Book Review: 26 Below by Kimberley Woodhouse (Alaskan Cyber Hunters #1)

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Darcie and Jason

Cons: Plot was uneven

The Bottom Line:

Attack in the cold

This thriller is uneven

With compelling leads

Can Darcie and Jason Stop a Villain Cold?

I ran across the Alaskan Cyber Hunters series a few months back, and I thought it sounded intriguing, so I put 26 Below, the first, on my to be read pile.  While there were parts I enjoyed, the book also had some flaws.

Darcie Phillips has just been made the Emergency Operations Center Director for Fairbanks, a new initiative from the governor’s office.  In her role, she is supposed to do everything possible to prevent emergencies and be prepared if any do happen.  She’s brought in Jason Myers for his expertise in all things cyber security.

The office is barely up and running before some woman starts to appear in Fairbanks warning of a coming crisis when the temperatures hit 26 below zero.  Since winter is coming, that means Darcie and Jason have to scramble to be ready for it.  But what even is going to happen when the temps drop that low?

I was hoping for a page turning thriller when I picked up this book.  Sadly, that didn’t turn out to be the case.  Instead, we got lots of buildup.  Now, I can appreciate good suspense just as much as the next reader, but this book needed something more to happen sooner.  The few times something did happen, it either was resolved quickly or it was dropped.

Then the temps do drop to 26 below.  Oh, you know it was coming.  The book did pick up at this point.  I’m still not sure the payoff was worth the set up, but I did enjoy it.

Darcie and Jason were interesting main characters, and I enjoyed spending time with them.  They both had some things in their past that they had to confront as well as an increased attraction to each other.  The rest of their team and the other characters are rather thin, however, since the book was really focused on them.

This is a Christian novel.  It’s been years since I read one, and I found it more refreshing than I thought I would.  I even found myself moved to tears at one point, which I definitely wasn’t expecting.

I think part of my surprise with this book was that this was more of a character study than I was expecting.  I was looking for more thrills, but it was more about Darcie and Jason.  And maybe that’s where my expectations weren’t in line with the book I picked up.

Each scene includes the date, time, and temperature.  You know me and timelines.  So you can imagine my surprise when the timelines didn’t quite add up a couple of times despite the author having an easy way to keep track.

But I had to laugh at myself as I was reading.  The temperatures the characters were talking about as being pleasant I consider very cold.  There’s a reason I don’t live up in Alaska.

Will I read more in the series?  I haven’t quite decided yet.  I am curious where the story is going to go.  While it looks like the other two books have different lead characters, this book ended with some things left unresolved.  Yes, the main story is resolved, but there are some other threads to follow, and I’m curious to see where the author would go with them.  Maybe I’d like those other books better knowing what to expect.

While I wish I had enjoyed 26 Below better, I am glad I picked it up.  If you are looking for a bit of a more character driven story with a light thriller, you should consider this book.