White Heat is the first novel from Essex-born Melanie McGrath.  McGrath already has a string of non-fiction books behind her, and it is the extensive research that underpinned one of these, The Long Exile that informs this offering.

The book follows Inuit hunter Edie Kiglatuk as she investigates the mysterious shooting of an American tourist.   Hampered, rather than aided, by the forces of law and order (such as they are in the High Arctic), Edie battles both the environment and her own demons in order to ensure justice is done.

Kiglatuk is a unique heroine.  A gifted hunter with an almost primal skill set, she can smell spilt blood from outside a room and feel the vibrations of passing planes before hearing the sound.  She is also extremely stubborn, making her a fearsome adversary for those seeking to obstruct justice.  Despite these skills, she is deeply flawed, self-doubting with an unconquered alcohol problem and a chequered record as a parent and wife.

For all the appeal of the heroine however, White Heat forces the reviewer to trot out the old cliché about the setting being the star.  McGrath takes practical information, such as the ideal density of snow needed to construct an ice house, and fuses it with vivid descriptions of the High Arctic.  Above the 70th parallel, missing persons are thought dead after less than a week, even short journeys can be delayed by a day or more, and over-exertion leading to sweating can be fatal.

Through regular references to Inuit cuisine, and the use of extended hunting scenes to explore the landscape, McGrath offers up abundant detail, and presents it with the kind of affection that is a hallmark of Sir David Attenborough. Equal sensitivity is shown to Inuit culture.  In places, particularly the opening stages of the book, White Heat is less a crime thriller than a portrait of a people.  Inuit are deeply mistrustful of outsiders, and with justification.  They eschew mainstream religion in favour of a pagan spirituality, and are fiercely loyal to each other.  Their existence is far from idyllic however, indeed it suffers from a sense of hopelessness, as McGrath points out –

Joe Inukpuk was a beacon of hope in what was otherwise a fog of drink, boredom, unwanted pregnancies, low expectation and educational underachievement.

Modernity has not yet smashed down the door of the High Arctic, but Canadian government initiatives encroach on Inuit culture and global warming slowly obliterates their homeland.  McGrath seizes the opportunity for tension, and creates a deeply illuminating account of the Inuit people.  To a world largely ignorant of Inuit beyond cartoonish imaginings, White Heat is a superb fusion of entertainment and education.

As a crime novel, White Heat stands out proudly.   While location in crime fiction is always key, there are no locations as distinctive as the High Arctic.  The setting often determines the character of a piece of crime fiction, but the Arctic goes beyond this, subverting both the science and the practicality of criminal investigations.  Bodies are perfectly preserved, often for decades, forensics are distorted beyond recognition, and indeed the concept of policing is unrecognisable.   In places, the role of the police seems to dip below even community liaison, with many Inuit questioning the need for a police service to exist at all.

In short, White Heat is a unique and refreshing book written with genuine affection.  It reminds us that crime fiction can serve far loftier purposes than mere entertainment, here acting as a prism through which to view a people as endangered as the ice they live on.

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