Double Black

by Wendy Clinch

Book Overview

First in a very cool (literally) skiing series that introduces a sleuth who has ditched grad school, along with her cheating fianc?e, to become a ski bum Twenty-something Stacey Curtis is living the life she's always dreamed aboutuntil she finds a dead body in the ski chalet. And after her new landlord turns out to be the local sheriff, her life contains a whole lot more suspense than she bargained for. Populated with quirky characters, loaded with...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312593260
• ISBN13: 9780312593261
• Release Date: January 2010
• Publisher: Minotaur Books
• Length: 306 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.7" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Rookie Writer Belts A Winner

Baseball players seldom hit a home run in their first at bat in the big leagues. Same with authors, but Wendy Clinch hit one out of the park in her first at bat in the mystery writers' league. Double Black is a very enjoyable reading experience. Clinch has a crisp style that makes you want to keep on reading. Her expertise in the ski world makes it easy for those of us not familiar with the ski scene to get with it in a hurry. Her feel for the unique atmosphere of Vermont makes the reader feel he/she is right there in the Green Mountains. You sense all through the story that the obvious suspects really didn't do it but you don't learn the killer's surprising identity until four pages from the end. Please, Wendy, don't make us wait too long for the next Ski Diva Mystery.

Double Black is a Winner!!

Having finished Double Black this weekend in one sitting...it is a bright, new formula which offers us a excellent mystery in a brand new setting....The book is a great first of a series and I sincerely hope that it will be developed into a long, prosperous series for the author. I can't see myself sleeping in my car in order to live in a ski community, but I'm sure I know many people that would do just that. The story is intriguing and the setting is glorious!! Excellent Book!!

Double Black is a Colorful Read

This is a delightful book, an unconventional and character-driven mystery bursting with life. And the some of the best parts of it have to do with colors that are a lot brighter than basic black. As in a cast of colorful characters to fall in love with. Like spunky ski diva Stacey Curtis, hunky ski patroller Chip Walsh, hateful mountain owner Richie Paxton, and larger-than-life cowpoke-and-money-man Buckminster "Buck" Bradley. All of whom get thrown together in a mountain town that's a little bit too small for comfort. That little mountain town provides plenty of local color, too, New England style. Ms. Clinch is so in tune with the shadings of Vermont life, that reading Double Black makes you feel as if you've lived there for a little while yourself. And it certainly makes you want to come back and visit again. I can't wait for the next Ski Diva mystery.

Double Black by Wendy Clinch

Double Black is a Ski Diva mystery set in a small town in Vermont. The heroine, Stacey Curtis has just left her unfaithful fiance for a life as a ski bum living out of her car until she can find a suitable place to live. This search leads her to a condo where she finds a dead man. From that moment on, the story takes the reader on a fast paced trip through ski trails and people who live in the small town. The trip is fun and never too frightening. If you live in Vermont, have visited Vermont, and /or love to ski , you will feel right at home with Stacey. When the book ended and the mystery was solved, I wanted to know what happens to my new ski buddy next.

"At a certain point, money's just a way of keeping score."

There's a new crime series in town and if Double Black is an example of future efforts, Clinch has a winning formula on her hands with protagonist Stacy Curtis. Fleeing Boston and an ill-fated engagement, Stacy arrives in Vermont with no ambition other than the life of a ski bum. Supporting herself as a bartender in one of the town's only decent watering holes, Stacy has been known to sleep in her car, but even her extreme dedication to the life of a ski bum can benefit from the relief of an occasional roof over her head and a good night's sleep. Entering what appears an unoccupied condo on the slopes of the ski run, Stacy has visions of a comfortable night, confronted instead with a brutally murdered man's body. After a conscientious phone call to 9-1-1, Stacy flees the scene, anxious about being connected in any way to the scene of the crime. From the first chapter, when the plucky Stacy stumbles across the dead man, Clinch writes with the authority of a sports lover and the acerbic humor of one who carefully observes human nature. Stacy is capable, self-sufficient and just human enough to admit to a broken heart, hurt pride and an unbridled passion for the slopes of the local resort. As a bartender, Curtis is privy to much of the small town gossip, including the importance of the murdered man in the exploitation of valuable land that developers have been watching for years. Conservation politics and the greed of corporations create a conflict that infects a powerful local family and the special interests personified by a larger-than-life cowboy hat-wearing representative of big money. Somewhere in this mix is a motive for murder. While sleeping in her car has gotten dangerous and the unwanted attentions of a homeless Vietnam vet threaten her security, Stacy rents a room with the local sheriff's family hoping to keep the wolves from the door. Unable to resist the mountain, Stacy skis into the middle of things, collecting a potential love interest along the way. Wry humor and self-awareness make for a charming protagonist, Clinch's writing reminding me of Sue Grafton, with a grown-up, clear-eyed character who isn't above a few foolish mistakes. Combining a love of skiing with a tricky murder mystery, Double Black is a wild ride in a pristine paradise threatened by the rampant consumerism of a restless society, a mix of social consciousness and the misadventures of a temporary visitor to Vermont's wilderness. Luan Gaines/2010.