North of Boston

Dennis Lehane meets Smilla'sSense of Snow: a big discovery in the world of female suspense about anedgy young woman with the rare ability to withstand extreme conditionsElisabeth Elo's debut novel introduces Pirio Kasparov, aBoston-bred tough-talking girl with an acerbic wit and a moral compass thatpoints due north.When the fishing boat Pirio is on is rammed by a freighter,she finds herself abandoned in the North Atlantic. Somehow she survives nearlyfour hours in the water before being rescued by the Coast Guard. But her fisherman friend Ned, the boat'sowner, is not so lucky.Compelled to look after Noah, the son of the late Ned andher alcoholic prep school friend, Thomasina, Pirio can't shake the lurkingsuspicion that the boat's sinking--and Ned's death--was no accident. It's asuspicion seconded by her deeply cynical, autocratic Russian father, who tellsher that nothing is ever what it seems. Then the Navy reaches out to her toparticipate in research on human survival in dangerously cold temperatures.With the help of a curious journalist named Russell Parnell,Pirio begins unraveling a lethal plot involving the glacial whaling grounds offBaffin Island. In a narrow inlet in the arctic tundra, Pirio confronts herultimate challenge: to trust herself.A gripping literary thriller, North of Boston combinesthe atmospheric chills of Jussi Adler-Olsen with the gritty mystery of LauraLippman. And Pirio Kasparov is a gutsy, compellingly damaged heroine with manyadventures ahead.