Girl in Ice

(Hardback)

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New York Times Editors Choice * Los Angeles Times Best Crime Novels of Winter 2022 * Readers Digest Best Fiction Books of 2022

From the author of The River at Night and Into the Jungle comes a harrowing new thriller set in the unforgiving landscape of the Arctic Circle, as a brilliant linguist struggling to understand the apparent suicide of her twin brother ventures hundreds of miles north to try to communicate with a young girl who has been thawed from the ice alive.

Valerie Val Chesterfield is a linguist trained in the most esoteric of disciplines: dead Nordic languages. Despite her successful career, she leads a sheltered life and languishes in the shadow of her twin brother, Andy, an accomplished climate scientist stationed on a remote island off Greenlands barren coast. But Andy is gone: a victim of suicide, having willfully ventured unprotected into 50 degree below zero weather. Val is inconsolableand disbelieving. She suspects foul play.

When Wyatt, Andys fellow researcher in the Arctic, discovers a scientific impossibilitya young girl frozen in the ice who thaws out alive, speaking a language no one understandsVal is his first call. Will she travel to the frozen North to meet this girl, and try to comprehend what she is so passionately trying to communicate Under the auspices of helping Wyatt interpret the girls speech, Val musters every ounce of her courage and journeys to the Artic to solve the mystery of her brothers death.

The moment she steps off the plane, her fear threatens to overwhelm her. The landscape is fierce, and Wyatt, brilliant but difficult, is an enigma. But the girl is special, and Vals connection with her is profound. Only something is terribly wrong; the child is sick, maybe dying, and the key to saving her lies in discovering the truth about Wyatts research. Can his data be trusted And does it have anything to do with how and why Vals brother died With time running out, Val embarks on an incredible frozen odysseyled by the unlikeliest of guidesto rescue the new family she has found in the most unexpected of places.

Reviews

"In Ferenciks supple, dazzling novel, Val Chesterfield, a Massachusetts-based linguist with a passion for dead Nordic tongues, tumbles into a perilous Arctic maze that wends back and forth to her own troubled psyche...As the pieces click together, she finds herself at the edge of a menacing Arctic twilight, yearning for connection and her comfort zone: 'I felt safest in my office, alone with my books, charts, runic symbols, and scraps of old text; and when I deciphered a chunk of languageeven a word!a thrill of understanding juddered up my spine. The distance between me and another human being, just for that moment, was erased.'" Oprah Daily
Girl in Iceis a lot of things: a psychological suspense novel, a linguistic thriller and a scientific puzzle . . . Ferencik describes the Arctic topography with a poets awe, and some of her set-piecesthe procession of a huge herd of caribou, an Arctic dive gone badly awryare breathtaking... Asingular sensation.Wall Street Journal

"Hauntingly beautiful...Girl In Iceuses the subtleties of translation to draw us into different worlds and ways of thinking."Sarah Lyall,New York Times Book Review

"Known forimmersing herself in challenging environments, Ferencik infuses every page with herresearch in the fjords of Greenland (where the Inuktun word for climate change translates to 'a friend acting strangely'). That plus a writers eye for the telling detail have produced some of the most original thriller writing about Arctic environments since Peter Hegs 1993 novelSmillas Sense of Snow.As science-driven thriller and probing exploration of fear, language and family bonds,Girl in Icewill not be easily forgotten."Los Angeles Times, "7 Best Crime Novels of Winter 2022"

An excellent, thrilling mystery . . . With its fascinating science and compelling characters (one or more of whom may be a murderer),Girl in Icedemands to be read in one sitting.BookPage(starredreview)

Exemplary...Trenchant details about catastrophic climate change bolster a creative plot featuring authentic characters... Ferencik outdoes Michael Crichton in the convincing way she mixes emotion and science.Publishers Weekly(starred review)

The story evokes a palpable sense of foreboding and becomes increasingly ominous as it highlights the power of natureand of human emotion. Original, intense, powerful, disturbing, and utterly mesmerising, this one, which evokes Peter Heg'sSmilla's Sense of Snow, will stay with readers long after theyve finished the book.Booklist(starred review)

"Kayaking between icebergs, Ferencik is fascinated by survival stories."The Boston Globe

"This literary speculative fiction thriller not only tackles issues of language and first-contact colonialism, as well as climate change and what were doing to the planet, but also what it means to overcome your greatest fears in order to do the right thing... The mysteries are many-layered and intriguing ."Criminal Element

Girl In Iceis a novel of secrets. It is also an allegory for what human beings are doing to the natural world and the terrifying possibility that Mother Nature might one day strike back in unpredictable ways. All in all, this is a memorable and literally chilling read.BookReporter

An inherently fascinating and deftly crafted novel by an author with a remarkable flair for imaginative, compelling, and narrative driven storytelling,Girl in Iceby Erica Ferencik will prove to be an immediately popular and enduringly prized addition to community library contemporary Mystery/Suspense collections.Midwest Book Review

Whether I was desperate to solve a mystery, marveling at a beautifully described part of the northern scenery, or absorbing some fascinating tidbit of knowledge, this book held me rapt from start to end. Already one of my favorite books of next year, Ill be thinking about this one for a while. Fiona Cook, Mystery and Suspense magazine

I knew little about linguistics or the Arctic until I read Erica Ferencik's fascinating book. Her style is fast, impossible to put down, and the landscape is beautifully written. This is my first Ferencik book; it will not be the last.Connie L. Eaton, Three Sisters Books & Gifts, Indie Next citation

Mysterious, anxiety-inducing and with a touch of magic, Girl in Ice is a wonderfully unique thriller thats literally bone chilling. Erica Ferencik has delivered a nerve-wracking thriller that will have you shivering on the edge of your seat. Steve Netter, Best Thriller Books

"This dark, suspenseful, visceral thriller combines the pressing issue of our timehuman destruction of the environmentwith a gripping and beautifully written mystery set in the frigid far reaches of the Arctic Circle. Unflinching, devastating but ultimately hopeful, Girl in Icegrabbed me and didnt let me go until the very last page."A. J. Banner, #1 Amazon, USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestselling author

With its jaw-dropping premise, unique locale, and great emotional depth, Ferenciks latest adventure thriller is riveting from the first page to the last.Robyn Harding, bestselling author of The Perfect Family

Uniquely imagined in a spectacularly unforgettable setting that simultaneously filled me with wondrous awe and absolute terror. I couldnt turn the pages fast enough.Lisa Genova, New York Times bestselling author of Still Alice and Remember

Ferenciks beautifully written suspense chiller held me in its icy grip and wouldnt let go. Meticulously researched, rich in scientific detail and Inuit folklore, this moving human story is one you wont soon forget. Catherine Burns, author of The Visitors

This fiercely intelligent thriller delivers an ice-cold shot of adrenaline. Erica Ferencik takes the reader on an unforgettable ride through the Arctic where the menace of the starkly beautiful landscape is matched by that of the human psyche. Lexie Elliott, author of The French Girl, The Missing YearsandHow to Kill Your Best Friend

"This gorgeous, captivating thriller sets a dangerous, precious environmentagainstan inner landscape of grief and longing. Moving, provocative, and breathlessly entertaining, this journey lingers long after the last page is turned."Kassandra Montag, author ofAfter the Flood

An arctic location, a dead language, and a mysterious girl: the combination of these three things made Girl in Ice a must-read for me. Ferencik's descriptions are so powerful I feel as if I've experienced the frigid, uncanny dreamscape of Greenland. I was in Val's head, seeing the wonders and terrors through her eyes, fully attuned to her introverted existence. This haunting tale of love and obsession is peppered with lines so beautiful and profound that sometimes I had to stop and catch my breath. Zoje Stage, USA Today and internationally bestselling author ofBaby TeethandGetaway

"A propulsive, utterly unforgettable, jaw-dropping thriller. The Patriot-Ledger

"One of those rare thrillers that stays with you long after you've finished it, in large part because of a blisteringly original premise.As much a psychological thriller as a survival tale, Girl on Iceresonates on multiple levels, establishing a unique template that makes it a great read." Providence Journal

Author Bio

Erica Ferencikis the award-winning author of the acclaimed thrillersThe River at Night,Into the Jungle, andGirl in Ice, whichThe New York Times Book Reviewdeclared hauntingly beautiful. Find out more on her website EricaFerencik.com and follow her on Twitter @EricaFerencik.