Life and Death in a Ski Town
“Double Black” written by Wendy Clinch.
Minotaur Books — Reviewed by Mark Via
The young heroine of “Double Black,” a murder mystery by Wendy Clinch of Plymouth, had fled Boston and her faithless fiancé to take refuge on the ski slopes of Vermont. In the venerable tradition of the crime fiction genre, Stacey Curtis is a loner at heart, distant from her ambitious parents and long fascinated with the free-spirited existence of the ski bum. Her new life becomes more harrowing than she bargains for, though, when she stumbles upon a dead body in a condo. The grim discovery launches this engaging, fast-paced whodunit, set in the environs of a Green Mountain ski town that will strike a familiar chord with any Vermont reader.
The murder victim is a scion of the wealthy family that owns the Spruce Peak ski resort. Stacey, tending bar at the town watering hole, is in an ideal position to meet the local players and hear the scuttlebutt about the crime. The murdered man’s genteel father and disagreeable, entitled older brother; a homeless veteran; an environmentally conscious ski patroller; the agent of the out-of-state conglomerate set on buying Spruce Peak; these and other colorful personalities are the framework on which the plot is built. Do conflicting interests relating to the future of the resort provide a motive for the murder? Or was the act triggered by forces more basic?
Clinch is the founder of TheSkiDiva.com, an Internet community for women skiers, and her passion for the sport shines through. A dusting of overnight powder, catching the first chair of the morning, and blue skies over untracked snow are the elements of the perfect day on the mountain. Stacey scorns those who would sully the experience: overconfident middle-aged men, reckless college kids, and hypercompetitive parents dragging their kids onto the expert trails. Much of the book’s appeal is in her acerbic, often humorous take on the people around her, central characters and bit players alike.
As a first-time novelist, Clinch acquits herself remarkably well with structure and pacing. She introduces new characters, conveys backstory effectively in dialogue, and allows relationships to deepen. Stacey, at times in alliance with the pragmatic sheriff, chisels away at the mystery. The action accelerates in the last third of the book, and the suspense ratchets up as the key characters converge for the inevitable final reckoning.
Mark Via is a freelance writer in Weston.
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