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White Heat
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White Heat
Unavailable
White Heat
Audiobook13 hours

White Heat

Written by M.J. McGrath

Narrated by Kate Reading

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

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About this audiobook

On Craig Island, a vast landscape of ice north of the Arctic Circle, three travellers are hunting duck. Among them is expert Inuit hunter and guide, Edie Kiglatuk; a woman born of this harsh, beautiful terrain. The two men are tourists, experiencing Arctic life in the raw, but when one of them is shot dead in mysterious circumstances, Edie finds herself facing the greatest challenge of her life . . .
LanguageEnglish
Release dateJan 1, 2012
ISBN9781407489940
Unavailable
White Heat
Author

M.J. McGrath

M. J. McGrath was born in Essex. As Melanie McGrath she is the author of critically acclaimed, bestselling non-fiction (Silvertown and The Long Exile) and won the John Llewelyn-Rhys/Mail on Sunday award for Best New British and Commonwealth Writer under 35, for her first book Motel Nirvana. She writes for the national press and is a regular broadcaster on radio. Melanie lives and works in London. White Heat is her first novel. http://www.melaniemcgrath.com

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Reviews for White Heat

Rating: 3.4962121704545455 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

132 ratings23 reviews

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  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Far from brilliant writing but fascinating in its descriptions of life in the High Arctic.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    It was just regular day for Edie Kiglatuk, a half-Inuit hunting guide. Things were going well until one of the white men on her team is shot dead in the middle of a blizzard. The only other man on the trip says it wasn't him, but who would risk stalking them out on the land with the weather so threatening?Edie is drawn on a convoluted journey to discover the reason behind this random killing. Is this strange murder related to the unexplained, apparent suicide of her step-son? Edie isn't sure but she is determined to find out.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Good mystery, but incredibly depressing in its realistic depiction of the disappearing Arctic and the disenfranchised natives who live there. Alternatively fascinating as a look into another culture, and just damn sad.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Excellent.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was a nicely complex mystery, set in unique and intriguing surroundings. I also really liked the characters--they came across as real people with complex emotions and motivations. The main character was feisty and strong, yet she had her weaknesses, as well. It was an addictive read (listen) and kept my interest right to the end. A great read!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Edie Kiglatuk is a half-Inuit, half-white, ex-polar bear hunter turned hunting guide who lives in the small settlement of Autisaq at the southern tip of Ellesmere Island, high above the Arctic Circle. Disaster strikes when she takes two men out on a hunting expedition to Craig Island where one of them is shot and dies. The incident is hushed up and called an accident by the tribal elders who don't want anything to hurt the small tourist trade.

    Some time later, her former husband and stepson take out a second party who are seeking the remains of the legendary explorer, Sir James Fairfax. Disaster strikes again and the tribal elders agree once more that it must have been an accident. Edie is unwilling to accept the verdict and starts her own investigation.

    In another, less interesting subplot, we follow the daily life of policeman Derek Palliser, a man who is researching the behavior of lemmings in the hope of publishing a scientific article and being depressed about his lost love Misha.

    I loved the character of Edie, but she's not likable. She's a recovering alchoholic, who is fiercely devoted to her stepson. She watches Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd movies on her DVD player while enjoying her favorite supper of maktaq, which is described as a thick, chewy whale skin underscored with a layer of creamy, slightly sour fat,

    I listened to the audio, narrated by Kate Reading. I preferred this because so many of the words were unpronounceable. When I alternated the book and audio I got a better understanding of the Inuit words. There are many chapters that don'
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I received this book for free from the goodreads first reads program.

    I really enjoyed the setting of this book. An Inuit community in the town of Autisaq, in the Arctic. I felt that I was getting insight into a culture so different from my own. I have always been fascinated by the Artic and the people who live there.

    The story was a little slow moving for me, but the pacing did seem in keeping with the unhurried lifestyle presented in the book. I liked the main character, Edie, and I wanted to see a more romantic relationship develop between her and the policeman Derek. But is seemed like their relationship was a little shallow. The characters all seemed very self reliant and stoic.

    The mystery itself was very convoluted. It involved big oil companies, Russians, scientists, and the historical adventures of Sir James Fairfax. At times it was a little hard for me to follow the logic of why things were happening. The author did make an attempt at giving a scientific background for the events. This also seemed like a cautionary tale, how life in the arctic will make an outsider do desperate things.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    An above average mystery made better by its Arctic setting, and the author's artful weaving of Inuit culture into the story.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Read this for a Mystery Library Book Group. Had a really hard time getting into the story.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A friend asked me today why I liked this book. I think I like exotic locations, cultures, and personality. This novel is a murder mystery set in the far north arctic where the Inuit make a life. The protagonist is an unusual woman of unusual skills and of great character. I look forward to reading more in this series.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The first in a series with Edie Kiglatuk, a spunky Inuit teacher and hunting guide, who tries to find out who killed two guys who claimed to be hunting in the wilds of the Arctic. Of course, there was more to their stories, but in the meantime Edie's beloved step-son becomes embroiled and is a possible suspect. The reader learns a lot about Edie's family and community, and is eager for more in future books.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Interessiert dich die Arktis? Wolltest du schon immer mal wissen, wie es sich bei den Inuits lebt? Und Krimis gegenüber bist du auch nicht abgeneigt? Dann ist dieses Buch praktisch ein Muss :-) !
    Edie, erfahrene Jägerin, verliert einen ihrer Gäste bei einer Exkursion. Alles deutet auf Mord hin, doch die Behördenvertreter zeigen nur wenig Interesse an einer weitergehenden Untersuchung. Die Angelegenheit wird als Jagdunfall zu den Akten gelegt, doch als kurz danach ein weiterer Gast verschwindet, für den Edies Stiefsohn Joe verantwortlich war und Joe sich unmittelbar darauf offenbar das Leben nimmt, ist Edies Jagdinstinkt geweckt. Sie beginnt mit der Suche nach den wahren Hintergründen und Verantwortlichen und bringt sich damit selbst, ohne es zu ahnen, in Lebensgefahr.
    Wer einen reinen Krimi erwartet, womöglich sogar einen Thriller, wird sich bei dieser Lektüre mit großer Wahrscheinlichkeit schwer tun. Denn einen umfangreichen Teil des Buches nehmen die Beschreibungen des arktischen Lebens ein. Mit Edie als zentraler Figur werden die Lebensverhältnisse der Inuits, ihr Umgang untereinander zwischen Freunden, Verwandten und mit den ‚Südlern‘ erklärt. Wie es durch die unterschiedliche Auffassung von Recht und Gerechtigkeit zu Missverständnissen kommt, wie mühevoll versucht wird, sich an die moderne Welt anzupassen ohne die eigene Identität zu verlieren - all dies liest man mit Interesse und auch Spannung, doch wird die eigentliche Krimihandlung dadurch beinahe zum Nebenschauplatz degradiert.
    Deshalb: Wer einen reinen Krimi lesen möchte, sollte lieber ein anderes Buch zur Hand nehmen. Alle anderen erwartet eine spannende und auch informative Lektüre und – jede Wette – wer sich von Mahlzeiten wie Robbenporridge, vergorenem Walrossdarm (igunaq), Blutsuppe und anderen Köstlichkeiten nicht abschrecken lässt, wird sich die Arktis auf die Liste der Länder setzen, die man unbedingt noch besuchen sollte.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is an excellent first book by McGrath. Set in the Canadian Arctic region the main character is Edie Kiglatuk, a hunter and guide living with the traditions of the Inuit culture. This is a story of crime woven with the complexities of culture and of relationships. When a her ex husbands son dies, she sets out to solve the reason behind his death. A crime in the setting of snow, ice, seasons, culture, tradition, and greed. It is a well told tale which had me enthralled throughout. I would recommend this as a good read.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    White Heat is one of the best evocations of place that I have read in a long, long time. I'm fortunate that I decided to read the book in the summer; otherwise, I might have gotten frostbite. McGrath paints a fascinating portrait of the Inuit people high up in the Canadian Arctic: what the typical village is like, the typical home, transportation, medicine, education, Inuit customs and history, and more. All this information blends seamlessly into the story. Some of the information is disturbing, some of it makes good appetite suppressants (I'll never visit the area to sample its cuisine), and all of it is fascinating.Add in an intriguing mystery that has everything to do with the landscape, a remote chapter of its history, and bad guys whose motives are unclear, and you've got two-thirds of an excellent mystery.The final third is the cast, and McGrath has created two very memorable characters in Sergeant Derek Palliser and Edie Kiglatuk. Palliser falls in love with the wrong women and spends a lot of time studying lemmings instead of doing police work, but that doesn't necessarily have a lot to do with how well he does his paying job. This man has depth. What Edie Kiglatuk has goes way beyond mere depth. This woman is an ex-polar bear hunter-- one of the best in the entire area before she began drinking too much. To be a polar bear hunter, you have to be smart, you have to be able to think and react quickly, you have to know your terrain, and you have to be brave. Edie is all of these. She's also an excellent teacher, and I loved the scenes showing how she manages to teach her class of Inuit children how to survive in their own world as well as the world of the white man. If Edie has a flaw, it's her emotional entanglements, and those can and do lead her astray.After reading the digital short story "Edie Kiglatuk's Christmas," I had the feeling that I would really enjoy the series, so I'm very glad I bought the first two books. When I'm ready to risk fictional frostbite once again, I have the second book, The Boy in the Snow, waiting for me.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I found this book to be a good read on several levels...the main one being a fascinating look at the life and culture of the Inuit Indians of northern Canada. I was amazed at the determination of this group of people who not only survive the harshest of weather conditions but also deal with the hazards of society, namely, alcoholism and the problems it creates. On a second level is the mystery which moves the story along, albeit somewhat slowly. The protagonist is a strong willed and intelligent woman named Edie Kiglatuk who has experienced all the negative aspects of life as an Inuk, but once again conquers her demons to succeed in her quest to find justice for her slain stepson. I look forward to more from Ms. McGrath.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Couldn't put it down. Finished in one day. Suspenseful, lots of twists and turns. People who like Dana Stabenow's Kat Shugak series and Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon will love M.J. McGrath and Edie Kiglatuk,
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Love the cover on this one and the descriptive writing was gorgeous. Enjoyed the bits and pieces of Inuit culture that were thrown in. And I just couldn't finish it. I actually read to about 50 pages from the end and walked away from it intending to come back to it later that day. Started a new book and completely forgot about this one and that says it all.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Nothing adds a more compelling atmosphere than a bitterly cold (and deadly) winter setting. M.J. McGrath expertly weaves Inuit history and their unique lifestyle of arctic living into this murder mystery. Edie Kiglatuk is a hunting guide who becomes entangled into the intrigue when one of the tourists in her charge dies during an ice storm. Shortly thereafter, her stepson dies, and the popular belief is that he committed suicide. But Edie is determined to investigate both deaths, even when her leads fly in the face conventional wisdom.Reading this novel gave me a sense of this Inuit foreign culture. Life is very different in the Arctic, from how we raise our children to the foods we eat (just a few differences observed from the novel). The feeling of complete isolation is overwhelming, particularly for Edie, who is even isolated from within her own community.McGrath's writing is certainly entertaining. It is just one reason why I love reading, this window into another world.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Loved all the tidbits about the Inuit culture. Well written book that is more character and setting based than story based, though the story was also interesting. Loved the setting, all the ice and exploration of Arctic scenery and animals.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A compelling, gritty debut mystery set in the frozen tundra of the arctic, on Canada's far northern Ellesmere Island, close to Greenland. I found the descriptions of the rapidly changing, harsh, beautiful location and of the way of life of the rugged, troubled residents to be fascinating; the murder mystery was pretty good. 3.5 stars overall. I've read that the British author, who has previously written nonfiction, is at work on a second mystery featuring the appealing main character, Edie. I anticipate it will be even better. Half-Inuit Arctic guide and hunter Edie Kiglatuk is leading a routine hunting trek with two qalunaat, or whites, when one is shot while she is off making tea for the group. Edie's beloved stepson Joe, in training to be a nurse, comes by snowmobile to help since a blizzard grounds the available planes, but the man dies anyway. Despite their doubts, Edie and Joe acquiesce to the Tribal Council's decision that the death was self-inflicted, a hunting accident. The Council doesn't want one of the only profitable sources of income on the Island, the guiding, to be impacted by suspicious death investigations. Edie decides not to rock the boat, since gaining the patriarchal Council's approval to be a guide was difficult enough despite her enormous skill as a hunter and guide, and she needs the part time guiding jobs to pay for Joe's schooling. But Joe is more doubtful, and when another guiding trip goes wrong, more deaths prompts the fierce and independent Edie to start investigating with the reluctant help of Inuit police sergeant Derek Palliser, who would much rather be researching lemmings. The numerous threads of the plot feature culture clashes between Inuit and whites, past injustices, energy corporations' interests in exploring the Arctic, drug use and the high suicide rate on the Island, Greenland, NASA's presence on the island, and more. Edie and Derek are very believable and sympathetic characters, despite their various personal failings, and their love of their arctic landscape is contagious.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a mystery set in the Arctic tundra. The protagonist is Edie Kiglatuk, a half Inuit half Caucasian guide. Because of her mixed background and because she is a woman she struggles for acceptance in her village. When she is leading a hunting trip with two tourists and one is shot dead she senses that this death was not an accident. Following this event the suicide of her stepson leads her to believe that something is rotten in the small village where she lives. Initially unable to get the interest of the police inspector Derek Palliser, she, using her hunting skills, works to solve these crimes. Edie keeps to the native Inuit beliefs that include an appreciation of nature and the surrounding environment and the place of all creatures living and dead in the circle. Not to give away too much of the plot let me just say we are treated to a tour of the far north, from Arctic Canada to Greenland.This story has an authentic feel to it. The author has included many words from the Inuit language and while they seem almost unpronounceable they do add to the uniqueness of this story. All of the Inuit lifestyle is embedded in the novel. Sustenance living, dependent in the north on hunting, fishing and trapping skills is shown in an interesting way. The absolute place of weather and seasonal changes on the lives of the Inuit’s is integral to this story. Also the descriptions of how the Intuits relate and interact with the white political establishment had a real ring of truth to it. In a place so far from the centers of power the law has only a limited ability to touch people. Inuit culture has a more stabilizing value to the villagers than anything the white man has to offer. I enjoyed this mystery. The mystery part was engaging if in the end a little farfetched but the setting in the far north was very interesting. The characters including Edie and Inspector Palliser were well drawn and very likeable. I’ll look forward to the next entry in this new series
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A glimpse of how modern day demand for minerals affects Eskimo life, the affects it has on the young people who do not want to know about thier traditions, all mixed in with murder and white mans greed.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a book it is impossible to review without using adjectives like riveting, engrossing and thrilling: Inuit guide Edie Kiglatuk lives on Ellesmere Island in the High Arctic, way north of the Arctic Circle and when a hunter under her care is killed she is determined to find out why.The Council of Elders wants to hush the incident up and the nearest police officer, Derek Palliser, is more interested in his lemming research than in crime busting but Edie is not deterred, especially when her beloved stepson Joe commits suicide – or does he? However, the plot is secondary to the examination of the Inuit lifestyle, the rampant alcoholism and lack of education, the changing environment and political corruption and best of all – be warned, this is not for the faint of stomach – their diet which consists of delicacies such as seal blood soup and caribou intestines. A fascinating read.