Degrees of Separation — Sue Henry

Sue Henry's Jessie Arnold mysteries have been praised for both their beauty ("twice as vivid as Michener's natural Alaska") and suspense ("the twists and turns keep you turning the pages"). Now the champion sled dog racer returns to the trail... only to stumble upon something unexpected across her path.

After months of healing from knee surgery, Jessie Arnold can't wait to train for the Iditarod. Under the loving care of Alaska state trooper Alex Jensen, her convalescence wasn't too bad, but she and her dogs must work hard to qualify. Jessie's first practice run goes smoothly until her sled hits a bump along the trail -- a snow- and ice-shrouded dead body with a gunshot wound. What the kid was doing on a musher's trail without any evidence of a sled and dogs is anyone's guess. And in a chilling moment, Jessie realizes that the case is -- both literally and figuratively -- too close to home.