Cold To The Touch
Kerri Hakoda
Crooked Lane Books
August 2026
Cold To The Touch by Kerri Hakoda starts out with the body of a barista found in the once-pristine Alaskan snow. Anchorage homicide detective DeHavilland Beans is gutted to recognize the young woman, Jolene. He’d bought coffee from her every morning and knew her as a bright college student working her way through school. Devastated by the murder and by the life cut short, Beans vows to find the killer.
Since scavengers damaged the body, obtaining any usable evidence is impossible, even with the assistance of wildlife expert Raisa Ingalls, Beans’s ex. When the body of another woman is found, a serial killer is suspected and the FBI joins the hunt.
After a third body turns up, Beans is desperate to find the killer—especially when another woman goes missing. With the murderer moving so quickly, Beans and his team are determined to stop the spree and catch the killer before it’s too late.
This thriller police procedural has some dark and chilling undertones where the atmospheric Alaskan winter seems like a character.
Elise Cooper: Idea for the story?
Kerri Hakoda: Too Deep to Cross is the sequel to my Edgar Award-nominated debut thriller Cold To The Touch and includes many of the same characters. This time, I wanted to place my protagonist, Anchorage Homicide Detective DeHavilland Beans, outside of his professional comfort zone. An unsettling officer-involved shooting and a grisly discovery bring him back to his hometown of Galena, Alaska, a village on the Yukon River. There, a long cold case evolves into a homicide, one in which Beans finds himself a reluctant participant and possible suspect. I touch upon his experiences growing up in the small Alaskan village in the first book, and wanted to delve deeper into Beans’ backstory in the sequel. I also wanted to bring a certain historical perspective to Beans’ family’s story, which is carried on through his mother Mari’s point of view. Too Deep to Cross is way less linear than the first book and more layered – shifting time and place and alternating points of view.
EC: What is the importance of the grandfather to the story?
KH: Ben Yamane is Mari’s stern father who never had time for Mari’s husband or her children. Although he only appears in this book as a child, the decisions Ben makes (and that are made for him) in his early years color familial relations for generations to come.
EC: Why the setting of Alaska?
KH: I worked in the Alaskan maritime industry for years and I love the state – it’s endless diversity and extremes of environment and cultures, its raw beauty. I think Alaska’s wildness and inherent contrasts make it the perfect setting for any kind of novel, but especially mysteries!
EC: Is there a reason you used the first name of Beans-DeHavilland?
KH: DeHavilland Beans’ father was a bush pilot, so I thought it appropriate that he would name all of his children after aircraft or aviators. Beans’ eldest brother was named Lindbergh, then Hercules, sister Piper and youngest brother Otter. And I liked the sound of a multi-syllable first name contrasting with the short, matter-of-fact, kind of whimsical last name of Beans.
EC: How would you describe Beans?
KH: A study in contrast – a Buddhist who abhors violence, but who chooses a career where he carries a gun. Steadfast, with a solid moral compass, yet at times conflicted about how the ethically correct action may not necessarily be the “right” action for the situation. He is the one in the family, after their mother, to whom his siblings turn for direction. An ethnic blend of Japanese, Athabascan and Irish, his history too is similarly hybridized.
EC: How would you describe Lloyd?
KH: Lloyd Paul is the primary antagonist. Over-indulged and arrogant, he’s convinced the world is his oyster. He is used to getting anything he wants, and that includes Mari Beans. His father’s favorite, he gets away with being selfish and rude, and stealing from the family businesses. He was gloating about a new moneymaking opportunity the night he disappeared.
EC: How would you describe Mari?
KH: Mari is the rock of the family, fiercely protective of her children. She held her family together after her husband’s plane crash and continues to do so. The love of her life was Jimmy Beans, her children’s father, and no one has ever taken his place.
EC: Why was Lloyd attracted to Mari?
KH: Mari is petite, pretty, almost childlike in stature, and looks years younger than her actual age, an exotic flower in his eyes. After Jimmy Beans’ death, Lloyd thought she would be vulnerable and succumb to his questionable charms. He also thought that with his family’s influence in town, she would naturally gravitate to him. He was mistaken. Mari wanted nothing to do with him, but was forced to be civil because of the power and authority his family wielded in the small village.
EC: What role does Fee play in the story?
KH: Fee is the professional sleuth in this story. Beans, in contrast to the first novel, is off-duty and has relinquished his official status in this book. Although Beans is the protagonist and much of the action centers around him, he is the deputy to her “official” cop in Too Deep to Cross. Not so surprising spoiler: Fee is also a potential romantic interest for Beans.
EC: Next book?
KH: Good question! I am outlining (only in the most general terms!) the third book of the series. It will take place in Alaska, of course, but possibly in an entirely different region.
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