A Cold White Fear

In the seventh book in Harlick’s Meg Harris series, Meg is alone with 12-year-old Adjidamo, aka Jid, an Algonquin boy she befriended in an earlier book who is currently staying with her, and puppy Shoni in her remote cottage in western Quebec while her Algonquin husband, Eric, is in Regina (Meg herself is white). In the midst of a blizzard, her Christmas preparations are interrupted by the arrival of two men. One is badly injured and says he knows her late great-aunt, so reluctantly, she lets them in. Her skepticism about their car accident turns to terror when she discovers that they are escaped convicts: the first, a white man known as the Professor, is covered with snake tattoos, and the second, Larry, is a diminutive Algonquin man. Meg’s attempt to send Jid to get help is thwarted when he is stopped and brought back to the cottage by a psychopathic third member of the gang, Slobo, on his way to meet the others. Forced to feed and attend to the men, Meg is sure they will not leave her and Jid alive. Harlick (Arctic Blue Death) skillfully builds tension, as Meg and Jid attempt to escape, and dread about what will happen when the snowstorm abates and the last gang member arrives. The author respectfully crosses intercultural boundaries in the story and portrays fully formed Algonquin characters alongside their non-Algonquin counterparts. [em](Dec.) [/em]