Alex Jensen & Jessie Arnold / Alaska Mysteries Books In Order

Publication Order of Jessie Arnold & Alex Jensen Books

Alex Jensen & Jessie Arnold/Alaska Mysteries is a series of mystery thrillers written by Sue Henry the American author from Alaska. Sue Henry has been a college instructor and administrator at the University of Alaska and has been resident in Alaska since the 1970s. The first novel of the Alex Jensen Arnold/Alaska Mysteries was “Murder on the Iditarod Trail” that was first published in 1991. The novel was so well received that it went on to win the Anthony and the Macavity Award for best first novel. With the novel gaining much popularity and critical acclaim Sue followed it up with several more titles in the still ongoing series. The lead in the series is Alex Jensen, a state trooper that works alongside a dog sled racer named Jessie Arnold. The success of the series in turn led to a new spin off series The “Maxie and Stretch” series of novels that features Maxine McNab, a 63 year old widow on her travels with “Stretch” her miniature dachshund. The novel “Murder on the Iditarod Trail” was made into a 1996 novel titled “The Cold Heart of a Killer” that starred Kate Jackson who so loved the adaptation that she bought the rights to the novel. The success of the series led to Sue quitting her job as a grant writer and education administrator to focus on her writing career. Since then she has written more than fifteen novels in the “Maxie and Stretch” and “Alex Jensen & Jessie Arnold/Alaska Mysteries”.

The Alex Jensen & Jessie Arnold/Alaska Mysteries are set in Alaska where Sue Henry lived for most of her adult life. Her lead characters are state trooper Alex Jensen and his girlfriend Jessie Arnold that also doubles up as dogsled racer and musher. Arnold often competes in long distance dogsled races the most popular of which is the Iditarod road race. In novels full of vivid descriptions of the Alaskan countryside, Sue Henry places her leads front and center of murder mysteries that involve their friends, family and sometimes complete strangers. Alex and Jessie solve a range of mysteries that range from mysterious crashes, murders aboard ship, murder on the Iditarod circuit, and the mystery of long dead prospectors. These are enthralling novels full of excellent and vivid descriptions papered with race lore, that provides credibility to the story. The vivid characterization of the lead protagonists and the support cast set against the natural beauty of Alaska makes for some of the most uncluttered and smoothest of prose.

What makes the Alex & Jessie Arnold/Alaska Mysteries so great is the great grasp that Sue has of her home state’s countryside including the wild life and topography that she so eloquently writes about. Alex Johnson one of the best homicide detectives in the state of Alaska is a very good at his job as he works with a range of characters to track down clues in the harsh countryside. With Sue Henry very conversant with Alaska culture having taught writing and lived at the University of Alaska for decades, all the aspects of the culture including the personalities of dogsled racers, trail checkpoints, and the basics of mushing are described in the greatest of detail that indicates a lot of research on the time honored tradition. It has likable characters and Sue Henry does a good job at keeping the mystery interesting and never giving any blatant clues about the killer, only releasing it in an explosive conclusion where she makes the big reveal about the killer. In some instances, she ratchets up the tension with up to three potential killers that have almost the same attitudes and temperaments making for some engrossing reading. Jessie Arnold while not much of a professional detective is often in the thick of things with her love and knowledge for the country coming in handy. In addition to the mystery, the romance that develops between Jessie and Alex over the course of the series makes for some fun and interesting reading.

“Murder on the Iditarod Trail” is the enchanting first novel of the Alex Jensen & Jessie Arnold Series of novels by Sue Henry. The focus of the novel is the Iditarod dogsled race famous all across Alaska and attended by thousands. The winner of the eleven hundred mile grueling race stands to win a life changing $250,000, making the race one of the highlights of the year. But things are different this year as the biggest prize for many is survival. Only the most able and toughest can take part on the annual race that takes courage, skill and endurance. Burt suddenly the toughest persons in the country that have come to take part in the torturous race are falling off in gruesome and bizarre ways. Jessie Arnold is terrified that she may just find herself falling victim to the mysterious killer though she will never quit the biggest race of a year that could bring her the ultimate rewards of victory. Meanwhile, her boyfriend Alex Jensen who is the state trooper is determined to resolve the mystery of the killer and is tracking down clues that lay scattered across the blood stained Alaskan snow. Being that Jessie know the harsh and frozen landscape so well she offers to partner up with Jensen to track down the killer. It is not going to be easy given that it is a merciless terrain where only the night echoes your screams if by any chance you get the chance to.

“Termination Dust’ is the exhilarating second novel of the Alex Jensen & Jessie Arnold Series that is set in the undisturbed landscape of the Yukon that has remained unchanged for years. The rugged terrain is swept by frostbiting winds with the heavy snow blanketing every inch of ground on the low hill countryside. But a cold blooded killer traverses the thick snow where one wrong foot could send him toppling to his death off the Top of the World Highway. A rugged canoeist on vacation is the only man that witnessed the killer doing the deed and he is nowhere to be found. The only clue Jensen has to go on is an ancient journal that described an eerily similar murder that he picked up on the supposed path of the killer. It is a complex mystery with spectacular descriptions, a thread of history and a touch of romance that never lets up from the first page to the last.