual ice festival where Gosling dramatizes the point that smooth and shiny surfaces can hide a lot of treachery.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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