** spoiler alert ** Joe Pickett has arrested Lamar Gardiner deep in the wooded mountains in the middle of a blizzard. He puts Gardiner into the passenger seat and begins the long drive down the mountain. At some point Joe realizes his dog is in the open bed of the truck and sees frozen icicles in her face and fur. He pulls over and puts the dog into the cab. Gardiner takes this opportunity to escape and Joe tries to follow after him in the middle of the worsening blizzard. Joe finally catches up to find Gardiner shot with two arrows pinning his body to the tree and his throat slit. Joe struggles in the deep snow and carries Gardiner’s body back to the truck and off the mountain. Thus begins the story. I am immediately mesmerized by the puzzle how anyone could have been out in the middle of the woods in the middle of an active blizzard and just happens to be at the precise spot where Joe by chance stops his truck and Gardiner runs off into the woods. It appears this will be a great mystery to unravel and I anxiously read page after page... until it becomes clear that is NOT the mystery behind the story but rather an unexplained huge hole in the story which ruined an otherwise enjoyable book for me.