Degrees of Separation

Jessie Arnold & Alex Jensen #12

by Sue Henry

After healing from knee surgery, Jessie Arnold can't wait to train for the Iditarod, but she and her dogs must work hard to qualify. Jessie's practice run goes smoothly until her sled hits a bump along the trail—a dead body. What the kid was doing on a musher's trail with no sled or dogs is anyone's guess. And in a chilling moment, Jessie realizes that the case hits close to home…

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Dogs, Audiobook, Cozy, Animals

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Sue Henry is the author of 17 novels in two award-winning Alaska mystery series. Her first book, "Murder on the Iditarod Trail" (1991), was well reviewed and won both the Macavity Awards and Anthony Awards for best first novel, prompting the author to develop a series based on this book's characters, Alaskan state trooper Alex Jensen and Jessie Arnold, a sled dog racer.

In 2005, she started a new mystery series featuring a 63-year-old widow, Maxine McNab, travelling in her Winnebago with a miniature dachshund, Stretch. Maxine had appeared in Dead North (2001) in the first series.

Murder on the Iditarod Trail was filmed for television as The Cold Heart of a Killer (1996) starring Kate Jackson, who bought the rights to the book. Sue Henry lived in Alaska for more than a quarter of a century, and brought history, Alaskan lore, and the majestic beauty of the vast landscape to her mysteries. She also taught writing at the University of Alaska, Anchorage.

Reviews

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay....this book was not my favorite or one of the authors better installments in this series. I would have given this 2 stars, maybe even less, if it weren't about Alaska. But that is my home, and I love it. I love reading about all the places I know and the lifestyle there.

But this was not a well written book. The repetition, alone, was annoying enough to get a low rating. The dialogue was also kind of painful to get through. But I loved how the narrator nailed all the names, because that usually never happens. So 3 stars.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good one. I really like Jessie and Alex and solving cases with them. This was good and I was surprised at the ending.

[Judy · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I wasn't reading this book for the Read the USA Challenge, I would never have finished it. Not only did the plot drag--speaking of dragging, Jessie Arnold and her team of sled dogs ran over a body and dragged it a bit--but there was a lot of going to the same bars, playing pool, throwing darts, feeding and watering dogs, etc. The most aggrevating part of the book was the page and a half sum up with a "there are still a lot of questions, I'll guess we'll figure the rest out later" comment, meaning once the book was over. You know if a motorcycle is tampered with and someone goes off a cliff face-first into a tree, I really want to know what that was all about. The best part of the book were the descriptions of earthquakes in Alaska and stories about the big one in 1964. I don't think that I'm up to reading another Sue Henry book any time soon.

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am saddened by the fact that this is the last of Sue Henry's books. She did not finish her last book as her health failed and she passed away. When I read that I felt as if I had lost a friend.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Degrees of Separation Sue Henry
A Jessie Arnold Mystery
Date Started: 12/17/18 Date Ended: 12/31/18
Review: 3.5☆
Degrees of Separation is currently the last published book in Sue Henry's Jessie Arnold Mystery Series. Cold as Ice was to be the next book but was never published as the writer had health issues. Degrees of Separation didn't quite have the sparkle as her earlier books. Maxie appears near the end of the storyline as if the writer was hoping her new character could help boost the storyline. Besides the earthquakes they were having throughout the storyline, the murder & solving it seemed to drag on. The book left more questions than answers which were probably concluded in Cold as Ice, but the reader will never find out. Not a good way to end the series.

[Scilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

After the first snow of the fall season, Jesse takes her sled dogs for a run on the trails behind her house. She runs over what she discovers is a dead man. She goes home and Alex calls it in and begins trying to solve the case. He quickly finds out it is a local man who rides with the motercycle group. However, no one seems to know who he left the pub with the previous night. Then Alex's partner is run off the road in his truck after his seat belt had been damaged.

With the help of Jesse and her friend Maxie, Alex finally solves the case. The degrees of separation are the number of people you need to talk to to know someone you are looking for. For everyone in Alaska seems to be only a few degrees of separation.

[Bill Vaudrain · Rating 3 out of 5]

First off, I am a fan of Ms. Henry and have read several of her books, enjoying each one. Having spent a good amount of time in Alaska, especially in the Mat-so Valley, I enjoy and feel “at home” reading her books.
But there were too many gratuitous incidents in this book: Becket’s being forced off the road, Sharon Parker’s death and the tampering with her motorcycle that contributed to it.
Even the earthquake just seemed to add some local flavor to the story and provide a way for Parker to plunge to her death.
Maxie felt like excess baggage, and I had the feeling that Ms. Henry might be getting a little tired of Jessie and Alex.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really should write a full review for this one, but since I won’t be posting reviews for every book in this series on booksta for it, I’m not going to.

Quick & simple: I love Jessie & Alex, and this whole series, and I do enjoy this one! I honestly forgot a lot of this one so it was a fun re-read. I loved all the cameos from favorite side characters, especially Maxie! The earthquakes were wild, on top of the murder & investigation happening!

Still, more than a decade later, forever bummed that book 13 was never published and this was an abrupt end to one of my favorite fictional couples!

[Christie Amory · Rating 4 out of 5]

I mostly like this book because I love Alaska. If I didn't love Alaska as much as I do, and want to learn about it, I don't know as though I would've rated this as high. It is a relatively short story and I'd listen to the audio in the car or when I'm cooking so it went quickly. I do like the characters and I'm going to try the other books in the series. It seems like the comments indicate that the earlier stories are better.

[Annette · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book bored me. Having read this author before, I was anticipating a good read. I was sadly disappointed. I was determined to finish the book and I did. The plot was excellent but the way the story was told made it boring. When there was action in the book I couldn't even get excited. I must admit by listening to the audio version it may have been the narrator's fault. I may give this one a second chance but will have to be in a printed version next time.

[Bridgit · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cozy mystery set in Alaska where musher / Iditarod-racer and her policeman husband attempt to solve a murder. With some earthquakes thrown in, because, why not.

No real clues. No read drama. No real tension. Except when you are annoyed at the main character for getting involved in the first place.

No. You should NOT go investigate the crime and stake out potential criminal hideouts. You train dogs for a living. What is wrong with you???

[Tomi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jesse is no longer the strong, confidant character we have come to love. She is letting Alex tell her what to do and Alex is listening more to Maxie (crossover from another series). I mean, Alex wants the old woman Maxie to take care of Jesse. Not liking this one as much as the rest of the series. Too much of an abrupt change in the character's personalities, and not for the better. So far, this is the last book in the series. If there is another one, I hope the characters are better written.

[Mary Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

I agree with the dragging of the story posted previously by many reviewers. Did learn a lot about the earthquakes. Not somewhere I would want to live. Lot of dialog about the feeding of the dogs, weather, food, repeats of some occurrences from previous books. Still like the characters and loved that Maxie showed up. Was not happy about the ending and then never another book, that would explain part of the story in this one! Oh, well, RIP Sue Henry!

[Janelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want to like Sue Henry's books, settings and story lines have so much potential. Dont want to pick apart, suffice to say they just aren't that good, and was expecting to like them. Its like making vegetable soup and leaving out the herbs and spices.. it looks good, you can eat it, but its lacking. This is 2nd book of this author I've read, and have 2 more given to me that I won't read.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved Sue Henry’s books in the beginning. I think she is just tired - the last 2 books I’ve read of hers were just not up to snuff. I understand she has some physical issues which is too bad. Love all the Alaskan history & info.

[Francine Apollo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good mystery. I read it for a book club meeting. Have never read this author before. The best thing is that I discovered a dozen books in the series before this one. I look forward to reading the series from the beginning.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably two and a half rounded up for the time with some favourite characters. This story was too disconnected and too many things happened without explanation, as though the author got bored at the end and wrapped up the things they could do easily.

[Sandy Carmichael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Always enjoy Sue's mysteries and this old brought in an old friend Maxie from the RVing novels, Since I lived in Alaska and am an old woman RVer--all added up to a fun read.

[Carolynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sue Henry’s books are a wealth of descriptors about Alaska scenery and terrain, and also a good mystery story too! Love them!

[Cara W · Rating 5 out of 5]

An entertaining, light read.

I've read another of the series by Sue Henry with the main character Jessie Arnold (had read Termination Dust, book 2 of the series; this one is the last. Don't think crucial to read in order).

Jessie and boyfriend State Trooper Alex Jensen are living a good live in Alaska, outside of Anchorage.

Jessie is a musher; a sled dog musher.

There's an overnight snowfall in late October, and Jessie takes a set of dogs out for a run. The dog team and sled run over a dead man on the trail. Jessie gets Alex, who gets the investigation team including his partner Phil - come and investigate.

The story mainly deals with trying to find the killer. The dead man (Donny) is the youngest son of a family in the next town. Donny's "best friend" is Jeff - who Alex suspects knows more than he's letting on. Alex interviews everyone in the families, friends, people at bars - to try to piece together timing and who might have killed Donny. Jeff's missing girlfriend is somehow part of the answer.

In the meantime, Phil is run off the road and shot at - by a biker. A woman (Sharon) was killed by a sabotaged motorcycle. Alex tries to figure out the connection.

Maxie, a friend of Jessie's, comes to visit and helps Alex and Jessie review the evidence. Maxie suggests that all the events might not be involved with Donny's death.

Find out Jeff had killed Donny cuz Donny and Jeff's girlfriend had taken up with each other.

Phil's assault and Sharon's apparent murder were left hanging. According to the internet, this was the last book in the series.

[Bob Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Farewell

Sorry that this is the last of the series. Wish Henry was able to write more. This book seemed shorter than most. Still enjoyed all the familiar characters.

[A.J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love these "Alaska mysteries!"

[Sheila Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good mystery. Although some things are repetitive, I enjoyed the plot and the characters.

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty exciting! Plot-wise, Jessie Arnold, Alaskan musher, is back in action. It's fall time and she can't quite get the dogs on the snow; but when she does, the sled runs over a dead guy. Investigation by her live in Alaska Trooper ensues. Maxie and her weiner dog show up and they solve the mystery. It's pretty obvious whodunit, 'cause she's missing for half the book and the repetition is glowing. Further, the "degrees of separation" must have been popular slang, 'cause it's used over and over and over. Alaska descriptions of culture and natural beauty abound. Fun read!

[Kelli]

it was a good mystery book.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Degrees of Separation by Sue Henry

Once again, death by human hand strikes the Mat-Su Valley region in Alaska. And once again, musher Jessie Arnold and state trooper Alex Jensen are in the middle of the action – this time (and I don't think I'm providing a major spoiler here), with Homer, AK based retiree Maxie McNabb making a guest appearance.

The basic mystery: Jessie finds a body while on a dog-training run near her house. While trying to resolve this mystery, more people end up dead or injured. Are these unrelated, or as the title of the book implies are there very few Degrees of Separation between the events. From a mystery standpoint, I would rate this one as typical – at best. I was disappointed that I was able to peg the murderer so early into the book, and was quite surprised to find out that I was actually correct in my guess – usually, it turns out the person I suspected ends up exonerated – or a subsequent victim of the real murderer.

Then, there are the earthquakes. There are minor – and not so minor – tremblers that occur throughout the book. It would be an expected, perhaps stereotypical, device to use these natural phenomena as a a major plot device. Surprisingly, however, they are largely not integral to the plot. Part of me wants to congratulate the author for not falling into cliché; perhaps Ms. Henry was intentionally demostrating to us that Alaskans largely take them in stride. The rest of me was disappointed – I felt certain that a building would collapse on the murderer during the climactic reveal, or alternatively that they might use it as cover to flee, or … and I actually felt cheated that the quakes served such a minor role, especially since the cover illustration is devoted to them.

The main mystery was solved. However, a number of plot threads were apparently intentionally left open. If, as in the Colorado Kid, the unresolved nature is the point of the plot, that is understandable. Here, it felt like we simply hit our word count and needed to close off the novel. Perhaps the author was intending to leave them for her next book – if so, we appear destined to remain disappointed – the 13th novel in this series, “Cold as Ice”, was announced 5 or 6 years ago but has never been released. If this is the last book in the series, it is a disappointing conclusion to what has largely been a pleasant 12 book run.)

Rating: 2 1/2 stars, rounded up to 3 (and I confess to being generous out of respect for the author's prior works).

[BCMUnlimited · Rating 4 out of 5]

See the official review: http://www.bookscompletemeunlimited.c...

This book is, of course, about Jessie Arnold. She lives in Alaska and is a dog sled racer and raced in the famous Iditarod race. She is a strong female character in the book. The Iditarod is a tough race and so is Jessie. Jessie can’t wait for winter to set in so she can get back to what she loves and that is racing with her “mutts” as she calls them. The Alaska weather finally cooperated and it snowed enough for her to take the dogs on a small run near her home. All is going well until the dogs and the sled run over a bump in the road. She stops the dogs only to discover that they have run over a dead man. She goes back home to her live in boy-friend, Alex, and tells him about the discovery. Alex is a state trooper. He and Jessie become involved in finding out who the dead man is and why he is on their property. Jessie meets up with an old friend, Maxie, and they try to figure out this mystery. Maxie is also a character in another series of books by Sue Henry. I love how the author merges two series of books together.My only issue is that I got confused trying to keep up with all the different characters in the book. I was trying to tie in all the different people in the book to the murder and I think I got myself confused. The writing is very descriptive. I love how she describes Alaska. I feel that I am actually in Alaska in the towns that Ms. Henry writes about. I feel that I am in the store when an earthquake happens. The reader can become very involved in reading this series of books. I know that I have become involved. It makes me want to visit Alaska and see the Iditarod race in person. I have read several of Sue Henry’s books and I love them. She writes a great mystery without all the gory details. I don’t need to know about all the blood and guts details. I can use my own imagination. She adds a smidge of romance but not all the details, again, I can use my own imagination. If you like the “cozy mystery” type of books…..i highly recommend Sue Henry’s books.

[Homewood Public Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jessie Arnold's knee was better and she was excited about the first snowfall of the year- she could finally take her dogs on a training run with the sled instead of the four wheeler. When she approached the dogs and put some of them in harness they were eager to pull the sled as they had been trained. The trails near Jessie's property had been checked for downed tree limbs and rocks so they used those and were having a good run. Until they ran over something- a body. Jessie notified Alex Jensen immediately and he called in the lab crew and another investigator to examine the crime scene. Soon they identified the shooting victim as Donny Thompson and roped off the area so they could continue sifting through leaves and underbrush for evidence. Later in the week someone shot at Alex's partner, Phil, which ran him off the road and put him in the hospital. A woman biker lost her brakes and flew off the road, losing her life when a tree stopped her. Alex was busy investigating all those incidents, talking to anyone who knew those who seemed to be involved. Since Donny had been shot so close to her home, Jessie wanted to help but Alex didn't want her too involved. Maxie from Homer called saying she would be in the area so Jessie picked her up in Anchorage. Maxie visited for several days during which time she helped Alex gain a different perspective on the investigation and she even had a ride in Jessie's dog sled.
I really enjoyed the way Sue Henry brings in Maxie and Stretch from another series and they fit so well with the characters and story. The story moves along and never lags so that I kept turning pages until the end.

[Alannah Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Sue Henry's writing. Have not read anything bad from her yet. I did like the first few books of the series more than these last few, but I continue to find myself absorbed in the story of dog musher Jessie Arnold, her state trooper companion Alex Jensen, and the world that is unique to the state of Alaska.

In this entry in the series, much is made of the earthquakes that continuously shake Alaska just as much as they do in more celebrated state of California. There is an almost disturbing amount of drinking of alcohol going on. Every beverage consumed by the main characters is either Killian's or Jameson's. Or coffee. Has anybody heard of water?

At any rate, the story is well-written, and the Alaskan scenery is lush and real. I enjoyed the appearance by Maxie and Stretch, from Henry's other series. The ending does leave some weird loose ends. I feel it's realistic if everything isn't necessarily all wrapped up neatly at the end, but this was almost as if the author threw in red herrings during the story that she didn't bother to reconcile and hoped we wouldn't notice.

Overall, this is a good read. And a decent ending to the Jessie Arnold/Alex Jensen mysteries, if indeed the next one never comes to fruition.

[E · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. Sadly, I read two-thirds of this book, hoping it would get better, but when I gave up, I still had the same response that I had after the first five pages: this is boring. I liked Henry's first book, primarily because it was set during the Iditarod, but this book seems totally lackluster both in character and in setting, not to mention plot. And, annoyingly, all of the characters speak exactly the same, usually in complete sentences. It's probably not fair to compare Henry to Dana Stabenow just because they both live and set their mystery books in Alaska, but I couldn't help but keep comparing Henry's books to Stabenow's Kate Shugak series, to the detriment of Henry. One of the Goodreads reviewers said that Henry writes "competently," damning with faint praise, but I think that description is fair and accurate. There are sentences that are comprehensible, followed by additional sentences that are comprehensible, but nothing gripping or engaging about this book.