Midnight Come Again

Kate Shugak #10

by Dana Stabenow

Edgar Award winner Dana Stabenow has written nine atmospheric crime novels featuring the very prickly, very human Kate Shugak, but her novels also have a scene-stealing Alaska, unforgiving, breathtaking, dangerous, and beautiful. Stabenow's evocation of this wilderness, combined with her talent for bringing characters to life and creating knuckle-whitening suspense, has made her "one of the strongest voices in crime fiction." (Seattle Times).

Now in Midnight Come Again, all these elements come together for Stabenow's most compelling Kate Shugak novel to date.

Kate, a former investigator for the Anchorage D.A. and now a P.I. for hire, is missing after a winter spent in mourning. Alaska State Trooper Jim Chopin, Kate's best friend, needs her to help him work a new case. He discovers her hiding out in Bering, a small fishing village on Alaska's western coast, living and working under an assumed name-- working hard, as eighteen-hour workdays seem to be her only justification for getting up in the morning. But before they can even discuss Kate's last several months, or what Jim is doing looking for her in Bering, they're up to their eyes in Jim's case, which is suddenly more complicated-- and more dangerous-- than they suspected.

A magnificent crime novel about life in America's last wilderness, the heart-wrenching grief that goes with love, and murder, Midnight Come Again is Dana Stabenow's best novel to date.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Suspense, Mystery Thriller, Ebooks, Thriller

351 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Dana Stabenow was born in Anchorage and raised on 75-foot fish tender in the Gulf of Alaska. She knew there was a warmer, drier job out there somewhere.

Reviews

[PamG · Rating 4 out of 5]

The tenth book in Dana Stabenow’s Kate Shugak series, Midnight Come Again, is part police investigation, part private investigator, and part crime thriller. Plenty of suspense will captivate most readers as they work to uncover what is happening. Kate, a former investigator for the Anchorage District Attorney is now a private investigator. She’s been missing for several months after her soulmate is murdered and Kate is nearly killed. Alaska State Trooper Jim Chopin has worked several cases with her in the past. Friends ask him to find Kate and get her to come home. At the same time, he is tasked with going undercover in a remote village to discover what a Russian criminal gang is doing.

This book starts out a little on the slow side. However, it picks up and the pieces start to fall into place. As always, Stabenow does a great job of bringing the people and Alaska to life. It was easy to feel transported to Alaska with our main characters. I thought it was interesting that a large portion of this book was from Jim’s point of view and Kate only comes into the story later. As always, Kate is strong-willed, combative, and prickly, but she is also almost overwhelmed with grief. Besides grief, themes include family, friendship, secrets, cultural differences, education, and much more.

Overall, this was a well-written novel with great world-building and several plot twists. While the mysteries are resolved, there is a set-up thread for the next book. I’m looking forward to reading more of the series.

I purchased a copy of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date was January 1, 2000.
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My 4.23 rounded to 4 stars review is coming soon.

[TXGAL1 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rated 3.5

This story was good but, to me, it wasn’t up to the standard of previous books I’ve read by this author.

I’ll still keep reading Stabenow’s books!📚

[Julie Ricks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've not reviewed any of the other fourteen Kate Shugak novels, simply because it would be redundant; however, for shear entertainment purposes, you cannot beat this series of novels.

Not only did I love the Kate Shugak character, I want to BE Kate Shugak. :-) She's tiny but mighty, and if you piss her off she'll kick your @$$ and take your $hit, and if she doesn't do it, her dog, Mutt, will.

These novels also gave me a desire to visit Alaska that I admit has been somewhat tempered by Caribou Barbie, although I'm sure I will be reinvigorated by Whisper in the Blood coming out this February.

If you just want to sit back and be entertained by a smart, funny, independent, strong woman protagonist, interesting and simultaneously beautiful and dangerous setting, eccentric characters, and just plain good murder mysteries, search no further. These are the real deal. No wonder she won the Edgar Award.

[Yodamom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another tough to read one in the series but not as bad as the last. The last book still haunts me, it was brutal. Reading about the after, the new Kate, the nearly empty shell of the person I knew. The shadows cling to Kate and her world, and she has abandoned herself. She disappeared without a word for months till one day Chopper Jim walks into the room, but his Kate is not there.
Jim has been put on an assignment looking into possible terrorist activity. He looked for Kate, but wasn't able to find her, till he traveled to his assignment and there she was, broken with a new name. She gets tangled in his assignment after Jim is hurt and separately they piece this mess together. Separately is the key word, both are too haunted to do anything together. There is a small bit of comfort that comes from the darkness, but even that quickly gets ugly again. I don't know where these two will go in the series. I'd always wanted something long term for the two of them, they work well together. The last book might have buried any chance of that. ~sigh~ I'd like to see Kate happy again.

[Ace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kate Shugak, as if she wasn't cute enough already, has this cute sidekick snow dog half wolfy creature that adores her to death. I started at book 10 in the series, Kate is a bit beaten down and still in shock from her last book, but it didn't seem to matter, I picked up the gist of things and went along with it. The crimes in question are good old fashioned nuclear weapons, chemicals and bad boy Russians. There is a recipe for success in whatever book you put them in! While I wait for volumes 1 to 9 to be purchased by my digital library, I am happy to move on to #11 :)

[Debbie Floyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have never been disappointed in any of the books in this series. Kate is a physically and emotionally damaged human being that has a strong sense of right and wrong a love for Alaska, and those who she considers family and friends. The descriptions in the book of the Alaskan wilderness shows the author's love for her home state. I also enjoy the fact that she touches on the native people's culture and the fight to hold on to those things that are a part of their identities. I started this series years ago and picked it up again recently so glad I did. I will be reading Kate's next adventure soon.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Marguerite Gavin is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel.

[Peter Tillman · Rating 2 out of 5]

(Formerly) 0ne of my favorites in the series. As in all good series, the richness & density build with each new episode in the heroine's life. Her friends are delightful, her family, umm, "interesting", her enemies believable. And the Alaska setting might be the best part. Dana Stabenow is a fine, conscientious writer and a helluva storyteller. Highly recommended.

Jan 2023 attempted reread: not going well. The Russian Mafia stuff is crude beyond belief, and the Alaska isn't working either. I was looking forward to a comfort-read but I'm not getting it. Setting it aside for now. 1/18/23: Abandoned & returned to library. Suck fairy called! Oh, well.

[Lucie Aran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Předchozí díl mi svým závěrečným zvratem vyrazil dech. I přes to, že jsem doufala, že autorka bude mít dost odvahy vše dotáhnout až do konce, klidně se přiznám, že jsem tomu až do poslední věty nevěřila. A tak není divu, že další díl jsem napjatě očekávala.

Jaké bylo mé rozčarování, když jsem se začetla do prvních vět a následně i stránek, a zjistila, že si mě autorka ještě chvíli povodí, a já odpovědi na své otázky jen tak nezískám. Obrovským překvapením pro mě bylo i to, že přestože má celý děj tendence tíhnout do oblastí, které mě v případě knižních příběhů příliš nelákají, autorce se podařilo vytvořit příběh, který si mě nakonec získal i přes to, že začátkem jsem se neprokousávala úplně snadno. Což mám samozřejmě z toho, že nečtu anotace.
Kate jako postavu jsem si oblíbila už dávno, v tomto příběhu se však o něco více seznámíme i policistou Jimem Chopinem, tedy Vrtulníkem Jimem, se kterým jsme se zatím setkávali poměrně povrchně. Celý příběh tak díky dvěma hlavním postavám (i několika vedlejším), získává ještě o něco širší záběr a úhel pohledu. A jak už je u příběhů Kate Shugakové zvykem, autorka i tentokrát bravurně vykresluje prostředí v němž se děj odehrává, stejně tak jako i způsob, jakým v Beringu lidé žijí.
Tak a já už zase nutně potřebuji další díl.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't believe that book 9 happened. I raced into this #10 after #9 ended with a cliffhanger ending. Having read this one, I now see that I should have seen it coming, and even though Im upset, its a bit easier having read the continuation. a LITTLE bit.

In this book, we spend more time with Chopper Jim, who hasn't had a lot of action in the past few books, so it was nice to get to know another "park rat". This one was a bit less of a "who-dunnit" so I can't really speak to if I figured it out - we pretty much knew who the bad guys were throughout the book, we just didn't know how things would play out. We spend time with Jim because Stabenow freakin' killed off Jack!! Who else is Kate going to solve crimes with now that Jack's gone? Im angry enough at killing Jack. If Kate ends up in a relationship with Jim in another book or two, Im out.

And of course, we are left with *another* cliffhanger ending - this one a bit less dramatic, so I don't feel I need to stop at the library RIGHTNOW.

[Grillables · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have fond memories of reading parts of this mystery series some years back, despite Stabenow's penchant for putting her PI heroine through the emotional wringer. This one didn't do it for me, though - too much exposition about Russians/the FBI/the undercover mission and not enough about the Alaskan landscape and Native community that drew me to the series in the first place. Probably not a good place to start in the series either, as there are serious spoilers for earlier books.

[Skip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still reeling from the loss of her longtime boyfriend, Kate is working crazy hours at a charter air business in Bering. Trooper Jim Chopin is sent there to determine if nuclear material is bring smuggled into the U.S. and he and Kate hook up to solve the case, with both having close brushes with death along the way. Kate also discovers her grandmother kept personal secrets in Bering.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent series.

[LAB · Rating 3 out of 5]

Former law enforcement officer and now private investigator Kate Shugak is missing. No one has seen her since shortly after her lover was murdered and none have heard from her. State Trooper Jim Chopin needs her for an assignment but he can't find any clues to Kate's whereabouts before he leaves for a remote, small community on an undercover assignment with the FBI. Jim bumbles around and goes places he should not. The two FBI agents on the case are also bumbling and refuse to share what they think they've learned. A 10-year old girl who wants to be an engineer and astronaut manages to obtain key information that the adults need. Kate, also operating undercover but for very personal reasons, has been in the community for a while. Like other books in the Kate Shugak series by Dana Stabenow, Kate's native connections, insight, and dogged sleuthing bring cohesion to the situation.

This was a quick and enjoyable read, a good break from the so-so novels I've read recently.

[Abibliofob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Undercover work can be dangerous! Midnight Come Again by Dana Stabenow is another great mystery set in Alaska. I really like the characters in this series but you can never tell which ones will survive to the next book? A robbery, missing person and some hair raising undercover work is some of the ingredients in this book.

[Chris F · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book in the series, equally satisfying and heartbreaking. Was interesting to get a few chapters from a completely different character’s perspective too. And Mutt is the biggest heroine of all!

[Karla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as strong as others in this series.

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

review to come

[Amber Galindo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Putting this on my DNF list. I tried really hard to get into it, but after getting a third through with it, I realized I was just really not into it.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dana Stabenow does it again. In the 10th installment of the Kate Shugak series, this one is another winner. When Alaskan State Trooper Jim Chopin have been requested to track down Kate Shugak, who went MIA for a couple of months, after the loss of her boyfriend, Jack Morgan. Undercover, Jim finds her in Bering Alaska under an assumed name at a local air field. Both of them have twelve-hour shifts. And when midnight strikes again, that's when one takes over for the other. Things get dicey, when they're both after a Russian Mafia who's been "fishing" and smuggling a dangerous chemical and money. And when they're get closer to the truth, they get closer to danger, when someone winds up dead. Hot on the heels, the FBI's on the case and have their dithers on Kate's involvement or knowledge on their investigation. Great drama with a fantastic Alaska setting and lots of intrigue. We really feel for Kate, who's still in mourning and want to be left alone. And Poor Jim, who decided to give up on her and his feelings for her. Midnight Come Again in another winner.

[Barbara ★ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just can't say enough about this series. I absolutely love Dana Stabenow's writing and her heroine Kate Shugak (and all the supporting characters too!). This one caught me by surprise and chapter one actually had me looking back at the cover to make sure I was reading the right book. An Alaskan original, Kare Shugak is one of a kind and lots of fun even when she isn't speaking to anyone. After the events of Hunter's Moon, Kate has lost her will to live and is hiding out in Bering Alaska working for a local airfreight company. Trooper Jim stumbles upon her during an undercover assignment and the fun begins. I've always like Jim and hope at some point Kate realizes that Jim loves her. Hmmm maybe someday when Kate has fully recovered from her lose.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Kate Shugak series massively appealed to me. She is a moral, if not slightly damaged (aren't we all?!) Native Alaskan woman who solves mysteries around Alaska and has a wolf-dog roommate. I started reading them in Unalaska and continued in Dillingham and still think that anybody who wants to visit Alaska but can't afford the air-fare could get a pretty good tour, not to mention enjoying some well-crafted mystery, by reading these books.

[Arizonagirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kate Shugak series, book #10. I had to give myself a break after reading book #9 but some time had passed and I needed a good book to take into the field with me. This did the trick. I was happy to visit with Kate again and glad to know she is doing okay. Now I'm ready for #11.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like these books and nothing like a bit of insomnia to help finish reading!

[Susan Coley · Rating 4 out of 5]

First read 3-2-2016
Don't we all have a piece of furniture like that coffee table? This one answered many questions about Kate's past.

[Michelle Chenard · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a not very believable book about the theft of plutonium. Investigators thought that it was in Alaska but it turned out to be a smuggling ring.

[Dee Renee Chesnut · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the pacing this author tells her story, the characters feel real to me, and Alaska becomes one of the characters.

[Dyana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alaska, as always, is the main character is this series. The environment is in juxtaposition with the down-to-earth people who live there. They both are a feast for the senses. This particular book is a change of direction for Kate Shugak, a former investigator for the Anchorage D.A. and now a private investigator. In book #9 she lost her boyfriend, Jack Morgan, spent a winter alone in her cabin, and then disappeared. It has been a couple of months and none of her friends or family have heard from her. They ask Alaskan State Trooper Jim Chopin, Kate's best friend A.K.A. Chopper Jim, to find her and bring her home.

In the meantime Jim is assigned by FBI agent Gamble to go undercover in Bering, Alaska as a seasonal worker and be on the lookout for a high profile Russian mafia boss named Ivanov who has stolen the equivalent of $10 million in rubles and thought to have bought ten kilograms of plutonium with the money - is he selling it for someone to make nuclear bombs? A trooper in Bering spotted someone who may be Alexei Burianovich, a known associate of Ivanov's.

Jim, under the name of Jim Churchill, arrives in Bering to work for Jacob Baird who owns Baird Air, an air taxi/ freight service. Low and behold, Jim runs into Kate Shugak who is also working there under the name of Kathy Sovalik. This Kate is not the Kate that Jim knew and loved - she is the shell of the woman she used to be and living with heart-wrenching grief, guilt, and anger by working hard, long hours to try and forget Jack and what happened when he was killed. Her only trustworthy companion now is Mutt, her half wolf/half husky protector. They are both also recovering from injuries they sustained in the last book. Upon finding her, Jim has a mad-on when confronting her because she didn't let anyone know where she was. Jim, a known womanizer, also secretly loves her which seems to push buttons in him. She is upset that her privacy has been invaded by Jim and is also mad with him.

They each work opposite 12 hour shifts, and the animosity between them continues until they must work together to find Ivanov, A.K.A. Kamyanka. Jim befriends a ten year old brilliant little girl named Stephanie Chevak who builds her own model planes. She has installed a camera on her plane and is testing it when Jim meets her. It just happens her mother is Kate's vivacious friend from college. Her name is Alice Chevak, and she works at the local bank. Kate eventually asks Alice to get her some bank records she needs for her investigation; and shortly thereafter, Alice is killed. Is there a connection between Alice's death and the Russian investigation? Kate's guilt factor ramps up because she thinks she got Alice killed. The case becomes more complicated and more dangerous when one of the crew on the Russian ship is murdered.

Jim boards the Russian ship to investigate the Russian seaman's death, gets shot, and ends up in the hospital. This the defining moment when Kate starts to wake up from her stupor, decides life is worth living again, and begins some investigating on her own.

Other characters include:
- Special FBI Agents Maxine Carroll and Alberto Casanare who are also assigned to Bering to help ferret out Ivanov and be an FBI liaison for Jim. They become convinced that Kate is involved with the Russians. Jim calls them Boris and Natasha.

- Ray Chevak, Alice's grandfather, who, it turns out, has a past romantic connection with Kate's deceased grandmother. Kate can't wrap this information around her mind.

- General Armin Glukhov, another player in the Russian mafia.

- Senator Chris Overmore who is a major stockholder in Northern Consolidated Seafood Distributors, Inc. and is in co-hoots with the Russians when it comes to money laundering.

- Trooper Mary Zarr of Bering whom Jim has a one-time fling with, a hop in and hop out of bed episode, which was not his finest moment. It all has to do with Kate, of course. Zarr helps in the investigation and the final wrap up.

- Charlie Hoffman, Alice's ex-boyfriend, wants her back. He won't take NO for an answer.

The ending is a cliffhanger propelling us to read book 11. This book is part suspense, part whodunit, part psychological, and part thriller. I highly recommend this series.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Setting: St Petersburg, Russia – armored truck heist; Niniltna, Alaska – Kate’s homestead, various others homes; Bering, Alaska – Baird Air - local airport with 2-bunk cabin, bank, friend’s 2 story house with marks from different floods, Russian freighter, ranger’s office,

Theme: grief – separation from emotions; detectiving; reflection on what’s important; wanting to live;

Characters:
First Sergeant Jim Chopin aka Chopper Jim: pilot; First Sergeant of the Alaska State Troopers; months have passed since Kate disappeared, he wants to know where she went; a ladies’ man; in the process of reconnecting with her, he acknowledges that he was jealous of her dead lover (jealous when he was alive), he isn’t interested in women who are making eyes at him, and he is attracted to Kate; sent to flush out Russian mafia – who may be selling plutonium in Bering;

Kate Shugak: shockingly, guiltily suffering the bloody loss of her love – who was finally arranging to move in with her, Kate leaves the Park and her homestead… and is working in Bering at an airport, long shifts, loading/unloading planes – putting a wall up against her emotions, working too hard to feel;

Mutt: Kate’s constant companion / protector; joyfully greets Jim;

Jacob Baird: owns the airport; making hand over fist piles of money; brusk, demanding;

Stephanie Chevak: 10 years old; meets Jim early one morning, when she was flying her model plane with a camera; she is the daughter of Kate’s college friend; she is highly intelligent – into science and math – bedroom full of solar systems, space shuttles, and star wars posters; a misfit at school, and to her tribe (who puts tribe over individualism); Kate tells her she will help her – a phone call or letter away… and when Stephanie says she wants to go away to school, Kate tells her she will help her do so… and suggests she wait 3 years, til Jr High – and to enjoy her grandparents now; when Kate and Jim taken by Russians in plane, she had been experimenting with her camera plane and caught it on tape… and takes the tape to the police;

Alice Chevak: Stephanie’s mom; Kate’s stabilizing friend in college, especially helping her survive her first year; optimistic, friendly; returned home to Bering to raise her daughter (dad’s green fanaticism took him away); head bank clerk; excited to play Nancy Drew for Kate, to retrieve the banking statements of the freighters – especially the Russian one; ends up dead, and though Kate blames herself, thinking it was tied to her investigating, it was an obsessed, drunk exboyfriend who had picked her up in front of the bank and when she refused to return to him, he beat her to death (confessed to sister, who finally told the police);

Ray Chevak: (Emaa / Etakaterina / Kate’s grandmother)’s lover; a shock for Kate to find this man who loved her grandmother so much and for so long… her grandmother kept that part of her life hidden from Kate;

Senator Christopher Overmore: Bering’s Senator in the legislature; in cahoots with the Russians to money laundering through his brother-in-law’s bank;

Ivanov aka Kamyanka: very good looking; no pictures on file; stepped into head of Russian mafia; stole rubles, stole plutonium, to finance his entry into American commerce and money laundering;

General Armin Glukhov: Overmore’s friend from way back; working with Ivanov and Overmore in money laundering;

Yuri: one of the crew on the Russian ship; brings knick knacks to Kate to ship to Russia – and stays and plays Snide cards with her late at night; a bit of flirting, a way to pass the time; and then, he is the one assigned to Kate when they think she knows too much… ohhhh Yuri… he gets his;

Maxine Carroll / Alberto CasanareCesanare: FBI Special Agents , task force - the Russian mafia: convinced Kate is bad; convinced that terrorists are in Alaska to deal with the Russians for the plutonium… they are last on board to see that there was a broader picture of money laundering;

Kiril Davidovitch: security on armored truck, survived and can identify Ivanovich;

Summary:
Exterior story – figuring out the Russian’s game; Jim spends an hour on the Russian freighter, doesn’t find anything, and gets kalunked on the head, and doesn’t remember anything; Kate goes much further in uncovering what was going on – the bank records… her invitation on the Russian ship by Yuri… her library investigation into her friends.

Interior story – Jim, mixed feelings around Kate – anger, worry, sexual; he comforts her when she breaks down after he tells her Stephanie is dead – when she feels like the angel of death – and cuddles with her when she sleeps, and she wakes up enough to initiate lovemaking, not taking no when he tries to withdraw – but calling him Jack towards the end; Kate is rejoining the world – bit by bit… extending her hand to little Stephanie… investigating… crying… and when someone tries to kill her, realizes she wants to live… she wants to go home;

Jim and Kate end up on the highjacked plane of the Russians… they are going to push Kate out the door… Jim plummets the plane, saving them both…

And Kate returns home, and has fun with Mutt on the path back to her Homestead;
Memorable Scenes:
“He opened the door and sat sideways on the seat, arms folded across his chest, watching a squirrel stuff her face with spruce cone seeds, the individual petals of the cone raining down in a tiny shower of debris, her cheeks pouched out like an overstuffed purse. She was an efficient if messy eater.”

She had been born Native and raised white, giving her a foot in both worlds. It had cursed her with perspective. Perspective was a quality essential in seeing things clearly for what they were, but not so good when it came time to take sides, to commit to family or, as in this case, tribal loyalty.

He sat up with a jerk, toppling Mutt to the floor. A small woman stood in the doorway, framed by the afternoon sun streaming in around her. Her face was in shadow, but he would have recognized the outline of that figure inhis sleep, as he had recognized the low rasp of her voice. “Kate?” The familiar husby rasp of her voice was welcome, if its words were not. “What the hell are you doing here, Chopin?”… After that first startled exclamation, she had, it appeared, nothing further to say to him… He heard Chick’s words echo against the inside of his skull. No snap, no crackle, no pop, no sparks at all. She’s pulled the plug.

“Jim Chopin, of all people. .. also known with some truth as the Father of the Park. He just had to show up and destroy what fragile peace of mind she had managed to achieve after four months’ effort. He even had the gall to be angry, not just angry but furious, almost violent in his rage… She didn’t want to feel.

After Yuri, who had seemed a friend, came and played cards with Kate a couple of times a week late at night, seemingly light hearted, knucks her on the head, kidnaps her, and tries to kill her – Kate manages to knock him out of the truck, and Mutt caught up, growls, and he missteps backward down the cliff part way – dead… and “mutt squatted over Yuri’s body, cut loose with a stream of urine, kicked a contemptuous pawful of dirt over him and bounded up the bank. She jumped up to place her paws on Kate’s shoulders, anxious eyes staring into Kate’s own. A steady, worried whine had replaced the menacing growl. ‘It’s okay, girl.’ The words came out in a croaking whisper.”

“In his life he had never treated a woman so shabbily. Yes, he thought of himself as a cocksman; yes, he’d had a weather eye out for the girl most likely since he was fourteen and had been deflowered lustily and most enjoyably by the girls’ softball coach at the Y. He loved women, all women, short, tall, fat, thin, old, young; he did not discriminate. He loved everything about them, the shapes of their bodies as well as the convoluted workings of their minds. He loved the chase as much as he loved the culmination of the chase. His problem was that he had a short attention span, as the first women in his life had pointed out to him, with emphasis. He made up for it with a combination of truth and good manners; telling the first and displaying the second. Telling the truth entailed never making promises he knew he wouldn’t keep. Good manners included waking up next to the same woman you’d gone to bed with the night before, remembering her name, and thinking her in word and deed for the privelage.”

“Why’d he try to kill you?
“I don’t know. He didn’t say, and I was too busy fending him off to ask him,” she said, with a returning spark of her old spirit.”

[JPT · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook
Story: B+, Narration: B

Not a review, just some thoughts for personal reference. Spoilers and rambling ahead

My poor memory again. I remember a lot of the individual events/scenes from this series, but don't usually remember where they fit in. And I often don't remember the overall plot of the books. As I've noted before, that probably because the focus--for me, at least--is the characters and setting. In this book, I pretty much only remember the beginning (Kate's suicide attempt, and Mutt stopping her), the end (Johnny showing up), and Kate sleeping with Jim. Nada about Bering, the Russians, Jim's case, Alice (Kate's college friend) and her daughter Stephanie, etc. I didn't remember about Ray--Alice's grandfather who, coincidentally, turned out to be Kate's late grandmother's lover. Or Alice's boss, who was in with the bad Russians up to his neck. (These books are always full of coincidences, which is one of the things that keep them from getting top marks, no matter how much I enjoy them.)

Some technology is creeping into these books, with more people (not Kate) owning them. But we still had an FBI agent trying to find a pay phone (can't remember if his battery was low or if he didn't own one). There are also observations about the political, and geopolitical, situation that are interesting (for a variety of reasons) in light of subsequent real life events. Some were on the market, others much less so.

I did find the depiction of grief to be very poignant and searing. Mostly Kate's, of course, as she's still digging herself out of a black pit.
But we also have Alice's family and their grief over her, and even Ray's grief over Kate's grandmother. Grief manifests in an infinite variety of ways.

Also wanted to add that, like so many of the books in the series, there are a lot of loose ends. Some of that is because the books are in real time in the sense that the resolution will be in the future for both Kate and us. For example, the legal proceedings from the previous book. I kind of understand, but I want more immediate closure. (It was hell reading these as they were published.) But I'd like to know more from this book--did Stephanie visit Baird, what happened with the FBI characters, were the Americans charged, will Kate have to testify, was Charlie convicted, etc. Since Kate stayed in Bering awhile, some of the answers might be known. I also have some quibbles about the sequel bait of Johnny's return. Part of me appreciates it, and I do remember the outcome so I'm not on tenterhooks, but part of me thinks it's a bit cheap.

Re the narration: I admit I was a bit taken aback by Marguerite Gavin's performance. I noted that I thought she was the best I'd ever heard her in the previous book, Hunter's Moon. I barely even recognized her in this one. She was so flat. I did wonder if that was intentional, that she was trying to show how emotionally flat Kate was. I just don't know, but it was odd and disconcerting.