Bones Under the Ice

Jhonni Laurent is the first female sheriff in her rural Indiana town of Field’s Crossing and its surrounding quad-county area. She tries to be more community oriented than her predecessor, showing up at the first day of school to greet parents and students, for example, and avoiding all efforts at improper influence. Her work is a hit with locals but isn’t appreciated by a colleague whom she beat in the race for the job. Or his nasty buddy at the local newspaper, who’s doing all he can to get Jhonni out of the political picture. She doesn’t need the first local murder in…ever?…to happen on her watch, but when teenager Stephanie Gattison is found frozen in a snowbank, it looks like foul play. The body is barely thawed before another victim is found, this time an ice fisher who’s found frozen to the lake surface. Fans of Emily Littlejohn’s Detective Gemma Monroe and Tony and Anne Hillerman’s police officer Bernadette Manualito will enjoy making the acquaintance of this steadfast, likable, and capable sheriff, while those who love a small-town atmosphere, with its closeness as well as its backbiting, will feel right at home here. A debut author to watch.