This is an intriguing story which will have you thinking for many days after....a horrific murder in the frigid north of Canada exposes many other mysteries, including the mysteries that each character may find in themselves and their lives.

The characters are complex and the plot is engaging enough to keep the pages turning. You'll want to find out not only who did it...but what are the secrets that each of the characters is keeping.

I personally found the end a bit of a disappointment, but I'm not sure that I know what a preferable denouement would be....

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So Canadian in its sensibility. Great to read a novel set in the 1860's that doesn't involve the U.S. Civil War - there is more universe out there. Well written, the story slowly evolves, wraps you in the characters, vividly evokes the winter landscape, and develops a tense drama. It illuminates life one hundred fifty years ago in actions described and words used. It does not always have to be graphic, rough sex and shoot em up action. This author can still convey love and tenderness along with violence with descriptive passages and characters. I don't think I want to repost my copy of this book; it is worth a reread.

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This has to be one of my favorite reads, ever. There is a murder, a boy goes missing shortly after, and his mother tracts him down, though the Canadian wilderness in the winter. Very engrossing.

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Beautifully written 2006 Costa Book of the Year Winner. Murder mystery set in fronteirlands of Canada. Recommended read.

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This novel pulls you in and leads you on a journey along with the characters of the book. It is good writing and you want the mystery to be solved. I wanted to learn more about certain characters. It is intentionally left vague in some spots in which the reader gets to fill in the cracks. I admit, I am a romance junkie. Therefore, I must rewrite the ending to satisfy. Not a bad ending, just not the fireworks I like so much.

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Fabulous read. Trappers, Indians, illicit affairs, adventure. wonderful descriptions. A page turner and one to be shared with your favorite readers.

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This is a beautifully written book with a tight plot, well defined characters and two interconnected mysteries solved. It is set in Northern Canada during the winter with the heyday of the Hudson Bay Company as a backdrop.

Day to day life is hard, the wilderness is dangerous, the relationship between the Indians, the Hudson Bay people and the locals is tenuous at best, but they must rely on one another. The descriptions of the life and times are very authentic.

Highly recommended.

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Beautifully written but with an astonishing density, this novel created an incredible sense of atmosphere. I felt the cold, the chill, and the biting wind. I could easily imagine I was in the Northern Territory, watching this strange little town with the strange little occupants, each as isolated as the town of Dove River. And the wolves - such a lovely metaphor for misunderstood humans.

The book's murder felt more like a backdrop than a plot device and now that I've finished, I think that was the intention. Penney's story swept the stark landscape, grabbing all sorts of characters and tiny dramas: the two missing girls from long ago - and the effect they have on the townsfolk; the scandalous woman in the religious community at the far edges of the territory; the older man trying to live down the failures of his past; the young man trying to establish himself in his career despite the harsh disapproval and cajoling of his peers, the teenage son finding out who he is and of what he is capable; and the mother of the missing boy, who struggles to find her place in the world amid an uncertain marriage and a somewhat shady past. Such beautiful stories meshed together.

But the meshed stories are also the downfall of the book; so much is going on that the loose ends fray. The author never ties them off. So much is left unanswered and unresolved. Nevertheless, I'm glad I read this and I'll read more of what Stef Penney writes.

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I normally would have not read this book but it was suggested from my book club. I found it to be very hard to get into at first because it had so many character right in the beginning of the book. Once I got half way through it, it did get more interesting. I did think the author described the characters and the landscape very well. But there were some of the characters that he never told you at the end what happened to them. He just sort of left me hanging on some of them. This book was OK but not one that I would ever read again.

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It is always interesting to read a book that teaches me more about Native American culture and strong character development. I enjoyed it very much.

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