An Arctic Mystery
“When the Owl Speaks,” as in the subtitle, is an Arctic Mystery. The author, W. H. Jansen, is well acquainted with the Canadian Arctic and its unique inhabitants. He lived among the Inuit while working on his post graduate degree in anthropology.
While Jansen’s story is a work of fiction, there’s plenty of history of those who live far north of America, in a frigid lifestyle steeped in mysticism and magical beliefs. The snowy owl, ookpik in the Inuktitut language, lures readers into the mystery from beginning to end. It speaks to those who know how to listen, how to read its signals of danger.
This fascinating story includes not only mystery, but romance, suspense and adventure.
Inukshuk Language
You can read a glossary of terms in the book, but here are a couple of especially interesting ones you will read about—the Amautalik captures wayward children and eats them, and an Inukshuk is a stone sculpture resembling a human form, built to commemorate happy events, such as a good hunt. An Inukshuk holds great significance for the Inuit people.
Arriving in Nunavut
The main character is a logical American student, Doug Pearson, studying the Inuit culture for his doctoral thesis. Like Doug, when Jansen arrived in Nunavut, he was ill-prepared to survive temperatures that dropped to minus 46 degrees below zero with the wind chill factor. Doug befriends some locals who help him get acclimated, but soon finds himself questioned by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police about a woman’s death.
Inuit Beliefs
Doug is told about the beliefs of these interesting people and tries to understand as they do. Shape-shifters and shamans are very real to them but quite preposterous to this young American who they refer to as a kabloona, or white person.
Suspense
Readers will enjoy Doug’s journey from Tennessee to the Canadian Arctic, where more than one mystery unfolds, including why someone would want to kill him. There’s a fair amount of suspense too—Doug and a woman named Alice get stranded in the tundra and you’ll feel their icy fear as they wonder how, and if, they will survive.
A Bit of Spice
Romance adds a bit of spice to the storyline. Doug becomes interested in Mary who works at the local supply store. However, she’s jealous of his friendship with Alice, after the word gets around the small town that the two were stuck in the tundra together.
Recommendation
“When the Owl Speaks” is recommended for readers of mystery and adventure. Jansen writes in a believable way that totally draws readers into his novel. You’ll want to see how one mystery leads to another. The pages will seem to turn themselves, so be prepared to keep up with the excitement. This book can be compared to Michener’s “Journey: A Novel” about those who risked their lives in the Arctic in 1897 while pursuing Yukon gold.
