"His vehicle skidded on more chunky refreeze. Spinner played with the brakes. Brought it to a stop; killed the motor. Set the hand brake--turned up the collar on his sheepskin coat; opened the door. Wind had picked up. Gusts sliced at a square jaw on his devil-may-care rugged face. Snowflakes dusted his sandy brown hair, clung for a moment, blew gone in the capricious strong up-slope drafts."
Blood and Gold by Hawk MacKinney Wandering Sage Publications
book review by Linda Mae Wolter
Aspen Police Department Criminal Investigation Division Detective David "Spinner" Krespinak's friend Craige Ingram (a former character in two previous mystery series books by MacKinney) slides into the middle of a complicated crime wave when he arrives in Aspen for a ski vacation. Cold-blooded killings permeate the tranquil landscape and Ingram is dragged into the nonstop action. Previously partners in an antiterrorist SEAL unit, Spinner and Ingram had encountered many death-defying escapades. In Blood and Gold, they continue to defy death and luckily have each other's backs. Unpredictable weather, blowing snow, and icy roads are major complications in this story of drugs, sex, and lies.
The setting and the ruthlessness of the crimes would cause any reader to have cold chills even on a hot summer's day. The burning questions: Is there one killer or many? Are the murders connected to drug smuggling, or to sex? Is the pudgy, sweaty dentist involved in more than leering at his very sexy employee? How are the Olympic contender and his wild sex parties involved in the multiplying body parts? The author's short staccato sentences intensify the cold hard facts and the cold-blooded killings. Blood and Gold is a great title for this whodunit situated in Aspen during ski season.