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Ice Trap is a clever novel written from the point of view of the classic "unreliable narrator." Sewell weaves a tale of a Welsh doctor who finds himself in the Northwestern Territories of Canada after performing a botched medical procedure, after which he needs to get away and regroup. This temporary assignment has permanent consequences for the young surgeon, who undergoes spiritual and psychological upheaval due to his experiences in the bleak town on the edge of the Arctic.

I liked the portrayal of native spiritual beliefs and the power of a transformative experience in one's life. The mystery, if there is one, is that of Dafydd (Welsh form of David) himself, and the process of understanding the character and sorting his perception and faulty memory from reality as the story develops.

Anyone who has a soft spot in their heart for any town in the Northwest Territories will probably not like Sewall's portrayal of the life there as bleak and depraved, and the people lawless and unprincipled. There are a few good characters in the end, which more or less save the story from being a tale of Dafydd against the universe. But basically the author sees the NW Territories as an overall nasty place where no one would want to live. I think it was well done, and I would like to read another novel by this author.