| Ice Shear, M. P. Cooley’s
debut novel, is very impressive. She moves the plot along
through the dialogue. Action comes from the character’s
words and not from gun shoot-outs or bloody chases. But make
no mistake this police procedural is far from dull and mundane.
The story begins with June Lyons, a former FBI agent, who
is now part of the Hopewell Falls New York police department.
Working the night shift her duties seem limited to driving
drunks home and handling the homeless. This small town in
upstate New York hardly knew what the word murder meant until
June discovers a young woman’s body, the daughter of
a powerful local Congresswoman, impaled on an ice shear in
the frozen Mohawk River. Trying to discover the murderer the
local police finds clues leading to the involvement of a notorious
biker gang and people running a meth lab. This brings in the
FBI where one of the agents, Hale, is an old friend from a
past June would rather forget. To make matters worse, she
is chosen as the liaison between the FBI and local police
since she is a former FBI agent. Cooley skillfully weaves
the storyline between revenge, retribution, greed, corruption,
jealously, turf fights, and power as the search for the murderer
continues.
Cooley commented, “June had grand plans for her life
and now feels she has lost everything: her husband, her career,
and her home. She knows she made the right decision returning
home, but she still feels the loss of her old life. While
June would never describe herself as a hero, I think she is,
showing up for her family, friends, and city while doing the
right thing, day after day. June doesn’t share her thoughts
and feelings with most people. Being in her head, the readers
may know more about her than a lot of her friends and family.
Her family has given the strength and hope to get past her
husband’s death and solve the murder of Danielle Brouillette.
From her father she got a strong sense of duty and a refusal
to give up a case until it is solved. Her daughter gave her
a reason to live and a reason to hope. Even grieving, she
works to make sure her daughter feels safe and loved, and
that includes solving the crimes that could destroy the town
where they live. Law enforcement understands the gravity of
pulling the weapon, and I used that sense of responsibility
in developing the character of June.”
Noting about biker gangs Cooley stated, “I went on
the message boards and talked to bikers. They consider being
in a gang as having freedom and a brotherhood. They believe
they are living their values. I had a bit of luck when a group
of bikers started coming into my favorite coffee shop on Thursday
evenings. They wore full leathers, big Harleys, the whole
deal. I wouldn’t have expected Peet’s to be a
biker hangout, but they sat next to me one day and we started
talking. They called themselves “The Saints and Sinners”,
and were a sober biker gang. A lot of them had been part of
the Bandidos or Hell’s Angels, but decided to leave
when their lives got out of control, and the booze and drugs
became too much. But getting out wasn’t easy. They lost
their friends and family, their whole life, and to exit they
had to be beaten by the entire gang. If they lived through
the beating, they could leave. A lot of what they told me
became the basis of Marty. I actually plan on bringing Marty
back if the series continues.”
But it is also a story of grief as seen through June’s
eyes. She left the Bureau when her husband became gravely
ill, eventually dying. She thinks about him often and leans
on her dad, the retired police chief of Hopewell Falls, to
help raise her young daughter. Although likeable and smart
June keeps to herself putting her personal life on the back
burner because of her unhealed anguish. She is still silently
mourning the death of her husband while trying to raise her
daughter and hold down a fulltime job on the local police
force of the town where she grew up.
Cooley also dealt with grief. “Two years before writing
this book I lost my dad who was someone important to me. I
also lost my career as a book editor. For me, grief is making
peace with the loss, letting go, and making a new life. I
wrote June in a similar path. Marty also suffered grief when
he lost his wife. Yet, whereas Marty gets pulled back into
his past June is able to move forward. Grief had cut me off
from other people, which is similar to June in the beginning
of the book. She is able to get a high from her job but puts
her private life on the back burner.”
Ice Shear has a complex plot with many twists and
turns. This novel is not just a rural thriller but has themes
of power, corruption, and cover-up. Through her well-developed
main character, June, she has created an old fashioned hero,
a detective anyone can identify with and root for. Mystery
readers should look forward to many books in this series that
show the make-up of a true champion that can overcome personal
obstacles while professionally making sure the bad guys never
win.
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