When 10-year-old Paige Baker wanders off a camping trail to look for her dog, she has no idea of the danger she’s put herself in. Her parents, Doug and Emily, are so wrapped up in their own emotions they don’t even notice that she’s missing. When they do, their family holiday turns into a federal incident involving the FBI, and Doug and Emily have a lot to answer for.

Meanwhile, in a nearby prison, a killer on Death Row awaits execution while his lawyer makes futile attempts at a stay. When the Bakers’ story breaks in the news, a connection between the killer and the Bakers is revealed. Cold Fear, a complex story involving a vast cast of characters, is underway.

In this, his second novel, Rick Mofina, an Ottawa-based journalist and former crime reporter for the Calgary Herald, positions himself high in the suspense genre saddle. He runs head first into both epic and contentious issues – the quest for meaning amidst dire situations, the injustices of the American judicial system, the death penalty and its role in America’s politics and psyche – but he doesn’t spend a lot of time examining them. Sidestepping the philosophical, Mofina’s turf is the suspense novel, and he pumps his narrative accordingly.

Mofina’s detail-oriented journalistic style gives his prose a gruff tone, but there are moments of eloquence amidst the cold hard facts. At times this verbose quality makes the pileup of characters and their circumstances seem convoluted, but Mofina deftly navigates the huge perimeter he’s created. Seasoned readers will probably predict the Death Row inmate connection, the potential romantic relationships between FBI investigators, and the outcome of Paige Baker’s sojourn, but it’s the trip that counts. Cognizant of this fact, Mofina provides an entertaining, suspense-filled ride.