Intense action and extreme weather fill the pages of Dead Line, a thriller you feel as much as you read. Marc Cameron has crafted a high-stakes novel that’s chilling in more ways than one.
Deputy US Marshals Arliss Cutter and Lola Teariki are pursuing a dangerous fugitive and his associates across Alaska, with the goal of arresting him and sending him back to Missouri to stand trial for the capital murder of his pregnant wife. Simultaneously, a vicious mob boss hellbent on revenge has sent a team of killers into the frigid Alaskan wilderness to track down and kill the witness – and her former lover – who put her father in prison. Cutter and Teariki are tasked with checking in on the witness, who hasn’t reported in as scheduled. Which they quickly discover is not a breach in protocol, but a deadly serious situation with the man in witness protection at risk of being found and killed. Leading to a race against the clock through ungodly freezing temperatures to stop the hit squad, resulting in an explosion of lethal violence. And if the bullets don’t kill you, exposure to the elements surely will.
Cutter’s manhunting and tactical brilliance are again on display as he thrusts himself and his law enforcement partners into the middle of treacherous operations with the single objective of bringing criminals to justice. But his emotional side is explored more in Dead Line than perhaps any other book in the series due to his emerging romantic relationship with his brother’s widow Mim, as well as having to reconcile his feelings about his long-lost mother who finally returns to his life. It’s this exploration of his emotions and psyche that takes this superhuman hero and gives him a soft, relatable side that connects with the reader.
But make no mistake, the star of this show is the Alaskan weather. Tracking down killers in the middle of the wilderness during winter is hard enough. Try doing it when it’s possibly too cold for an airplane to transport you without the fuel freezing solid midair. Or while riding a snowmobile when the temperature is -72 degrees Fahrenheit. And that’s before the wind chill puts the real feel closer to -130 degrees. Yes, the Alaskan landscape and unimaginably flesh-freezing elements take center stage and impact every action taken by every character.
It's another exciting and bone-chilling adventure in the great Arliss Cutter Series. But maybe read it on a warm, sunny day to take the edge off. Because you will definitely feel the cold in your bones as you immerse yourself in this frosty story.
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