Author Alice Henderson packs a wallop with A Blizzard of Polar Bears (William Morrow), the second electrifying thriller in a series that began with A Solitude of Wolverines and features wildlife biologist, environmentalist and female superhero Alex Carter. Her books are fast-paced and non-formulaic with heightened suspense and surprises. They are multi-layered and nuanced yet deliver abundant thrills and sometimes brutal killings in unforgiving, perilous climates. She skillfully blends information about endangered or threatened animal species, environmental concerns such as climate change and the effects of pollution into her exciting plot. A Blizzard of Polar Bears is guaranteed to keep you up late reading.
Alex Carter had an unusual childhood. Her late mother was a combat-trained U.S. Air Force fighter pilot, involved in Special Operations, who died while on a secret mission at an undisclosed location. Her father is a successful landscape artist with a massive field guide collection who has shared his love of the outdoors with his daughter. The family often hiked and camped in the wilderness, and Alex learned bird songs from her dad. Her mother provided her with intensive military-style survival training that went well beyond self-defense. Alex learned to use all types of firearms and weapons and earned a Black Belt in Bruce Lee’s specialty Jeet Kune Do (martial arts designed to use in defense against an attacker in mortal combat).
Since this unique childhood education, Alex has earned a doctorate from UC-Berkeley and become a respected scientist known for her dedication and competency with multiple remote field studies to her credit — including a recent one focused on wolverines during which she narrowly foiled would-be killers. She has also recently ended her engagement to her college sweetheart Brad, whom she’d followed to Boston before realizing they might never have shared the same values. A lawyer at an elite firm, Brad wants an attractive, fashionable partner who would help him climb the corporate ladder, not an outdoorswoman off on jaunts to conduct field studies in the wilderness.
When project funding becomes available and another biologist can no longer complete a time-sensitive and crucial polar bear study in Churchill, Manitoba, Alex receives a dream-of-a-lifetime offer to conduct it. Churchill is a seaport located on Hudson Bay at the confluence of the Churchill River with a population of about 900 year-round residents who dwell in a subarctic climate with frigid winters and cool summers. The only way to reach the village is by sea or air as there are no land routes.
After a brief orientation by her research assistant, Neil, at The Churchill Centre for Artic Studies, Alex is ready to board a helicopter and begin the challenging work of sighting polar bears, then tranquilizing them to take blood samples and perform health assessments. It’s hazardous for both the scientist and the bears. She combines her knowledge of animals and their habitat with the ingenious DIY skills of a MacGyver. Risks are already high when working with polar bears in an unforgiving arctic climate, but poachers and human predators possess savagery more dangerous than any of the area’s marine mammals.
Almost immediately, her research vanishes: blood samples are stolen from the lab and test data wiped from the Centre’s computers. After their helicopter pilot abruptly quits, a new pilot, Casey, is hired, and Alex and Neil depart ahead of storm warnings. Well away from Churchill, there’s a sudden explosion in the chopper, and there is little time to radio a mayday alert before Casey eases them down in a crash landing. Cacophonous sounds alert them to the approach of those prized-for-noise “Harley Davidsons of the tundra” — snowmobiles. Rapid gunfire negates any hope of rescue, and the heart-pumping action sequences of A Blizzard of Polar Bears commence. Blinding snow prevents any search parties from leaving Churchill for a couple of days, and Alex Carter’s survival training is tested in the extreme.
While not advised for cozy mystery readers, A Blizzard of Polar Bears has broad appeal to men and women readers alike. Nevada Barr and Anne Hillerman fans, as well as anyone looking for a strong female action figure, will enjoy this rather violent thriller. It would animate discussion topics in book clubs. One question would be: How many would be willing to work in solitude in the wilderness for long time periods? Henderson has created a franchise-worthy, movie heroine with Alex Carter.
In the days of snowshoes and dog sleds, polar bears were hunted by First Nation and Inuit with respect for subsistence. Every part of the bear was used for food shared with the community, tools made from bones and hides cured for clothing and bedding. These massive, carnivorous animals are 7-8 feet long with mature males weighing up to 1700 pounds. Their skin is black and their fur translucent, shining white reflected off snow and ice. The Churchill population is the largest and most threatened by climate change. Visit polarbearsinternational.org and World Wildlife Fund to learn more.
