No Jesse Arnold mystery is ever bad, but Degrees of Separation is particularly lovely, as it has, despite a murder early on that must be solved, a gentle and contented ambience that is wonderful for regular readers.
After her bad knee injury in an earlier book, Jesse is chomping at the bit to get back into mushing...and although it is Fall, a few Alaska snowflakes are beginning to make their appearance. Happily "shacked up" with sexy Trooper Alex Jensen (to regular readers, this is just perfect), Jesse happily sets out on her practice trail in a trial run--to test out her knee, and her dogs. On the trail, she runs over a bump in the trail--that turns out to be a dead body.
Badly shaken, Jesse notifies Alex, who of course gets entwined in the mystery. And here is a great surprise for Sue Henry readers: Wonderful Maxie and Stretch make a guest appearance for half the book! Those who read that series as well will be warmed by the interplay between Maxie, who has come to visit, and her hosts, Alex and Jesse.
In due time, the mystery, which is actually quite pallid in comparison with earlier books, is solved--but Henry actually leaves a few loose ends, such a unique situation for a mystery novel, which always has to cross every t and dot every i!!
One assumes the loose ends will continue into the next installment, and I, for one, cannot wait.