Mattie Kincaid's boyfriend, Bryce Whitney, didn't believe in her. When she left Colorado to cover hockey in Seattle for Websports magazine, he crushed her joy in every way, but never gave her a reason to stay.

Rude and sarcastic Seattle Storm forward, Grant Alexander, was unhappy about having to babysit the visiting sports reporter, and was even less impressed that Matt Kincaid turned out to be a she. Aware that she knew nothing about hockey, he set out to make her life miserable.

But as she began to fit well into the Storm family he became drawn to her. Irritated by her habit of apologizing at every turn, he told her not to apologize until she had something to be sorry about. He had a hunch that her constant apologies had something to do with the boyfriend on the phone who always upset her, and he set out to build her self-confidence.

No publication had ever been able to get the scoop on what had happened to team paramedic Jamie MacMaster, Mattie's best friend at Storm, when she had been held hostage by a crazed fellow player the year before. What neither Grant nor Mattie knew was that Mattie had been hired to get the dirt on the story, because as a woman she could get close to Jamie. Realizing that she had been duped, Mattie refused to write the article.

Unemployed and lumped with the hotel bills, car bills, and ticket home, she went to the head of Storm and poured out the story. When Grant found out about her ulterior motive, but not her refusal to write the article, he was furious. To Grant's horror, she was offered a job with the Storm, and he set out to prove that she meant nothing to him. Wounded and confused, Mattie grew hardened by his rejection.

Jamie found out the truth about Mattie's loyalties, and shared it with Grant. Humbled, he realized that he had pushed her too far away. When his foster parents died in another state and he asked her to come with him, Jamie told Mattie that this was it--there would never be any hope for the two of them if she didn't do something now.

Mattie is a sweet and endearing character, whose self-esteem we see developed throughout the book in a satisfying way. Not knowing much about hockey myself, I could really identify with Mattie as she grappled to understand her new job and her feelings for Grant.

Grant starts off unappealing, but he redeems himself--until he acts like a fool over the article. I found myself wishing that she would go off with another other hockey player just because Grant was so frustrating! Even so, watching these two flounder through misunderstandings, hurt, and betrayal was a moving ride.

THIN ICE is an engaging comment on the impact that biases, mistrust, and poor communication can have on two otherwise normal adults--and is even more convincing because it's exactly the sort of thing that might happen!

Reviewed By: Melinda Stanners
© August 2004