Book of the week

Frozen Summer by Ian Austin (Self-published, $23.99)

Just recently, Christchurch police solved the 24-year-old cold case of the murder of Angela Blackmoore. New information comes to light, a witness steps forward, a member of the public makes a connection and a breakthrough occurs.

Ex-cop Ian Austin takes this crime fiction stalwart and gives it a homely spin, albeit on the other side of the world. In his selfpublished novel, we catch up yet

again with Dan Calder, his detective who emigrated from the UK to New Zealand, like Austin himself.

In this third of Calder’s outings, he returns to the UK. He is haunted by guilt and doubt, worried that he himself was the murderer of drug mule Zoe Summers. Quite why he waited 12 years to return is a little unclear, but the premise of lingering doubt is always a good starting point.

Calder takes his wife, Tara, and newborn son, Bradley, with him. They set out as if on a family holiday. Austin certainly provides much detail about the difficulties of travelling with an infant. We learn

a great deal about motorway service stations en route.

In the UK, Calder reunites with old friends and police colleagues. Together, they access police computers, interview associates of the victim and conduct scene searches. Austin is very familiar with police methods and procedures, which lends the novel real credibility.

As Calder and friends investigate further, they realise there might be more to this than meets the eye. At that point, the crime spirals into a network of drugs and violence.

Austin’s Calder is well rounded. We learn a lot about his domestic

life and his parenting skills. His friends are likewise fleshed out with detail, right down to the colours of carpets, the perfume of a skin moisturiser and the pattern on curtains.

It is in that provision of detail, however, that Austin’s problem lies. It is the key issue affecting all self-published work. The absence of a critical editor’s eye is very apparent.

There is simply far too much detail. Like cholesterol, it clogs the arteries of the novel and impedes the flow.

Right at the end, when a solution is in sight, we are led on a long diversion when the baby falls dangerously ill. It does not help the resolution of the case, diverts tension, and just gets in the way.

Likewise, the family’s drive down the motorway adds nothing to the plot or atmosphere yet we are burdened by more extraneous detail.

An editor would surely have questioned a mother’s decision to leave a newborn baby with friends for several days.

An editor would also have weeded out the errors. These begin on the blurb – not a promising invitation to the novel. A pity, as there is much to enjoy here.

– Steve Walker

Detective Dan Calder is haunted by guilt and doubt, worried that he himself was the murderer of drug mule Zoe Summers.