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R.E. Donald

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Sundown on Top of the World (A Hunter Rayne Highway Mystery Book 4) Kindle Edition

by R.E. Donald (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.3 5,126 ratings

Book 4 of 5: A Hunter Rayne Highway Mystery

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A 2016 Whistler Independent Book Award finalist.

Former homicide investigator Hunter Rayne follows the white lines northward on the Alaska Highway, but a truck breakdown forces him to take an unscheduled stop in Whitehorse, Yukon, where he had been stationed as a rookie cop. While his Freightliner is awaiting repairs, Hunter and fellow driver, Dan (Sorry) Sorenson, kill time with a side trip to bush Alaska where a chance meeting with a young Alaskan woman awakens his interest in a baffling cold case. A reclusive trapper and his young girlfriend disappeared from a bloody cabin 25 years before, leaving their sled dogs chained outside.

Reawakened memories of his past coupled with a recent murder find Hunter back in investigative mode with the blessings of Whitehorse RCMP boss Bartholomew Sam, son of a shaman and Hunter's old friend. He finds himself searching the banks of the mighty Yukon River for a tough old bush woman who may hold the key to more than one bloody death. It's a vivid reminder that the breathtaking beauty of the northern wilderness camouflages its brutal indifference to human life.

This is the fourth novel in the Highway Mysteries series of character-driven traditional mysteries in a uniquely North American setting.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00T1FEU42
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Proud Horse Publishing (March 2, 2015)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 2, 2015
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1053 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 316 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #219,925 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #6,063 in Crime Fiction (Kindle Store)
- #15,109 in Crime Thrillers (Books)
- #19,868 in Mysteries (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
4.3 5,126 ratings

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R.E. Donald

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R.E. Donald is the author of the Hunter Rayne Highway Mysteries series. Ruth worked in the transportation industry in various capacities for 25 years and draws on her experience in creating the realistic characters and situations in her novels.

Ruth attended the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, B.C., where she studied languages and creative writing to obtain a Bachelor of Arts degree.

She currently lives in Eagle Bay, B.C., near the shores of Shuswap Lake.

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4.3 out of 5

5,126 global ratings

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Linda Gallegos

Good one

Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2024

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Loved the storyline, being there with Goldie, Betty, ECT was a wonderful experience. Can't wait to read next book and recommend to friends!

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Keith

Great story; bloated writing

Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2017

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I'm of two minds about this book -- the majority of it was a real page-turner with a satisfying conclusion, but the first 30% was just dreadfully boring as one set of characters did nothing but drive down the highway and another set of characters did even less than that. I also found the prose in the first chapter to be try-hard and distracting, and several times I had to reread entire passages to figure out what the author was saying. Fortunately, the writing improved as the book progressed. The unique setting and local flair added a lot to the book, and the characters were lifelike and enjoyable. The story was clever and delivered in a compelling way. Unfortunately, I can't find it in me to give five stars to a book that makes you trudge through several hours of backstory and filler to get to the good parts. Some amount of setup was necessary, but it should have been greatly condensed or it should have featured more interesting subplots to prevent that "why am I reading any of this?" feeling.

Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2018

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Hunter Rayne is a long haul trucker, but his many years as a Mountie, including as a detective on the force, mean has friends actively investigating crimes, and he’s still got a detective’s instincts. As a trucker, he finds himself all over the continent, and although he’s no longer a detective, he manages to get himself called in as a consultant—officially or unofficially—on cases hot and cold.

In Sundown on Top of the World, Hunter’s load to the Yukon—where he started his career 25 years ago as a rookie—randomly lands him in the middle of both kinds of cases: one hot, and one very, very cold, an unsolved case that he was involved in back in the day, and which has troubled him ever since.

A broken down truck leads to a random meeting, which leads to surprising discoveries.

Along the way, Hunter and his friend Sorry make some discoveries of their own, about themselves, what trade offs they each will and will not make to get what they want.

This is the second R.E. Donald book I’ve read, and I continue to be impressed with the author’s skill at character, dialogue, setting, structure, and plot. In short, this is fantastic writing. Consider me a serious fan.

Highly recommended!

4 people found this helpful

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sticherkrj4664

Not a good as previous books

Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2023

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This was so wordy. Could have been said in less words. I finally skipped ahead to see the outcome. Don't feel like I missed anything. The plot was good. The travelog descriptive. Makes me want to travel Hunter roads.

Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2022

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I read this book because the characters were well developed and I had enjoyed the storyline of a previous novel in the same series. The premise of the book is good, but the plot was quite detailed and slow moving. It gets a little better, then slows down again. There are some surprises, plot twists, and loose ends tied up in the last few chapters. Overall it is a well thought out novel, but I believe it could have been condensed.

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D. Zendel

Solid entry in an entertaining, well-written series

Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2016

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Hunter Rayne is a former RCMP homicide investigator turned long-haul trucker who just can’t give up his crime-solving ways. In book 4 of this series, a truck breakdown leads to him solving a long-cold case that brings up a lot of painful memories for him.

I very much enjoy this series. The characters ring true for me, even the secondary ones – it’s almost as if the author was a former RCMP/now truck driver. I liked learning more about Rayne and what makes him tick I’m fascinated by the dichotomy of The Job wearing him out but being something that is so ingrained in his DNA that he can’t really let go. The settings are well described. I felt like I was in the truck with Rayne, watching the miles roll by. There was one scene involving violence to a dog that almost made me metaphorically pitch the book, but I was on a treadmill using my Kindle at the time. The violence was brief, and took place off-screen, and was organic to the plot – not plain mean or manipulative. And I’m glad I stuck it out – there was a happy ending for the dog, as well as the plot.

If you enjoy traditional mysteries, I’d give this one a go. They are, of course, better in order, but you could read out of order and not feel lost as with some series.

53 people found this helpful

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Carole D Hutchison

Fantastic job

Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2023

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This story keeps the readers interest out There were only a few times when you had to backtrack to see what Character the author was talking about but other than that it was very enjoyable to read as well as civil over other books that I finished she does a great job and get her imagination working and visualize what she's talking about great job

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Lawrence Hall

Good stories with strong likable characters!

Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2019

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I enjoy books that have strong characters—if books are part of a series I like to start at the beginning with book #1.
This author had excellent strong characters—you liked them and I got involved in the story.
I was sorry there wasn’t the next sequel available—so I moved on to another author’s series.
Dawn Lee McKenna’s characters are excellent too! I bought the 4 book bargain—got hooked—gave them 5 stars and now I’m reading #5.
(I found minor typo’s in these series—reported some of them—I’m a ‘read each word’ slow reader—so noticed—but I’m sure most people who read faster for content had no problem—I didn’t either....but to get 5 stars.....)
By the way, I’m Larry—I’ve replaced so many Kindle readers—I have not bothered to change Marilyn’s name on the Kindle reader I’m using.

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b mone

Enjoyable

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 1, 2022

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Hunter is a great lead and I think we can all sympathize with his sighs at his friend
s behaviour, I liked the detail and the story was complex enough to keep you guessing till the end

MajorDad

Excellent story.

Reviewed in Australia on September 3, 2023

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Really enjoyed this book. It is the first of this series I have read and I am now looking for others. Great plot together with believable characters. The descriptions of the Alaskan countryside were first rate and well written. The inclusion of the excerpt from "The Cremation of Sam McGee" by Robert W Service was a great twist. I have been a fan of Service's poetry for more years than I can count, in fact I have all of his books and still enjoy them. The plot line takes Hunter to the Yukon on a delivery and side steps into him looking at a cold case that had eluded him as a young investigator in the RCMP twenty five years previously. The murder of a trapper and the disappearance of his female partner were the basis of the cold case. The characters are well rounded and and each has their own part to play as the story unfolds. Even Hootie the dog is an engaging character. It is a story with many twists and turns, until finally what has been bugging Hunter for twenty five years can finally be laid to rest. Well written, and well plotted in a less than modern era. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Dragonlee

Thumbs up for a great read!

Reviewed in Canada on March 13, 2015

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I have read and enjoyed all of the Hunter Rayne series.This is the best one to date with more intriguing characters and lots of action. While I haven't visited Alaska, her descriptions put me right into the landscape. The variety of characters adds lots of color and dimension to the story, and become like old friends. The reader is involved and cares what happens to them. If you're looking for a downright good page-turner, I'd highly recommend any of R.E. Donald's books, especially this one.

4 people found this helpful

christeena lalonde

Great read!

Reviewed in Canada on May 9, 2017

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Really enjoyed this book, was well written and very captivating. Its always nice to read about places you've been. Looking forward to reading more.

Brambleamble

A gentle approach to murder mystery and none the worse for it.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 6, 2017

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This book makes a good change from the often ultra violent books often found in this category. It has several very complete and very real characters portrayed beautifully and is played out against the fascinating backdrop of Northern Canada and Alaska. The people who have chosen this as a place to live have difficult to imagine hardships to face just to keep body and soul together through the harsh and unforgiving, but beautiful landscape.
The tale is of a retired RCMP , now a long distance lorry driver, who gets an unexpected load up to his old stamping grounds. He is bugged by a 25 year old mystery that he never got to solve while he was a Mountie. One way of looking at the tale is that there are too many coincidences like his unexpected load, his unexpected break down, his bumping into the daughter of one of the characters in the original mystery AND recognising her and so on. The other way is the Authors suggestion that these happenings were the will of either God or the Natives' Great Spirit. To me these stretched the story a bit thin hence the four not five stars

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Sundown on Top of the World (A Hunter Rayne Highway Mystery Book 4) Kindle Edition

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