A Discovering Diamonds review of: Cries From the Frozen North by Colin Beazley

Amazon UK £2.32 £7.99

Amazon US $3.02

Amazon CA n/a

Mystery

1960s / Present

Iceland, Greenland, Denmark

Based on true events, Colin Beazley has pieced together a novel of the Cold War, of cover-ups, lost nuclear weapons and possible government skulduggery. The action is set in the immediate recent past – 2001/2 – and deals with events that took place at the USAF air base at Thule, Greenland, during the latter part of the 1960s when the threat of nuclear war – and especially one caused 'by accident' – was very relevant.

The way that the main protagonist gets into the story was, for me, a little speculative: the book starts in Iceland with Professor Nathan Trent being knocked down by a car driven by a young woman, Eva, who visits him every day in hospital until he is better, and then offers to put him up. She then introduces Nathan to her father who has a secret to get off his chest and Nathan agrees to look into it – a decision that takes him to Greenland and ultimately to Denmark to meet an investigative journalist who has been studying the situation for years.

However, we have a well written story which explores not only the facts, but also the fragility of Nathan (who has not yet recovered from the death of his wife from cancer a few years before), the strange relationship he has with Eva and, at times, the sheer desolation of that part of Greenland where the initial accident too place.

All in all, not a bad read at all and will appeal to those who like reading about conspiracy theories, Cold War confrontations or simple investigative style novels.

© Richard Tearle

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