The Arctic Fury by Greer MacallisterMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
The book is told in alternating time points as well as alternating viewpoints, yet it remains focused on Virginia Reeve. Virginia was asked to lead an unusual expedition, of all women to the Arctic, in order to see if they could find out what happened to the British Navy men led by John Franklin.
Most of the book is taken by the court proceedings that happen just after Virginia returns to Boston. She is charged with murder of one of the women, Caprice Collins, during the expedition. The prosecution also states she did this on her own, without the funding by Lady Franklin.
The set up for the expedition was mysterious and a bit odd, but in those times women weren’t seen as capable, so perhaps that part could be explained by the unusual nature of the undertaking, only women and led by a woman.
The alternate time lines are mostly between the court and the expedition, with a few exceptions going into Virginia’s past as well. She previously had been a guide leading people on the wagon trail from the east to west.
Personally I found the trial portion a bit tedious in the beginning. I wanted to hear the story of the women exploring, going out on their own. That seemed to be slow in the development of the book. Also, I was under the impression that the different women would have more of a voice as characters in the book, but instead it was focused mainly on Virginia. Somewhere along the way, I gave up my expectations and enjoyed the book more.
Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.
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