Ice Town by Will Dean

4 Stars from me

There are reports of a missing teenager in Esseberg and as soon as journalist Tuva Moodyson learns that the boy is deaf she rushes to join the search.

Esseberg ‘Ice Town’ is even more isolated than her home town of Gavrik and can only be accessed via a tunnel which is closed overnight… literally meaning that what goes on in Ice Town, stays in Ice Town.

These peculiar little towns that Will Dean creates for his Tuva stories are all really quite fascinating and Ice Town and its inhabitants come alive within the pages of this book.

Being an outsider, Tuva is met with some resistance but her unique approach, dogged persistence and ability to empathise with people mean that she is soon on the inside track – which draws her ever closer to danger. As the death toll rises it becomes clear that everyone in Ice Town is in danger but particularly anyone getting close to the truth.

The tight focus of this story brings out a more vulnerable side of Tuva and there are some personal revelations to be had for her within Ice Town too. These add another dimension to the story and set the scene nicely for some tumultuous times ahead in future books.

I enjoyed the cameo role of previous characters from the Tuva series too, such as the sisters from the woods and their awful handmade creations.

My thanks to Hodder & Staughton, Netgalley and Will Dean for an ARC of Ice Town in return for an honest review. As I often do, I loved it so much I have also pre-ordered a copy for my bookshelf!

Blurb: ONE WAY IN. NO WAY OUT.

‘Deaf teenager goes missing in Esseberg. Mountain rescue are launching a search party but conditions hinder their efforts. The tunnel is being kept open all night as an exception.’

When journalist Tuva Moodyson reads this news alert she knows she must join the search. If this teenager is found, she will be able to communicate with him in a way no one else can.

Esseberg lies on the other side of a mountain tunnel: there is only one way in and one way out. When the tunnel closes at night, the residents are left to fend for themselves. And as more people go missing, it becomes clear that there is a killer among them.

ICE TOWN is an unputdownable new standalone Tuva novel, which will delight existing fans of the series and bring many new readers to it.