Will Dean has written another absolute blinder in the Tuva Moodyson thrillers. Tuva is back again and embarks on a trip to report on the disappearance of a deaf boy. The descriptions of how Tuva deals with her own deafness absolutely resonate with me being deaf myself. However Tuva’s disability does not let it stop her. She throws herself into the investigation, which being in a different town to her own throws up its own issues.

Tuva meets some very interesting characters and some fairly unpleasant ones as well.

If you’ve not read any of his books in this series, I would highly recommend.

An interesting murder mystery. A partially deaf reporter investigate the events in a small town above the artic circle only accessible by a tunnel through the mountains. It is winter with little or no daylight. Several atmospheric and tense chapters where you can really feel the extreme cold and isolation. The tension and palpable fear racks up.

Tis the year's midnight, and it is the day's,
Lucy's, who scarce seven hours herself unmasks;
The sun is spent, and now his flasks
Send forth light squibs, no constant rays;
The world's whole sap is sunk...

- John Donne

Two years on from the shocking events that rounded off Book 4 in this series, Bad Apples, Tuva is keeping on keeping on. She fell back into binge drinking, but has come through that with the support a good friend - though she is still not looking after herself very well as we see with her diet. Life in Toytown is though quiet, and perhaps Tuva needs the atmosphere of a major evolving story - so she seizes the chance to drive 20 hours north to cover the search for a missing Deaf teenager in a VERY remote town.

Esseberg is something else, even among the strange locations that Dean has given us so far in this series. Entirely surrounded by mountains, it's accessible only through a single-lane tunnel that is shared between road and rail. One must wait for a time slot to drive through and, once inside, there is no escape when the tunnel shuts down for the night.

This place is then even more isolated, inward looking and suspicious than Gavrik - and Tuva has no standing here, no relationship with the police, and no base to operate from (she's staying at a B&B that doesn't serve breakfast, and that is also the town's tanning salon, popular in the Winter months).

As Tuva goes about her work, against a background of severe cold and short days, trying to establish what has happened to Peter even as bodies begin to turn up, Dean exploits a real vein of the gothic in portraying how this remote community reacts to the tragedy unfolding. Several times Tuva is put in danger - visits to the creepy hotel accessible only by chairlift are especially skin crawling. St Lucy's Day, the shortest day (and the subject of Donne's poem which I've quoted above, because that last line, The world's whole sap is sunk, just seems to me to sum up the atmosphere here) is approaching but the mood is hardly celebratory as the villagers begin to go out only in pairs and the local biker gang patrol the streets as vigilantes.

As ever, it is great to meet Tuva again. This stubborn, lonely and, often, suffering, woman has been through a lot but she still reaches out to help others, whether it's the missing Deaf young man or her neighbour's kid (and at the moving climax of this book we hear of another). Strictly she's our of her own domain and has no business here but she sets about unpicking the threads of life in a small town, allowing us encounters with many interesting characters - whether it's the ex-con ski lift manager, the self-absorbed true crime podcaster, or creepy Eric at the hotel. As ever Tuva has to balance the need to push these people for info, to go further than the police can, with her position as a stranger, an outsider in Ice Town.

The writing here is good - one senses a warmth from Dean for his protagonist - and we learn more about her complicated early life, but while unexpected the details don't come as just dropped in, it all makes sense in the context of the character. Billed as a standalone episode in the series, presumably because it's set "away", this book nevertheless feels fully integrated with what's going before and sets up plotlines and hints for the future.

It's great to this series powering forward so strongly and I am eager to hear more about Tuva Moodyson.

I loved the atmospheric landscape and claustrophobic isolation of the Nordic town Esseberg (or IceTown) accessible only by a single track tunnel that closes at night. This was my introduction to Tuva Moodyson, the deaf journalist who sidelines in being a brilliant detective. Cleverly plotted and engaging and even though this was book 6 of the Tuva series I lapped it up and will be returning to fill in the missing gaps from earlier books. That said this one does still read well as a stand-alone.

3.5 ⭐️
I left reviewing this book for a little while as I was somewhat torn. Obviously I am late to the Tuva Moodyson party, I haven’t read any of the previous books in this series, perhaps if I had I’d have loved this and would have connected with it and the character more. It is very well written, beautifully atmospheric and tension building but I felt a little disappointed when the murderer was revealed, almost as though the ending was rushed. Obviously clues and red herrings are integral to a book but I was left wondering what relevance some events were to the story.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and apologies to the author for not totally loving his hard work

In Ice Town, journalist Tuva Moodyson is thrust into a chilling mystery when a deaf teenager goes missing in the remote town of Esseberg.

The town is so isolated that it can only be accessed through a mountain tunnel that closes each night, trapping its residents inside. Tuva, drawn by her unique ability to communicate with the teen, rushes to join the search, knowing time is of the essence.

As the weather worsens and more people go missing, Tuva realises there is more at play than just a disappearance. When a dead body is discovered, she teams up with Astrid, a fellow journalist, to uncover the truth behind the unsettling events. Together, they dig deep into the town’s eerie secrets and hunt for a killer, all while racing against the clock to find the missing boy.

The atmosphere of Ice Town is suffocatingly tense, with its closed-off tunnel adding an extra layer of claustrophobic terror.

Thank you so much to the author - Will Dean (who I am such a huge fan of!) as well as Alainna at Hodder and Stoughton Books for running this book tour!

Read the full review at The Secret Bookreview.

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!

I am giving this 4 stars as I feel like I need a better understanding of the series to give it 5!

Fantastic as ever, Will Dean writes in a way which is addictive and captivating. His characters are well developed and his ability to se the scene is fantastic!

An atmospheric and compelling read.
I didn’t realise is was book 5 of a series when requesting this, but the subject matter attracted me. I’d didn't discover this until part way through.
It’s a good ‘locked room’ type thriller, a town inaccessible for many hours a day and only via a single track tunnel. And a dead teenager.
With the background of the main character, a journalist, being referred to in the book I think it would be helpful to have read the other books in the series for a full experience.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the SRC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I hadn't realised that there were other books with this character, Tuva, a journalist, as the protagonist, so I read it as a stand alone novel, and it works fine as this. It is very well written and I really felt the oppressiveness of the town of Esseberg and the adversity of the weather, the descriptions were spot on.
Tuva is deaf and she is immediately drawn to the story of a missing deaf teenager in a town many miles north of where she lives. She persuades her editor to allow her to go there and investigate. When she gets there she finds instead of the boy being a victim he is quickly accused of being a criminal as the bodies of other residents of the town are discovered buried in the ice. Tuva perseveres - she wants to tell Peter's story. As events unfold Tuva finds herself unwittingly drawn into the crime herself.
Good plotting, great pace, interesting characters who really feel what is going on, and so much tension.
A very enjoyable read.
With thanks to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for an arc copy in return for an honest review.

Known as ‘the forest author’ due to moving from the UK to live with his family in a log cabin deep in a swampy Swedish forest, among the moose and wild boar, Will Dean has been entertaining readers for several years now with some terrific standalones alongside his superb series starring deaf reporter Tuva Moodyson, a city slicker working for a small newspaper in Gavrik, an isolated town surrounded by an ominous, dense spruce forest.

Dark Pines, Dean’s first Tuva tale, is set for screen adaptation, with deaf actress Rose Ayling-Ellis set to star as the relentless reporter uncovering secrets and solving crimes. But before then we can all enjoy Ice Town, a sixth instalment that takes Tuva out of her usual haunts, a page-whirring ‘Scandi Noir’ and a ‘locked town’ mystery, if you will.

In Ice Town, Tuva is drawn to Esseberg, a mountain village cut off each night when its access tunnel is closed, after an alert goes out that a deaf teenager goes missing. Tuva understands how dangerous being lost in the wilds could be for someone who can’t hear searchers calling for them. Then more people vanish. A body is found. Is the deaf teen a victim or a killer? Esseberg may be even creepier than Gavrik. Dean delivers a fabulous, highly engaging mystery that is as chilling as its hypothermia-inducing climate.

[This review was first written for Good Reading magazine in Australia, to be published in an upcoming issue]

For me this was just about average.
I have been very invested in this story whilst never having read any previous in this series.

I felt there was a lot in this book that drew me in, the setting and atmosphere was great and lured me into the lives of each individual on the mountain. I spent pages learning about circumstances and situations which had little relevance to what the story came down to. I was so disappointed with the ending and felt there was a lot left unsaid.

The depth of the story was not justified with the ending leaving me feeling short changed.

Im a huge fan and absolutely loved The last passenger. However this may now be my favourite will Dean read.
Unusual premise, tight plotline and an utterly readable format it held me captive, fully invested snd engaged from start to finish . I highly recommend this one!

This is the first book I have read by this author and although it’s the sixth book in a series it can be read as a stand alone story.
It’s very atmospheric and chilly. A search is on for a deaf teenager lost in the mountain and a killer at large.
An enjoyable read.
Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Ice Town - Will Dean

A novel of two halves I think!

Being a fan of Will’s work, I was really looking forward to getting into this - as the premise promised quite a lot.

A remote icy town accessible only through a tunnel through a mountain - and developments a plenty with some mysterious bodies being found.

Sadly for me, the first half of the book didn’t seem to rocket along like some of Will’s other books - so I did personally find it a little lacking in pace.

However, having said that, I found the second half so much better and engaging - and the story was brought to a satisfyingly dramatic conclusion.

So definitely a tale of two halves with the latter half being a corker!

Read all the Will Dean books with Tuva as the main character and the latest one is as good as the previous ones. Strange location through a mountain…. A hotel at the top of it… a wide range of local characters and murder…. All add to another page turned.
Read the series and read this one!

Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC of this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed both the setting and the plot of this book. The concept of a town with only one access point which cannot always be trusted had me hooked from the get go.

At first I found it difficult to connect with the main character, Tuva, however I think this may be because I haven’t read the previous books in the series. The references to prior events and characters made it clear that this book is a part of a series, but at no point did it feel as though I had to have read those to appreciate this. By the end of the book I did feel connected to Tuva and now I am eager to read the rest!

The plot involving a cold blooded killer on the loose was enhanced by the constant inclusion of the danger of the literal cold. The setting was described fantastically and the knowledge that the killer was one of many dangers in this part of the world was conveyed very smoothly.

I did find the book quite slow in terms of plot continuation, and a couple of events now appear irrelevant or left as loose ends, which is why I have dropped a star. Overall, however, this doesn’t take away from the fact that this was a very enjoyable read.

I would be intrigued to see if I view this book differently once I’ve read the rest of the series, but for now I look forward to reading more by this author!

Will Dean has written another atmospherically chilling novel that raised my anxiety levels once again. I don't know why I punish myself! I am so claustrophobic I will not go in a lift and even having the duvet over my head will cause a mild panic, but the writing is just so good I can't help myself.
I didn't realise when I picked up this book that it is number 6 in the Tuva Moodyson Mystery series and although I haven't read any previous books in this series it can be read as a standalone without presenting any problems. After finishing it I went straight to Amazon to get the back catalogue.
Fantastic book and highly recommended!

How wonderful to be back with one of my favourite characters in a read the brilliant Tuva Moodyson. This was a pure genius of a story as apart from the search for pepper spray killer we also learn so much about Tuva and I loved that. The book is mainly set in the very insular Ice Town that every evening is cutoff from civilisation by a tunnel that is only opened the following morning and this was such a claustrophobic setting it raised the level of creepiness sky high!
I really thought that in the book we got to the heart of Tuva and her ability to deal with the grief of losing someone close to her and I really applaud Will Deans ability to do that so very well.
The hunt for a killer was excellent and had me fooled completely and with a fabulous ending that broke me into little pieces then put me together again albeit sobbing my heart out this was a read that deserves more than the 5 stars I can give it.
So please don’t miss this one it’s a joy of a read and highly recommended.
My thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Another good thriller from Will Dean. As usual Wills writing transports you to the heart of the action, this time in snowy Sweden. Tuva a journalist jumps at the chance to cover an ongoing story where a deaf boy has gone missing in the remote mountains of Esseberg aka Ice Town. This is in the vast wilderness with a tunnel to enter and exit which is often closed off at times. You really felt the claustrophobic elements when reading this and the writing was spot on. When more and more people are discovered dead its a race against time to try and find the killer. I enjoyed this book and will be recommending