It’s springtime in Benedict, Alaska, and with the warmer weather comes an unseasonably somber local tradition...the annual Death Walk. At the end of each brutal winter, citizens gather downtown and then break into groups to search the community for those who might have somehow gotten stuck at home. Beth Rivers sets off with her friend Orin and dog Gus, toward the cabin of an elder resident to check on him. When they reach the cabin, the old man is alive, but not in the best shape. Beth stays with him while Orin hurries to town for help, but it’s not Orin who returns. Gril comes back with shocking news, and it soon becomes clear that Orin has also vanished. When they discover that their friend has been doing some top-secret research, they start to worry he’s been exposed. Beth continues on her own search, for her father, who allegedly is alive in Mexico, but won't return her calls. Still, she's making progress in healing from her own trauma, though can't quite shake the feeling she's being followed.

I love Paige Shelton and was reading her Scottish Bookshop series when this series started. I decided to give it a try and have read all of these and loved them. She does a good job of describing the Alaskan landscape, and she continues to develop the characters introduced in the first book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting my request to read this book. I highly recommend.

I love Paige Shelton‘s books. The Alaskan backdrop and a different way of life, the characters who are so richly developed, and the storyline with bumps and surprises along the way, all draw me back to her Alaskan series. This book does not disappoint and tied up some of the loose ends from the past and yet left room for at least one more book in the series, that I hope will be written soon. This is an engaging and easy read that will keep your attention, whether the book is on the table or in your hands, and provides a getaway to a different landscape and a respite from the troubles of the times. I recommend this book, as I recommended every other book by Shelton that I have read, wholly and with no reservations. Thank you to NetGalley for the advance read copy.

I've enjoyed this cozy mystery series set in Benedict, Alaska featuring Beth Rivers, a successful mystery writer. It's Spring in this fourth installment in the series and time for the annual Death Walk, where residents check in with the local police chief to make sure everyone has made it through the long winter.

Among those failing to check in are Kaye and Warren Miller, a young couple Beth just talked to the day before while walking her dog. The Miller family claims not to know where their son and daughter-in-law have disappeared to. What gives?

The wilds of Alaska are one place people can come to to hide away: from their past; their lies; their crimes. In Beth's case, she escaped from an abductor, a man named Travis Walker who held her captive for three days in his van in Missouri and currently remains at large.

Everyone has secrets, Beth is reminded. Do Kaye and Warren have their own? Beth tends to insert herself into situations whether she's meant to or not. 'People are going to do what people are going to do,' she's told, but she just cannot stop worrying and inquiring minds want to know.

A wild and sometimes dangerous setting, interesting, flawed characters and an exciting plot keep the reader turning pages. I would recommend readers new to the series start with book one as the story builds and relationships develop. Will there be more in the series? We'll see!

I received an arc from the author and publisher via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and opinions expressed are entirely my own.

This is a great page turning mystery set at the end of winter in Benedict Alaska. Two feuding families set the stage for murder and mayhem as the town embarks on its annual death count. There is an interesting mix of characters from the law to the lawless. Each person has a story that provides a different layer to the plot. The story is told from Beth’s perspective and she does a great job of it. She is a writer with a prolific imagination and uses it to help solve the mystery.

Winter's End is the fourth in the Alaska Wild series and one of my favourites so far. After living most of my life in northern Canada the end of winter is certainly something to celebrate. Benedict, Alaska, is the setting in the book and the winter has finally truly come to a close and people are finally emerging after hunkering down for months. However, not everyone does so the Death Walk is designed to check up on people to ensure they're mentally and physically ok. Sometimes people are snowed in.

Beth has relocated to seclusion to escape a stalker/kidnapper, another layer to the multi-layered mystery. Beth and her dog Gus walk with Kaye and her dog Finn and all four get to know each other. Turns out that everyone has secrets, no one is exempt from problems. Beth and Orin join the Death Walk and find Old Al who is barely hanging on. Beth stays and Orin goes off for help...but someone else returns. Not only is Beth looking behind her back but so are others in Benedict. Good friends and neighbours are always important but especially in isolated northern communities (speaking from experience). So when something is amiss everyone is on edge, including the new arrival to town.

The atmosphere and setting are my favourite aspects of the story but what is there not to like about surprises and red herrings? Life isn't all roses and sunshine and this book isn't a fluffy cozy but one with substance which I appreciate. If you are intrigued by a secluded northern setting with claustrophobic elements, this is for you.

My sincere thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with an early digital copy of this wonderful book as well as for introducing me to this stellar series.

Winter's End has a bit of a mystery wrapped in an enigma, hidden in a puzzle type of feel with all the questions that the main character is trying to answer. But there's also answers to ongoing questions in this installment that give it a more fulfilling story than some of the previous books in the series. There's still a lot to learn about the town's residents and their secrets so Beth should be busy in future books as well. The remote setting is engrossing and offers something fresh in that it avoids other common small-town tropes. Great for cozy readers ready to embrace the end of winter isolation feeling.

I haven’t read the previous books in this series but this book seems to stand alone. Beth has been hiding in Alaska for awhile now. She gets caught up in the murder of someone she was friends with.
For some reason I wasn’t a big fan of Beth and I’m not entirely sure why. She just didn’t click with me. I thought the book was just ok
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

When Beth and Orin, her friend, check on an elderly resident who didn’t check in for the town’s annual Death Walk – a way for officials to learn who might be in need of help after a long winter in Alaska – they find him alive but not in good shape. Beth stays with Al, Orin sets off for help, but Orin never returns. Upon getting Al to town to receive medical care, Beth and Gril take up the search for Orin – and for the apparent murderer of a woman Beth was just getting to know.

Book #4 in the Alaska Wild series was even better than the previous three, although I approached it with the fear that it will be the last book in the series. Ms. Shelton’s series don’t usually go more than five or six books, and the word “End” in this title seemed like a clue of some kind. Unless I’m reading things incorrectly, though, because of the way this book ended, it seems there will be at least one more book in the series *whew*

I like the recurring characters in these books and have enjoyed watching Beth slowly regain her trust in other people, but still maintain her independence and resourcefulness. The tiny town in Alaska where *everyone has secrets is described so well, it was easy to picture it in my mind as I read. The idea of a “death walk” seemed macabre at first, but when its purpose was explained in the book, it seemed a logical and good idea.

There were plenty of clues – some real, some red herrings – as to the identity of the murderer, but I was completely wrong about who it was and their motive. I look forward to the next book in this series to see what happens next with Beth, Viola, Gril and the rest.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read to in exchange for an honest review.

This is the fourth book in the Alaskan Wilderness series and I loved it! I am really enjoying the development of the main character Beth and the other regulars from Benedict. I would say this series is a step up from cozy mystery, but not quite thriller status. I can't wait for the next one - this is an author I am becoming so impressed with!

Shelton is a favorite author and this no-so-cozy mystery suspense is a winner in more than one way. The characters are intriguing and complex, Beth is such a damaged, unique character and the secondary characters have become like old friends. Additionally Shelton’s description of Alaska provides so much drama and colorful atmosphere that it is its own character. The plot is satisfyingly twisty and turny and Shelton has a way of tying up just the right threads and yet leaving others hanging to keep me coming back for more. Be sure to check the CWs as this series deals with sensitive subjects. So if you like a suspenseful build-up to an action-packed conclusion that feels like you’re watching your favorite amateur sleuth/police procedural show then this series is for you. This is the fourth book in the Alaska Wild series and I would suggest reading the series in order to get the most out of your experience so be sure to pick up Thin Ice, book one.

I received this eARC thanks to NetGalley & St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books in exchange for an honest review. Publishing dates are subject to change.

Winter's End by Paige Shelton is book #4 in the Alaska Wild series. There's a major feud between two families in Benedict, Alaska, the Millers and the Oliphants. Beth Rivers, who is in Benedict hiding from the stalker/kidnapper who got away, gets involved in mysteries surrounding these families. There are missing persons and a murder. This storyline kept me turning the pages until all the mysteries were solved. I really liked all the action and suspense. This was an exciting read.

I have been following this series from the beginning and this is a great addition to the series. Paige Shelton fans are going to love this book.

I

The winter season is finally coming to an end but it’s just the beginning in more ways than one for Beth and the folks of Benedict Alaska. Set out on the annual “death walk” Beth and Orin find Old Al struggling and in need of a doctor so when Orin leaves to get help and doesn’t return he only adds to the number of missing individuals in town. When members of one of the local feuding families goes missing, naturally the members of other feuding family are suspects but how far will they go to keep their secrets?

Beth is truly making Benedict her home, forming meaningful friendships built on trust, shared experiences and understanding of the hold Alaska has on people. It might be rough but it is peaceful and Beth is finally starting to feel settled and finally received some good news pertaining to her case and her past. Beth’s story is still being written and Alaska is the place for just that and I can’t wait to see where it takes her next.

Thank you @minotaurbooks and @netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

In the fourth book featuring writer in hiding Beth Rivers, spring is coming, and tiny Benedict, Alaska, is preparing for the annual “Death Walk.” When things thaw after winter, the whole community assembles for a head count, and anyone missing is tracked down. On this spring day, the missing includes a very old man who lives alone in a remote cabin, a married couple, and the husband of a woman Beth has been making friends with, Kaye. Beth accompanies her buddy Orin, the town librarian (who also occasionally does some kind of special government ops) to check on the old man. When they find him, he’s OK, but in bad shape, and Beth waits with him while Orin goes for help.

What follows is the kind of leisurely, wild story telling Shelton excels at. There are all kinds of threads to follow here. Beth’s backstory, as readers of this series know, includes escaping a kidnapper who is still at large, and the reason she’s living in Alaska. She’s a well known thriller writer but few in town know her as a writer. There’s Beth’s missing parents; there’s the fact that a new resident has moved into the halfway house where Beth lives (she originally thought it was a hotel, and just stayed on); and then there’s the fact that along with Kaye’s husband, Warren, Kaye herself is also missing.

Shelton does a wonderful job of establishing this far flung community, as well as depicting the beauty and raw power of nature – and the care that must be taken with it and the respect it must be given – while also providing a good story. Al, the old man, comes back down the hill but it’s not Orin who turns up to help get him, it’s the local law. Orin is now also missing.

Kaye, it turns out, was a member of a family feuding with another local family and it seems she has made friends with a member of the other family, something that is absolutely forbidden. As Beth untangles the threads of Kaye’s life, fearing for her friend (with good reason), she is also learning about this vast and lengthy family feud.

Lots of secrets come out in this book, many of them about Beth’s past, but some about other characters in the novel, notably Vi, Beth’s landlady. Beth gets herself into some questionable situations – she’s insatiably curious and also has a way of looking at and understanding a crime scene spatially that gives the cops some reason to ask for her advice. But she also hares off on her own – not an unusual thing in Alaska – and ends up off in the wild by herself (also not unusual), but it gets her into some dicey situations.

These are really enjoyable books. The setting is wonderful, and the characters are rich, well drawn and memorable – I always look forward to spending time with Beth and everyone in Benedict, though Orin, one of my favorites, is absent for much of this outing. The oddball characters that make up the feuding families in question more than make up for Orin’s absence, however, as does Al’s arrival in town. The pacing of the stories is good, with revelations folding out naturally from each other, making the progression of the narrative an organic one. It seems almost like real life, but it’s real life as depicted by a gifted story teller.

This is a great, atmospheric series, and I was happy to get back to Benedict, Alaska. In this series, we catch up with Beth and company as the spring thaw comes to the small town and the annual "death walk" takes place: a gathering where all members of the community get together to ensure they've made it through the winter. When one person is missing, someone Beth was starting to get to know and like, the hunt is on for her--or her killer.

I thought this was a bit slower than the others in the series, though the last quarter of the book really picks up. Also, there is a great deal of personal development with our friends in Benedict so this is one that you don't want to miss. We also get to meet a new character, Chaz, who I really hope comes back to the series. He's Viola's first male "guest" at the halfway house she runs for criminals, a white collar crime sort of guy who is also handsome, charismatic, and a great cook.

I don't want to say more, especially as there is one development that will probably be quite important to the forward trajectory of the story. But another solid entry in an enjoyable series.

Paige Shelton’s ‘Alaska Wild’ series continues to provide intrigue on two levels. First, there’s a murder mystery to solve, and then there’s the detail of frontier-like life in a remote village. For instance, once a year, Benedict holds a Death Walk, a day the town requires all residents to sign in so that anyone missing can be identified and found. Local law enforcement locates the absent residents. One older man in his 90s is found in bad shape and brought into town.

There is a question about one young woman who signs in, but no one sees her. She is found dead, and an autopsy shows she recently gave birth. Complicating matters is the fact that her husband is also missing, and there is no sign of the baby.

Ms. Shelton is a consummate storyteller, and Winter’s End is a fascinating tale about life in Alaska and the characters who inhabit a remote setting.

I’m enjoying this not-so-cozy mystery series! Winter’s End is book 4 in Paige Shelton’s ‘Alaska Wild’ series.

Shelton’s ‘Alaska Wild’ books are definitely a portal to America’s last frontier; she capably captures the essence of Alaskan living. This stunningly beautiful state is not for the faint of heart and you’ll read about the effects of isolation as well as the wildlife and weather dangers such as risk of exposure. Speaking of which, Shelton highlights exposure of a different kind. You’ll need to read to find out! Like the rest of the Benedict, Alaska community, Beth will tell you that the unique beauty and the abundant wildlife more than make up for the cold temperatures. In fact, most of the residents are willing to put up with the above in exchange for the refuge and anonymity.

This book has everything; a flawed protagonist, piles of secrets, missing people, and a community that, although laid-back and down-to-earth, relies on forging solid relationships as a necessity to survival. Just when I think Beth is going to go stir-crazy with the slower pace and the lack of closure on her past, something happens to grab her attention and I am whisked along for the ride. The mysteries are compelling and the author ties some up and leaves others hanging so that we can’t wait for her next book!

I love learning things about new places and the information Shelton shared about Alaska is really interesting. Like Beth, going on a Death Walk, although necessary, is not something I’d ever heard of nor imagined myself doing! I noted the diversity within the community and the respect for long-standing traditions. I loved the quirky recipes, the comradery and the secondary characters as much as I loved the main mystery and solving the murder. As I turned the last page, I surmised that the sun has not set on the Land of the Midnight Sun just yet…I’m certain there’s another sequel in the near future!

Perhaps you’ll be like me and start humming The Black Eyed Peas ‘I Gotta Feeling’ as the tension ramps up and Beth can’t shake the feeling that she’s being followed! Regardless, Shelton has hit a homerun with this series. It’s worth all the stars.

I’m thankful that St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley gifted me this copy with no obligation to provide a review. It was worth my time and effort.

Winter's End is set in a small remote town in Alaska. As a mystery, there are elements of coziness, however, because the town is so small and remote in the wilds of Alaska it felt darker to me. The author has done a wonderful describing the location and depicting the true rural and the occasionally off-the-grid way in which the residents live.

The complex mystery was very interesting to explore. It felt like we learned along with the main character Beth exactly which townspeople she could trust and what they are capable of. The story held my attention all the way through and I felt that the ending was very satisfying. Clearly, there is more to come from this series and I am looking forward to it.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC. This is my honest review.

Winter's end is an Alaskan adventure that deals with the end of a long winter and making sure everyone survived. You'll enjoy getting to see how people cope and help each other. There's a mystery to solve and a life to save.

Alaska Wild #4

This is the fourth book in this series from our beloved mystery writer, Paige Shelton. I really enjoy the Alaska series.

We are back with Beth in Benedict, Alaska. Spring is finally showing up and with it comes the Death Walk. Sounds like something our ancient ancestors participated in. Spooky. It’s an annual tradition that helps the town leaders know who is still alive after the brutal winters. There are usually a few stragglers who need to be rounded up and accounted for but this year Kaye and Warren are missing.

Beth and her dog volunteer to check in on 96-year-old Al. And with Orin along she heads up the mountain. But Orin leaves her to go for help. Only he never returns. Gril does and they manage to get the old guy down to the doctor.

Orin does some secretive work for the government so his leaving for a few days is not out of the ordinary but the timing is odd. At the same time, there is a new guy at the halfway house. Charming and an amazing chef, Chaz isn’t a violent offender. He’s more likely to charm the pants off of you than club you over the head.

Beth still hasn’t made any contact with her father. She’s sure he is in Mexico but he isn’t answering her calls. So now she has to worry about Orin, her father, Kaye, and Warren.

Elijah left his dogs to certain people and Kaye got Finn. She and Beth have gotten to know each other a little bit as they walk the dogs, but Beth has secrets and they may get her killed. The Millers and the Oliphants are feuding neighbors and they are both out for blood, blaming each other.

This series is getting better each time. I enjoy reading about Alaska and Beth is a really good character. She is still feeling like she is being watched and she may feel that way until her attacker is found.

NetGalley/December 6th, 2022 by Minotaur Books

This is the 4th in the Alaska Wild Series. I have really enjoyed this series and this latest didn’t disappoint. I love this series, and it just gets better and better. The characters are realistically written, I love their differences and quirkiness. I enjoy getting to know the characters and their backstory a little more with each successive book. i hope this series continues for a long time.