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Kate Shugak #1
A Cold Day for Murder
KATE SHUGAK is a native Aleut working as a private investigator in Alaska. She's 5 foot 1 inch tall, carries a scar that runs from ear to ear across her throat and owns half-wolf, half-husky dog named Mutt. Resourceful, strong-willed, defiant, Kate is tougher than your average heroine – and she needs to be to survive the worst the Alaskan wilds can throw at her.
A COLD DAY FOR MURDER.
Somewhere in twenty million acres of forest and glaciers, a ranger has disappeared: Mark Miller. Missing six weeks. It's assumed by the Alaskan Parks Department that Miller has been caught in a snowstorm and frozen to death, the typical fate of those who get lost in this vast and desolate terrain. But as a favour to his congressman father, the FBI send in an investigator: Ken Dahl. Last heard from two weeks and two days ago.Now it's time to send in a professional. Kate Shugak: light brown eyes, black hair, five foot tall with an angry scar from ear to ear. Last seen yesterday...
204 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 1992
2408 people are currently reading
15590 people want to read
About the author
Dana Stabenow
104 books2,145 followersDana 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,597 reviews
December 30, 2022
I've been wanting to check out this series for quite some time. I do like my thrillers cold. When I saw this book on Netgalley, it was done, I have to read it!
At 5 feet tall with a scar across her neck from ear to ear, Kate is an Aleut native and once a star investigator with Anchorage DA. She left that life behind over a year ago and now lives by herself in the wilderness with a part wolf part husky dog named Mutt.
Her old boss, Jack Morgan along with FBI agent visited Kate to seek her help. A park ranger went missing 6 weeks ago, and a DA investigator sent to look for him was last heard from 2 weeks ago. Kate knows the area best and is their best bet to find the missing men.
I love the tough no nonsense female lead. Kate's history and being a native are a big plus making her unique. There's a great insight into the Aleut culture, the old and new ways. I enjoy mysteries set in Alaska so this is a series that I'll be following. This story started a bit slow while the characters are introduced, but the pace picked up later. I didn't figure out the mystery and it's a HUGE surprise!
Dana Stabenow's "A Cold Day for Murder" is the first in the Kate Shugak series with #23 coming out in April 2023. The tough question would be, would I read book two or jump ahead? 😩
Thank you Aria & Aries - Head of Zeus, and Netgalley for my DRC.
Republished date January 5, 2023!
At 5 feet tall with a scar across her neck from ear to ear, Kate is an Aleut native and once a star investigator with Anchorage DA. She left that life behind over a year ago and now lives by herself in the wilderness with a part wolf part husky dog named Mutt.
Her old boss, Jack Morgan along with FBI agent visited Kate to seek her help. A park ranger went missing 6 weeks ago, and a DA investigator sent to look for him was last heard from 2 weeks ago. Kate knows the area best and is their best bet to find the missing men.
I love the tough no nonsense female lead. Kate's history and being a native are a big plus making her unique. There's a great insight into the Aleut culture, the old and new ways. I enjoy mysteries set in Alaska so this is a series that I'll be following. This story started a bit slow while the characters are introduced, but the pace picked up later. I didn't figure out the mystery and it's a HUGE surprise!
Dana Stabenow's "A Cold Day for Murder" is the first in the Kate Shugak series with #23 coming out in April 2023. The tough question would be, would I read book two or jump ahead? 😩
Thank you Aria & Aries - Head of Zeus, and Netgalley for my DRC.
Republished date January 5, 2023!
July 11, 2022
Kate Shugak quit her job as a DA in Anchorage eighteen months ago and is now living in the Alaskan bush on her father’s homestead. Her ex shows up with an FBI agent and requests Kate’s help to find two missing people. This was a fairly short first novel in the series (only 5 hours on audiobook) and much of the novel was spent introducing numerous characters and describing them in great detail and describing setting. It took a while for the mystery part of the novel to really kick off, but the second half of the novel picked up speed. I enjoy books with unusual settings and the details of Alaskan life were interesting and well-drawn.
August 22, 2013
This is the first of Dana Stabenow's novels that I've read, and I think the first she wrote. I almost stopped about half-way through but I'm glad I didn't. After a long period of introducing characters and the Alaska locale, with a plot going nowhere, the pace did pick up and the story became interesting. Not fantastic, but interesting. There is some good writing with relaxed and amusing observations, but there are also segments where the writing just "tries too hard," and other segments where it seems cliche-driven. The solution to the crime came much too fast and without the reader having much opportunity to share in the detecting. The action scenes didn't generate much tension. In summary, it's an OK read, but I cannot imagine why it won an Edgar Award.
April 19, 2014
I admit I like free shit. I also admit I’m not entirely rational in my thought process. For example, I happily hand over my Bouchercon and Left Coast Crime Conference fees and feel like I’ve won the lottery when I receive a bag filled with books. Seriously, this ends up being one of the major highlights of these conferences. So in my continued pursuit of this high, minus the conference fees, I have decided to scour Amazon for the best free short stories and books available. With that being said, let’s get to the review.
The beginning of A COLD DAY FOR MURDER reminded me of a tall sequoia, as I stood on the uppermost branches, staring out at a picturesque world, before I slipped and then smacked every branch on the way down. Even though I’ve never been to Alaska, I feel like I could paint a picture of its vast wilderness and attractive scenery and include a few interesting characters to boot, if I should so desire. Several of the chapters began with multiple pages of description, the text coming to life right before my eyes, springing forth like a cactus in the desert.
It wasn’t until I was about 36% through this tale on my Kindle (this transfers to roughly 71 pages into the print edition) before the mystery really took hold and took off. Had it not been for some lovely description and Kate’s straightforward, no-holds-barred mentality, I might have given up on this novel earlier. As it stands, though, I was rather glad I pushed through. Even though Kate isn’t the most likeable character, I really enjoyed her toughness and even found her abrasiveness rather amusing most of the time. She’s a character with some rough edges that I’m sure will get smoothed out in one of her later adventures.
As for the other characters, none are as fleshed out as Kate Shugak, but all showed signs of life and enough enthusiasm for further tales. The mystery proved interesting and engaging, but at times it felt like it took a backseat to the characters and the scenery. In the end, though, this was an enjoyable read from the first page to the last, it all fit together perfectly, and I look forward to catching up on more of Kate’s exploits.
Cross-posted at Robert's Reads
The beginning of A COLD DAY FOR MURDER reminded me of a tall sequoia, as I stood on the uppermost branches, staring out at a picturesque world, before I slipped and then smacked every branch on the way down. Even though I’ve never been to Alaska, I feel like I could paint a picture of its vast wilderness and attractive scenery and include a few interesting characters to boot, if I should so desire. Several of the chapters began with multiple pages of description, the text coming to life right before my eyes, springing forth like a cactus in the desert.
It wasn’t until I was about 36% through this tale on my Kindle (this transfers to roughly 71 pages into the print edition) before the mystery really took hold and took off. Had it not been for some lovely description and Kate’s straightforward, no-holds-barred mentality, I might have given up on this novel earlier. As it stands, though, I was rather glad I pushed through. Even though Kate isn’t the most likeable character, I really enjoyed her toughness and even found her abrasiveness rather amusing most of the time. She’s a character with some rough edges that I’m sure will get smoothed out in one of her later adventures.
As for the other characters, none are as fleshed out as Kate Shugak, but all showed signs of life and enough enthusiasm for further tales. The mystery proved interesting and engaging, but at times it felt like it took a backseat to the characters and the scenery. In the end, though, this was an enjoyable read from the first page to the last, it all fit together perfectly, and I look forward to catching up on more of Kate’s exploits.
Cross-posted at Robert's Reads
March 30, 2017
I listened to the audiobook version which is narrated by the wonderful Marguerite Gavin. I think that helped me to like this more than if I had read it myself. The characters were mostly interesting and/or quirky and making the heroine an Aleut woman gave some insight into the culture of the native Alaskan People. The story itself felt a little long-winded and overly descriptive at times however and I found my mind wandering more than once. I don't really want a play-by-play account of how the heroine's grandmother makes cocoa and fried bread. The mystery and the subsequent investigation felt a little flat and there didn't seem to be any sense of urgency. I'm fine with leaving the series at one and done.
April 19, 2017
I should have guessed who the criminal was. That's because in the first book of a long running series, it is always a near or dear who commits the crime.
Dana Stabenow has certainly captivated my attention. I've never read so much descriptiveness in a book under 300 pages. I'm sure I'll follow a few of the sequels and see if the quality really holds up.
I recommend this book. Its flashbacks, necessary an evil as they are, do not bog down the book, and this setting reminds me of the simple but classic quip: Juneau the capital of Alaska? I really want to know what the next book will be about, because it seems that a sequel is unsustainable as things stand in the first book.
Dana Stabenow has certainly captivated my attention. I've never read so much descriptiveness in a book under 300 pages. I'm sure I'll follow a few of the sequels and see if the quality really holds up.
I recommend this book. Its flashbacks, necessary an evil as they are, do not bog down the book, and this setting reminds me of the simple but classic quip: Juneau the capital of Alaska? I really want to know what the next book will be about, because it seems that a sequel is unsustainable as things stand in the first book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 25, 2022
A Cold Day for Murder was very good book. It is the first book of the Kate Shugak Investigation series. Kate Shugak is the main character, She is a Aleut who lives an isolated life in the wilderness with her dog, Mutt who is part wolf. Jack Morgan, head of D.A. Investigations comes to her home with Fred Gamble, F.B.I. They need her help finding a park ranger, Mark Miller who disappeared six weeks ago. Jack sent Kenneth Dahl to find him and he also has disappeared. Kate goes to Niniltna, a village of 800 inhabitants to see her grandmother, Ekaterina Moonin Shugak (emaa) to ask her if she knows anything about the missing men. Most of the story takes place in and around this town. Kate seems to be related to half of the town.
Kate goes to see her cousin, Bernie in his bar to ask him about the missing men and if he knew them. While at the bar she runs into Mac Devlin who tells her that he wants to open the old Nalesna Mine. He mentions that he had a run in with Mark as he had turned him in, She asks him if he had anything to do with his disappearance and the other man, Kenneth. He denies having anything to do with the missing men. Kate also run into her cousin, Xemia who had been dating Mark.
Lots of things start to happen that is too much to put all on paper. I will leave the adventure to the reader to enjoy. The story has other people in the story that are important and add to the story. Abel Int-Hout who brought Kate up and taught her everything. Mandy Baker who owns a homestead and is a musher. Bobby Clark who operates the radio and is a good friend of Kate's. The story climax's with a surprise ending.
I really enjoyed this book and plan to read other book in this series.
Thank you NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing, Head of Zeus Ltd. for this ARC.
Kate goes to see her cousin, Bernie in his bar to ask him about the missing men and if he knew them. While at the bar she runs into Mac Devlin who tells her that he wants to open the old Nalesna Mine. He mentions that he had a run in with Mark as he had turned him in, She asks him if he had anything to do with his disappearance and the other man, Kenneth. He denies having anything to do with the missing men. Kate also run into her cousin, Xemia who had been dating Mark.
Lots of things start to happen that is too much to put all on paper. I will leave the adventure to the reader to enjoy. The story has other people in the story that are important and add to the story. Abel Int-Hout who brought Kate up and taught her everything. Mandy Baker who owns a homestead and is a musher. Bobby Clark who operates the radio and is a good friend of Kate's. The story climax's with a surprise ending.
I really enjoyed this book and plan to read other book in this series.
Thank you NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing, Head of Zeus Ltd. for this ARC.
January 11, 2022
My Year of (Mostly) Mysterious Women continues with series fiction featuring women detectives. I’m avoiding police procedurals and standalone “women in peril'' thrillers to focus on ladies who are amateur sleuths. A Cold Day For Murder is my introduction to author Dana Stabenow and her series featuring Kate Shugak. Published in 1992, this novel held my attention early with some strong writing, particularly of the unnamed Alaskan national park where the story takes place, and a native Aleut woman who serves as the protagonist. The mystery as it unfolded was not at all compelling and the obstacles too low for me to want to continue the series.
The story begins with two men traveling across the Alaskan bush on a snowmobile in December. Anchorage District Attorney Jack Morgan (described by Stanebow as if John Wayne had been outfitted by Eddie Bauer) is at the helm and FBI agent Fred Gamble is along for the ride, without boots on his feet. They arrive at a cabin of a homesteader who seems to keep to herself. Kate Shugak, former star of the Anchorage District Attorney's investigate staff, lives here with her half-wolf, half-husky Mutt. She's twenty-nine or thirty, no more than five feet tall and has a mean scar across her throat.
Jack and the fed ask for Kate's help tracking down a young ranger who disappeared in the park six weeks ago. The smarty, greenie ranger is the son of a U.S. congressman. The investigator that the D.A.'s office sent looking for him has gone missing for two weeks, a man Kate trained and had been sharing her bed with every few weeks. Kate and Mutt take the assignment, visiting first with her elder first cousin Abel Int-Hout who taught Kate what she knows about the outdoors after she lost her mother at age six and her father two years later. Kate rounds up the usual suspects in the fictional village of "Niniltna."
Travel in Alaska is a matter of ceaseless caveats and cyclic qualifications. Thus the Kanuyaq River was navigable only as far as Niniltna, sixty-five miles upriver from its mouth on Prince William Sound, and then only by flat-bottomed riverboats or skiffs, and then only from the beginning of June until the end of September. By the first of November the river was frozen over; by December it was a crazy quilt of broken bergs. The townspeople crossed freely from bank to bank, and it stayed that way until the breakup in March or April or, in years when winter outstayed its welcome, maybe even May.
Twenty, even ten years before, the town had been little more than a collection of shacks and the only building wired for electricity was the school. But in 1971 Congress passed the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. ANSCA settled forty million acres of land and a billion dollars on the six different ethnic groups of Alaska, ostensibly as compensation for the loss of lands historically occupied by their ancestors. The cynical saw it as a bribe to get the tribes to withdraw their objections to the construction of the TransAlaska Pipeline smack down the center of the state and, not coincidentally, all those Alaskan aboriginal hunting grounds.
It's fascinating how a novel can be off a step every other page and by the end of the book, it's two miles from where I wanted to be. Kate Shugak is a Native American woman with rich culture, she's a loner in the best tradition of private detectives, able to tussle in both rural or urban environments (this entry takes place entirely in the bush). There are no sex scenes, but it's revealed in dialogue that Kate is sexually active and seems to be doing very well for not having indoor plumbing at her place. Descriptions of communities of the Alaskan bush, though fictional rather than real villages or businesses, are excellent. All great, so far.
Niniltna was a village of eight hundred inhabitants that doubled in population in the summer when the salmon were running. This made it a metropolis by Alaskan bush standards. Its buildings crouched together on the flat, boggy muskeg at the edge of the Kanuyaq River--the river that served as the drainage ditch to the park, the river into which all glaciers eventually melted and into which all creeks and streams flowed. It was the river up which the Chinook and sockeye and silver and humpy and dog salmon migrated to lay their eggs and die or to be tangled in set nets and air-freighted to Anchorage, there to be cleaned and frozen and shipped to restaurants and supermarkets half a world away. Usually the fishermen were Aleut and Athabascan and Tlingit Indians who fished with centuries-old squatters' rights. Occasionally a sports fisherman flew in, fished his limit and turned his catch over to one of half a dozen Native women who would filet it and smoke it, rendering it tough and stringy and delicious. It was said that smoked salmon was not real smoked salmon unless your jaw ached and your house smelled for a minimum of three days afterward.
While not Stabenow's first novel, A Cold Day For Murder feels like one. With my number one pet peeve in fiction, characters refer to each other by given name, incessantly. "Kate --" "Shut up about that, Jack." Maybe editors instruct authors to do this, wanting to err on the side of clarity rather than verisimilitude. In a book with a dozen characters, all familiar with each other, that's a lot of name-calling. There's also a lot of repetition, with Kate repeating the story of the two missing men to every character she comes across. Rather than place Kate at risk, Stabenow tries to give the book a quirky feel, which I didn't particularly feel the material warranted. It's a murder mystery set in a national park where people protect their anonymity and are doing something illegal, but Stabenow comes to the page very lightly. This is not a cozy mystery, but it is a friendly one. Kate Shugak knows everyone. Everyone knows her. She's never uncomfortable, never placed in any real danger. It makes for very low stakes and that made me start skimming.
While reading, I imagined Noomi Rapace as Kate Shugak.
The story begins with two men traveling across the Alaskan bush on a snowmobile in December. Anchorage District Attorney Jack Morgan (described by Stanebow as if John Wayne had been outfitted by Eddie Bauer) is at the helm and FBI agent Fred Gamble is along for the ride, without boots on his feet. They arrive at a cabin of a homesteader who seems to keep to herself. Kate Shugak, former star of the Anchorage District Attorney's investigate staff, lives here with her half-wolf, half-husky Mutt. She's twenty-nine or thirty, no more than five feet tall and has a mean scar across her throat.
Jack and the fed ask for Kate's help tracking down a young ranger who disappeared in the park six weeks ago. The smarty, greenie ranger is the son of a U.S. congressman. The investigator that the D.A.'s office sent looking for him has gone missing for two weeks, a man Kate trained and had been sharing her bed with every few weeks. Kate and Mutt take the assignment, visiting first with her elder first cousin Abel Int-Hout who taught Kate what she knows about the outdoors after she lost her mother at age six and her father two years later. Kate rounds up the usual suspects in the fictional village of "Niniltna."
Travel in Alaska is a matter of ceaseless caveats and cyclic qualifications. Thus the Kanuyaq River was navigable only as far as Niniltna, sixty-five miles upriver from its mouth on Prince William Sound, and then only by flat-bottomed riverboats or skiffs, and then only from the beginning of June until the end of September. By the first of November the river was frozen over; by December it was a crazy quilt of broken bergs. The townspeople crossed freely from bank to bank, and it stayed that way until the breakup in March or April or, in years when winter outstayed its welcome, maybe even May.
Twenty, even ten years before, the town had been little more than a collection of shacks and the only building wired for electricity was the school. But in 1971 Congress passed the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. ANSCA settled forty million acres of land and a billion dollars on the six different ethnic groups of Alaska, ostensibly as compensation for the loss of lands historically occupied by their ancestors. The cynical saw it as a bribe to get the tribes to withdraw their objections to the construction of the TransAlaska Pipeline smack down the center of the state and, not coincidentally, all those Alaskan aboriginal hunting grounds.
It's fascinating how a novel can be off a step every other page and by the end of the book, it's two miles from where I wanted to be. Kate Shugak is a Native American woman with rich culture, she's a loner in the best tradition of private detectives, able to tussle in both rural or urban environments (this entry takes place entirely in the bush). There are no sex scenes, but it's revealed in dialogue that Kate is sexually active and seems to be doing very well for not having indoor plumbing at her place. Descriptions of communities of the Alaskan bush, though fictional rather than real villages or businesses, are excellent. All great, so far.
Niniltna was a village of eight hundred inhabitants that doubled in population in the summer when the salmon were running. This made it a metropolis by Alaskan bush standards. Its buildings crouched together on the flat, boggy muskeg at the edge of the Kanuyaq River--the river that served as the drainage ditch to the park, the river into which all glaciers eventually melted and into which all creeks and streams flowed. It was the river up which the Chinook and sockeye and silver and humpy and dog salmon migrated to lay their eggs and die or to be tangled in set nets and air-freighted to Anchorage, there to be cleaned and frozen and shipped to restaurants and supermarkets half a world away. Usually the fishermen were Aleut and Athabascan and Tlingit Indians who fished with centuries-old squatters' rights. Occasionally a sports fisherman flew in, fished his limit and turned his catch over to one of half a dozen Native women who would filet it and smoke it, rendering it tough and stringy and delicious. It was said that smoked salmon was not real smoked salmon unless your jaw ached and your house smelled for a minimum of three days afterward.
While not Stabenow's first novel, A Cold Day For Murder feels like one. With my number one pet peeve in fiction, characters refer to each other by given name, incessantly. "Kate --" "Shut up about that, Jack." Maybe editors instruct authors to do this, wanting to err on the side of clarity rather than verisimilitude. In a book with a dozen characters, all familiar with each other, that's a lot of name-calling. There's also a lot of repetition, with Kate repeating the story of the two missing men to every character she comes across. Rather than place Kate at risk, Stabenow tries to give the book a quirky feel, which I didn't particularly feel the material warranted. It's a murder mystery set in a national park where people protect their anonymity and are doing something illegal, but Stabenow comes to the page very lightly. This is not a cozy mystery, but it is a friendly one. Kate Shugak knows everyone. Everyone knows her. She's never uncomfortable, never placed in any real danger. It makes for very low stakes and that made me start skimming.
While reading, I imagined Noomi Rapace as Kate Shugak.
October 14, 2024
Kate Shugak was quietly enjoying life in her father's old homestead in one of Alaska's national parks, with Mutt, her half-wolf/half husky, by her side, when Jack Morgan - Kate's ex-boss and ex-boyfriend, from Anchorage - arrived to ask for her help. A park ranger had been missing for the past six weeks, and the investigator Jack had sent in to find him, was now also missing. Kate knew the wilderness like the back of her hand, but it was with great reluctance she took Mutt and began her search. The December weather was frigid; no one could remember a winter so cold, so it was doubtful that the two men would still be alive. Would Kate find them in the vast frozen wilderness? Was she putting herself in danger from the person/s who had caused the two men to go missing?
Set in Alaska, A Cold Day for Murder is the 1st in the Kate Shugak series by Dana Stabenow, and I have had it on my kindle since January 2012! It was a slow burning mystery which didn't seem to have a lot happening - certainly not as was said in the blurb. But I did enjoy Kate's character, along with Mutt. Kate had been through a terrible trauma prior to moving back to the family home, and the peace she'd found didn't last once Jack approached her. I'll check out #2 (and not wait so long to read it!!) and recommend A Cold Day for Murder to fans of the genre.
Set in Alaska, A Cold Day for Murder is the 1st in the Kate Shugak series by Dana Stabenow, and I have had it on my kindle since January 2012! It was a slow burning mystery which didn't seem to have a lot happening - certainly not as was said in the blurb. But I did enjoy Kate's character, along with Mutt. Kate had been through a terrible trauma prior to moving back to the family home, and the peace she'd found didn't last once Jack approached her. I'll check out #2 (and not wait so long to read it!!) and recommend A Cold Day for Murder to fans of the genre.
October 11, 2018
2.5 stars
Most of the stars for this go to the setting, the brutal beauty of the Alaskan wilds. And for Kate Shugak's half wolf pet, Mutt. The author does well to set up the close knit community where everyone knows everyone else's business and feels like they have the right to get all up in it. It factors well into the plot, where personal interests clash enough for two people to end up dead. But the characters themselves were pretty light, with the author trying to be too quirky in their creation or failing in their depiction. The whole thing made more difficult by the serious lack of veracity in the conversation or relationships, sometimes bad enough to make me tense.
The overarching premise is interesting enough and I like the feel of Kate if not the execution. In any case, I have her newest book to read so i'll know by the end whether to come back for more.
ARC via Netgalley
Most of the stars for this go to the setting, the brutal beauty of the Alaskan wilds. And for Kate Shugak's half wolf pet, Mutt. The author does well to set up the close knit community where everyone knows everyone else's business and feels like they have the right to get all up in it. It factors well into the plot, where personal interests clash enough for two people to end up dead. But the characters themselves were pretty light, with the author trying to be too quirky in their creation or failing in their depiction. The whole thing made more difficult by the serious lack of veracity in the conversation or relationships, sometimes bad enough to make me tense.
The overarching premise is interesting enough and I like the feel of Kate if not the execution. In any case, I have her newest book to read so i'll know by the end whether to come back for more.
ARC via Netgalley
February 23, 2016
3.8 stars
Wonderful first book in a series, I am hooked. Alaskan setting, tough Alaskan woman with scars, fab dog/wolf sidekick, and snarky side characters all wrapped around a decent story ! Ding ding winner ! The cast in this story are offbeat, and maybe a touch crazy, which makes them even more enjoyable to get to know. I have a favorite snarky character Bobby, you have to meet this guy. I want him to be my neighbor, we could get in trouble. :D
If you are looking for a murder mystery series to get lost in give this one a try. I hear there are 19 more books already published just waiting to be picked up. Hot Tamales I like not waiting for the next book !
Wonderful first book in a series, I am hooked. Alaskan setting, tough Alaskan woman with scars, fab dog/wolf sidekick, and snarky side characters all wrapped around a decent story ! Ding ding winner ! The cast in this story are offbeat, and maybe a touch crazy, which makes them even more enjoyable to get to know. I have a favorite snarky character Bobby, you have to meet this guy. I want him to be my neighbor, we could get in trouble. :D
If you are looking for a murder mystery series to get lost in give this one a try. I hear there are 19 more books already published just waiting to be picked up. Hot Tamales I like not waiting for the next book !
February 7, 2017
I enjoyed this book very much. Loved reading about Alaska and its people. I like Kate Shugak a lot so I look forward to reading more about her.
December 28, 2008
Kate Shugak is an Alaskan Aleut living in an arctic national park, a former investigator for the Alaska District Attorney, and now something of a freelancer. To paraphrase the nonfictional Kate who pointed me in the direction of these books, Kate Shugak is wounded and intense and competent, unimpressed with anyone’s self-importance, hard to drag away from her cabin and her kitchen and her half-wolf half-deaf companion, Mutt. And she also solves crime.
Oh, lovely. These tiny novels evoke Alaska with broad but compelling strokes. The landscape, weather, wildlife, history, and politics sometimes feel like characters themselves, a few among the surprisingly large supporting cast of fishers and trappers and racers and natives and outsiders and addicts (and disabled people!). The mysteries are also creative -- A Fatal Thaw, which is ostensibly about Kate tracking the shooter of a local girl, plays with genre conventions in nifty ways that I won’t spoil for you. Dead in the Water takes Kate onto a crabber up in the Aleutians, and A Cold-Blooded Business sends her much farther north to the slopes of the Prudhoe oil field to find the source of a massive drug problem.
And I think that’s what I really like here -- A Cold-Blooded Business is about a native Alaskan’s view of the oil drilling and, as most of the books are to some degree or other, also about the plague of substance abuse which is still raging through the state’s communities, native and otherwise. And it’s quite a funny book. I kid you not. There’s a gritty sort of charm here, and a surprising sense of whimsy. There’s also a stark but compassionate portrait of a native community looking uncertainly into the future and drinking itself to sleep every night, of its confused and angry children, of cruelty and evil. Somehow, making these things co-exist works, and works well.
Stabenow does stumble, as we all do, most notably with an over reliance on dated cultural references as character descriptors, and an occasional misjudgment of a detail that left me snorting rather than touched or impressed (your heroine really should not tack her letter of resignation to her boss’s door with the bloody knife which had been used to cut her own throat. I mean, really). But these are great, compact, rich stories, and I’m simply delighted to have them sent my way.
Oh, lovely. These tiny novels evoke Alaska with broad but compelling strokes. The landscape, weather, wildlife, history, and politics sometimes feel like characters themselves, a few among the surprisingly large supporting cast of fishers and trappers and racers and natives and outsiders and addicts (and disabled people!). The mysteries are also creative -- A Fatal Thaw, which is ostensibly about Kate tracking the shooter of a local girl, plays with genre conventions in nifty ways that I won’t spoil for you. Dead in the Water takes Kate onto a crabber up in the Aleutians, and A Cold-Blooded Business sends her much farther north to the slopes of the Prudhoe oil field to find the source of a massive drug problem.
And I think that’s what I really like here -- A Cold-Blooded Business is about a native Alaskan’s view of the oil drilling and, as most of the books are to some degree or other, also about the plague of substance abuse which is still raging through the state’s communities, native and otherwise. And it’s quite a funny book. I kid you not. There’s a gritty sort of charm here, and a surprising sense of whimsy. There’s also a stark but compassionate portrait of a native community looking uncertainly into the future and drinking itself to sleep every night, of its confused and angry children, of cruelty and evil. Somehow, making these things co-exist works, and works well.
Stabenow does stumble, as we all do, most notably with an over reliance on dated cultural references as character descriptors, and an occasional misjudgment of a detail that left me snorting rather than touched or impressed (your heroine really should not tack her letter of resignation to her boss’s door with the bloody knife which had been used to cut her own throat. I mean, really). But these are great, compact, rich stories, and I’m simply delighted to have them sent my way.
March 15, 2018
Sinceramente non ne vale la pena. Troppe descrizioni inutili. Cioè le descrizioni vanno pure bene ma molte sembrano solo riempitive per allungare il libro. Per fortuna era in offerta e non l'ho pagato a prezzo pieno. Farò un pensiero sul secondo se sarà in offerta al momento altrimenti passo.
Dopo aver letto alcuni commenti su Anobii e averci pensato un po' posso dire che le due stelle sono anche colpa di chi ha pensato il titolo italiano. Probabilmente, e penso sia vero, io mi aspettavo altro con un titolo come CSI cioè Crime Scene Investigation. Il ritrovamento di un cadavere, le indagini e la soluzione del caso. Solo che invece di essere a LV, NY o Miami siamo in una terra ricoperta dal ghiaccio.
Non è la prima volta che il titolo fa la differenza. Ci fu un Urania che mi era piaciuto ma a molti no. Quello era colpa del titolo secondo me. Il titolo italiano diceva una cosa mentre il titolo inglese originale ne diceva un'altra. In questo caso avevo letto il titolo originale all'interno del paperback e potei apprezzare il volume ma ....
per il libro Alaskiano purtroppo, sebbene sia nella scheda di GR, non l'ho letto fino a poche ore fa per metterlo sul mio Livejournal.
Il due rimane, non mi è piaciuto, ma un titolo può fare la differenza. Non si traduce letterale, se non strettamente necessario, ma nemmeno l'opposto.
Dopo aver letto alcuni commenti su Anobii e averci pensato un po' posso dire che le due stelle sono anche colpa di chi ha pensato il titolo italiano. Probabilmente, e penso sia vero, io mi aspettavo altro con un titolo come CSI cioè Crime Scene Investigation. Il ritrovamento di un cadavere, le indagini e la soluzione del caso. Solo che invece di essere a LV, NY o Miami siamo in una terra ricoperta dal ghiaccio.
Non è la prima volta che il titolo fa la differenza. Ci fu un Urania che mi era piaciuto ma a molti no. Quello era colpa del titolo secondo me. Il titolo italiano diceva una cosa mentre il titolo inglese originale ne diceva un'altra. In questo caso avevo letto il titolo originale all'interno del paperback e potei apprezzare il volume ma ....
per il libro Alaskiano purtroppo, sebbene sia nella scheda di GR, non l'ho letto fino a poche ore fa per metterlo sul mio Livejournal.
Il due rimane, non mi è piaciuto, ma un titolo può fare la differenza. Non si traduce letterale, se non strettamente necessario, ma nemmeno l'opposto.
November 6, 2024
This book is being offered (as well as 10 others in this series) on Kindle Unlimited. There is a new book coming out on April 13th, 2023.
I'm not going to write a synopsis of this particular book for you since it has been done by other reviewers and done so very well. What I am going to tell you is that if you do pick up this book, you will most likely do as I did and have to get the rest. You will feel a need to devour them and find out just how Kate can live in such an inhospitable place (if you don't know what you are doing). These books, which are a combination of police procedural and mystery (later books have a tiny tad of romance, but not in a typical way), feature one of the strongest women protagonists I have ever read about. During this series, Kate will suffer adversity as you may never have read about before, and there is even one book that very nearly made me give up on the series because it was just so harrowing. But I promise you your curiosity will get the best of you, and you WILL go back!
With this the first novel in the Kate Shugak series, we learn enough about why Kate has come back to Niniltna . She seems to be in hiding and licking some wounds. But reading the entire series is the only way to get the fullest view of why she is the way she is. Sometimes cranky, quick to judge (yet almost always right), loving, sexy, strong of body and soul, and a friend you really want at your back.
This is a fascinating read for anyone that dreams of going to Alaska and a special cautionary tale for those that dream of moving there and living nowhere near a big city.
Kate suffers from a Grandmother and 'Aunties' that want her in a more traditional role of the modern Aleuts while fighting for the Native's rights to land, money, aid, etc. But Kate will do what is right and correct - for her while taking a serious stance on what she comes to think of as her 'people' - those who are her friends and family. Don't mess with Kate; she gets even. And especially don't mess with her during "break-up" when the back of winter is finally broken, and the river starts thawing!
I'm not going to write a synopsis of this particular book for you since it has been done by other reviewers and done so very well. What I am going to tell you is that if you do pick up this book, you will most likely do as I did and have to get the rest. You will feel a need to devour them and find out just how Kate can live in such an inhospitable place (if you don't know what you are doing). These books, which are a combination of police procedural and mystery (later books have a tiny tad of romance, but not in a typical way), feature one of the strongest women protagonists I have ever read about. During this series, Kate will suffer adversity as you may never have read about before, and there is even one book that very nearly made me give up on the series because it was just so harrowing. But I promise you your curiosity will get the best of you, and you WILL go back!
With this the first novel in the Kate Shugak series, we learn enough about why Kate has come back to Niniltna . She seems to be in hiding and licking some wounds. But reading the entire series is the only way to get the fullest view of why she is the way she is. Sometimes cranky, quick to judge (yet almost always right), loving, sexy, strong of body and soul, and a friend you really want at your back.
This is a fascinating read for anyone that dreams of going to Alaska and a special cautionary tale for those that dream of moving there and living nowhere near a big city.
Kate suffers from a Grandmother and 'Aunties' that want her in a more traditional role of the modern Aleuts while fighting for the Native's rights to land, money, aid, etc. But Kate will do what is right and correct - for her while taking a serious stance on what she comes to think of as her 'people' - those who are her friends and family. Don't mess with Kate; she gets even. And especially don't mess with her during "break-up" when the back of winter is finally broken, and the river starts thawing!
April 29, 2008
This novel introduces Detective Kate Shugak, a petite, scrappy Aleut woman who lives in a fictional national park in Alaska. A park ranger goes missing, and so does the officer sent to find him. Kate, now working as a private investigator, takes the case, and delves into complicated political issues involving the use of park land for tourist purposes.
I was surprised to learn that this was not actually Stabenow's first novel, because it sure felt like one. The book was much too repetitive; as Kate went around interviewing people, she felt obliged to tell her story over and over again, verbatim. A simple "Quickly she filled X in on the situation" would have sufficed.
Also, I was able to predict the killer reasonably ahead of Kate et al., and it was glaringly obvious. I am not particularly skilled at figuring out whodunnit, so if I *am* able to "call it", I consider that a sign of inferior plotting. (Sometimes I make exceptions to this rule, but in this case the rule holds quite firmly.)
On the positive side, the book was easy to get through, and I did appreciate the originality of Stabenow's sleuth and her setting. However, this entry in the series did not convince me to seek out any more.
I was surprised to learn that this was not actually Stabenow's first novel, because it sure felt like one. The book was much too repetitive; as Kate went around interviewing people, she felt obliged to tell her story over and over again, verbatim. A simple "Quickly she filled X in on the situation" would have sufficed.
Also, I was able to predict the killer reasonably ahead of Kate et al., and it was glaringly obvious. I am not particularly skilled at figuring out whodunnit, so if I *am* able to "call it", I consider that a sign of inferior plotting. (Sometimes I make exceptions to this rule, but in this case the rule holds quite firmly.)
On the positive side, the book was easy to get through, and I did appreciate the originality of Stabenow's sleuth and her setting. However, this entry in the series did not convince me to seek out any more.
October 15, 2011
1.Plot – Kate Shugak left the DA’s office over a year ago after a bust went bad. She’d gone to the home of a child abuser and come out with her throat slashed, leaving the man’s body gutted on the floor behind her. She’d resigned from the D.A.’s stable of investigators by pinning her letter to the door with the knife she’d used to take out the bad man.
For fourteen month’s she stays away from town, living in the rugged Alaska wilderness. She makes do by leading tours every now and then and picking up other odd jobs. Her once beautiful singing voice cut down to a raspy growl and a jagged white scar across her neck from ear to ear where the bad man had cut her before she turned the tables on him.
A member of the Aleut tribe, Kate was raised on tribal lands and knows the area, it’s residents and the dangers better than anybody. So when a congressman’s son winds up missing in the state park and a DA’s investigator goes missing two weeks later, who do you think the FBI is going to come calling on?
It doesn’t help matters that most of her contacts and family are poaching moose and caribou and some are in jail themselves. The locals, especially her people prefer not to speak to anyone they don’t know. Since Kate is one of them, maybe they’ll talk to her? Maybe they’ll shoot at her. Maybe they’ll do both. At least she’s got her half wolf, half husky dog to back her up, Mutt, because otherwise if she sees her ex-partner Jack, she’ll probably shoot him.
2.Characters-
Kate Shugak – tough as nails, beautiful, native American Indian with a touch of Russian heritage and more than a few scars, but only one you can see.
There really isn’t another character on the same tier as Kate. All others, though important, are supporting cast. The most interesting ones are her grandmother, Jack-her ex partner and Able, her second cousin and adopted father.
I should also mention that the tribe themselves works as a character in a collective way. Stanbow does a wonderful job of describing the plight of the once proud Aleuts in the modern world. While struggling between traditional old world values and modern needs the tribe is infused with character all their own and all the eccentricities of those who inhabit the great white north.
3.Action: As an Action tale, this book let me down. Kate Shugak is a wonderful action heroine in the making but Stanbow and her publishers keep her out of any real action. The girl who, after having her own throat slit by a wicked abusive man, fights her way through gutting him with the knife he used to cut her is kept out of a combat situation? Why?
In the story, Kate’s only shot at once, falls down a mine shaft once and rides a snow mobile to town. She slaps Jack a couple of times and kicks him once but that’s the closest she gets to real danger and it’s over as fast as it comes on. Here’s a girl who runs lives alone on a mountain, leads rafting tours and works as a guide to hunting parties, hunts and traps her own food in the wild and they don’t see fit to let her have any action? Come on man!
It’s more than all that. Kate also comes across as rugged and tough. She tenses up ready to fight as if she’s used to it. She doesn’t back down from larger threatening men and that low raspy voice, though it had a tragic origin, is sexy as hell, even if it’s only written. Action was a let down here. Kate could have handled so much more.
4.Did it feel authentic? Perhaps the best part of the entire story was how authentic the Indians and the rough people who live in the North Country came across. I had the feeling that Stanbow wanted everyone to see what poverty, alcohol and addiction had done to the Aleut people and likely the other residents of the park. Even the Alaskan fall and early winter seemed authentic and cold. These weren’t Sarah Palin people (though likely they would have supported her if they were), they had all the quirks and uniqueness needed to be both endearing and troubling.
5.Overall verdict: Overall, this is a 3.5 star read. It’s plot and the murder mystery were not particularly complicated but there were a few twists and turns right up to the last minute and the clues and investigation came across as honestly done. The strength of this story came from the characters including the Aleuts and those who lived with them. Kate Shugak is a wonderfully designed and written heroine. I might have given it a 4 or higher if she’s been allowed to deal with heavier action and more intense situations.
As it is this is a better than average 3 star read. The writing is smooth and polished, the characters well thought out and well designed and Kate is fantastic.
Warnings (always warnings right?
1. There is a lot of violence alluded too in the book. Stanbow doesn’t expose the reader to gore, or gratuitus over the top violence. The level of violence as it is presented is well within the tolerance of a young adult to manage without difficulty.
2. There is some sexual situations in the book. Not too many of them and they don’t last too long but the push the envelope on decency appropriate for young adults and certainly should not be considered appropriate for children. Not to mention Kate and some of the other women in the book behave like single women in their mid to late 20s and early 30s did in the 1970s and 1980s and make no secret about their open attitude towards sex and make no apologies. It’s not a free-for-all or an orgy or even remotely deviant in nature and we don’t get the play by play. They just don’t hide it.
3. The Indian’s are painted in a very realistic light. Poverty, alcoholism and addiction, and a number of other modern problems are painted in a clear picture that is likely accurate. I found it refreshing, interesting and troubling. A few who read this might find it distressing or distracting. Again, I see this as one of the story’s strengths not a liability, but that’s me.
Recommended for: I’d recommend this for young adults to geriatric, but, despite appearances, this is not an action story. It’s a murder mystery and a “who done it.” I hope Stanbow and her publishers allow the Kate Shugak stories include more action and intense scenes in later books.
Bottom line: I liked the style and setting. I liked Stanbow’s prose and polished writing style and I loved the characters (though Kate was by far the most developed character in the story). It’s a good read that, as good as it was, could have been better. You’ll be pleased with it, enjoy it and probably, like me want to read more Kate Shugak stories in the future, but, also like me, you’ll probably see that it could have been better.
For fourteen month’s she stays away from town, living in the rugged Alaska wilderness. She makes do by leading tours every now and then and picking up other odd jobs. Her once beautiful singing voice cut down to a raspy growl and a jagged white scar across her neck from ear to ear where the bad man had cut her before she turned the tables on him.
A member of the Aleut tribe, Kate was raised on tribal lands and knows the area, it’s residents and the dangers better than anybody. So when a congressman’s son winds up missing in the state park and a DA’s investigator goes missing two weeks later, who do you think the FBI is going to come calling on?
It doesn’t help matters that most of her contacts and family are poaching moose and caribou and some are in jail themselves. The locals, especially her people prefer not to speak to anyone they don’t know. Since Kate is one of them, maybe they’ll talk to her? Maybe they’ll shoot at her. Maybe they’ll do both. At least she’s got her half wolf, half husky dog to back her up, Mutt, because otherwise if she sees her ex-partner Jack, she’ll probably shoot him.
2.Characters-
Kate Shugak – tough as nails, beautiful, native American Indian with a touch of Russian heritage and more than a few scars, but only one you can see.
There really isn’t another character on the same tier as Kate. All others, though important, are supporting cast. The most interesting ones are her grandmother, Jack-her ex partner and Able, her second cousin and adopted father.
I should also mention that the tribe themselves works as a character in a collective way. Stanbow does a wonderful job of describing the plight of the once proud Aleuts in the modern world. While struggling between traditional old world values and modern needs the tribe is infused with character all their own and all the eccentricities of those who inhabit the great white north.
3.Action: As an Action tale, this book let me down. Kate Shugak is a wonderful action heroine in the making but Stanbow and her publishers keep her out of any real action. The girl who, after having her own throat slit by a wicked abusive man, fights her way through gutting him with the knife he used to cut her is kept out of a combat situation? Why?
In the story, Kate’s only shot at once, falls down a mine shaft once and rides a snow mobile to town. She slaps Jack a couple of times and kicks him once but that’s the closest she gets to real danger and it’s over as fast as it comes on. Here’s a girl who runs lives alone on a mountain, leads rafting tours and works as a guide to hunting parties, hunts and traps her own food in the wild and they don’t see fit to let her have any action? Come on man!
It’s more than all that. Kate also comes across as rugged and tough. She tenses up ready to fight as if she’s used to it. She doesn’t back down from larger threatening men and that low raspy voice, though it had a tragic origin, is sexy as hell, even if it’s only written. Action was a let down here. Kate could have handled so much more.
4.Did it feel authentic? Perhaps the best part of the entire story was how authentic the Indians and the rough people who live in the North Country came across. I had the feeling that Stanbow wanted everyone to see what poverty, alcohol and addiction had done to the Aleut people and likely the other residents of the park. Even the Alaskan fall and early winter seemed authentic and cold. These weren’t Sarah Palin people (though likely they would have supported her if they were), they had all the quirks and uniqueness needed to be both endearing and troubling.
5.Overall verdict: Overall, this is a 3.5 star read. It’s plot and the murder mystery were not particularly complicated but there were a few twists and turns right up to the last minute and the clues and investigation came across as honestly done. The strength of this story came from the characters including the Aleuts and those who lived with them. Kate Shugak is a wonderfully designed and written heroine. I might have given it a 4 or higher if she’s been allowed to deal with heavier action and more intense situations.
As it is this is a better than average 3 star read. The writing is smooth and polished, the characters well thought out and well designed and Kate is fantastic.
Warnings (always warnings right?
1. There is a lot of violence alluded too in the book. Stanbow doesn’t expose the reader to gore, or gratuitus over the top violence. The level of violence as it is presented is well within the tolerance of a young adult to manage without difficulty.
2. There is some sexual situations in the book. Not too many of them and they don’t last too long but the push the envelope on decency appropriate for young adults and certainly should not be considered appropriate for children. Not to mention Kate and some of the other women in the book behave like single women in their mid to late 20s and early 30s did in the 1970s and 1980s and make no secret about their open attitude towards sex and make no apologies. It’s not a free-for-all or an orgy or even remotely deviant in nature and we don’t get the play by play. They just don’t hide it.
3. The Indian’s are painted in a very realistic light. Poverty, alcoholism and addiction, and a number of other modern problems are painted in a clear picture that is likely accurate. I found it refreshing, interesting and troubling. A few who read this might find it distressing or distracting. Again, I see this as one of the story’s strengths not a liability, but that’s me.
Recommended for: I’d recommend this for young adults to geriatric, but, despite appearances, this is not an action story. It’s a murder mystery and a “who done it.” I hope Stanbow and her publishers allow the Kate Shugak stories include more action and intense scenes in later books.
Bottom line: I liked the style and setting. I liked Stanbow’s prose and polished writing style and I loved the characters (though Kate was by far the most developed character in the story). It’s a good read that, as good as it was, could have been better. You’ll be pleased with it, enjoy it and probably, like me want to read more Kate Shugak stories in the future, but, also like me, you’ll probably see that it could have been better.
August 16, 2017
A Cold Day for Murder is the first book in the Kate Shugak series and I've found myself a new series that I want to read. This book had everything I like about a mystery book, engaging characters, fabulous milieu, and an interesting mystery.
Kate Shugak almost died on a mission and after that did she quit her job, but when this case lands on her doorstep does she decide to try to find the ranger and the detective who gone missing. She had a personal relationship with the detective in questions so finding him is personal for her. But, they have both been gone for weeks and the weather is cold so the chances of finding one of them or both are slim.
The book isn't especially long, but I quite liked this little mystery. What I really loved about this book was the setting. The waste wilderness of Alaska, with small towns, where everyone knows each other. The mystery in itself was interesting as well and I have to admit that I did not see the ending coming until Kate herself started to see where it was all leading to. I quite liked learning more about Kate and her family and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the books in the series to see what the future will bring for Kate.
I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!
Kate Shugak almost died on a mission and after that did she quit her job, but when this case lands on her doorstep does she decide to try to find the ranger and the detective who gone missing. She had a personal relationship with the detective in questions so finding him is personal for her. But, they have both been gone for weeks and the weather is cold so the chances of finding one of them or both are slim.
The book isn't especially long, but I quite liked this little mystery. What I really loved about this book was the setting. The waste wilderness of Alaska, with small towns, where everyone knows each other. The mystery in itself was interesting as well and I have to admit that I did not see the ending coming until Kate herself started to see where it was all leading to. I quite liked learning more about Kate and her family and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the books in the series to see what the future will bring for Kate.
I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!
September 16, 2021
I’d been meaning to start this for a long time and I’m pleased to have finally got round to it. Kate is an enigmatic, independent woman who has obviously been through a lot. Tribal politics play a big part in an unnamed National Park (one of 17) in Alaska. The crime actually a sad one. We see how the old tribal ways are struggling as a new generation wants more from life. Fascinating to see what a powerful a little old grandma could be within a community too!
March 8, 2013
A kindle freebie that was well recommended but I was very disappointed. Considering it is a short book it is very slow paced and overly descriptive.
Maybe this was just a bad day at the office but I thought the book was very slow and not worthy of the hype.
Maybe this was just a bad day at the office but I thought the book was very slow and not worthy of the hype.
October 1, 2021
Nice Price of 99 cents (Amazon) to try a series with interesting female protagonist.
The main character is Aleut Indian living a lone existence in Alaska though having attended college and worked in Anchorage previously. The harsh climactic conditions make living alone a very particular choice and one that fits her personality. A park ranger goes missing and then a congressman's son flies in to assist in the search, so Kate is asked to help. She does this at risk of her own life and has some very harrowing experiences.
Alaska, social struggles and family conflict all play a part in this readable first book.
The main character is Aleut Indian living a lone existence in Alaska though having attended college and worked in Anchorage previously. The harsh climactic conditions make living alone a very particular choice and one that fits her personality. A park ranger goes missing and then a congressman's son flies in to assist in the search, so Kate is asked to help. She does this at risk of her own life and has some very harrowing experiences.
Alaska, social struggles and family conflict all play a part in this readable first book.
July 21, 2020
Mystery is one of my favorite genres, and I've found myself compulsively reading mysteries in these trying times, as I need something light in order to spend a few hours immersed in something else than the news. And I have a great interest in the Arctic, so I thought a mystery set in Alaska would be the perfect match.
This book was rather enjoyable to read, however I felt there was too much unnecessary information which sometimes made the story drag. The setting is just great, the author is Alaskan herself so she's really good at describing the landscape and the people. Unfortunately, the Alaskan situation is so little known to me (let's be honest and say I don't know anything about it), that I had a hard time following the background information. Still, reading about life in an Aleut community was very interesting.
The mystery itself was quite good, I hadn't seen that ending coming. Even so, while I enjoyed it, I had a feeling of something half-baked, like it was quite rushed together after all. I can't quite pinpoint it. To be honest, I am actually a mystery reader who enjoys being entertained, rather than one of those who actively try to find out who the murderer is, so all in all I quite enjoyed this book.
This book was rather enjoyable to read, however I felt there was too much unnecessary information which sometimes made the story drag. The setting is just great, the author is Alaskan herself so she's really good at describing the landscape and the people. Unfortunately, the Alaskan situation is so little known to me (let's be honest and say I don't know anything about it), that I had a hard time following the background information. Still, reading about life in an Aleut community was very interesting.
The mystery itself was quite good, I hadn't seen that ending coming. Even so, while I enjoyed it, I had a feeling of something half-baked, like it was quite rushed together after all. I can't quite pinpoint it. To be honest, I am actually a mystery reader who enjoys being entertained, rather than one of those who actively try to find out who the murderer is, so all in all I quite enjoyed this book.
March 3, 2021
I moved to Alaska ten years ago and we went straight to the interior. I was in a job where I had a lot of time to read and no internet to watch movies. I found Dana Stabenow's books in the Fairbanks airport, where I picked up A Cold Day for Murder. It helped me better understand the nuances of Alaskan life, told in a fiction tale. I devoured this book because it was interesting and it read fast. What more do you need from a book? I have read nineteen books in this series. It is worth your time.
May 26, 2017
3.5 stars
I think that I will like later books in the series more - this first one has a lot of (necessary) background information about the characters and setting that at times was a bit too much.
I think that I will like later books in the series more - this first one has a lot of (necessary) background information about the characters and setting that at times was a bit too much.
April 22, 2011
Having won a copy of Though Not Dead through the Goodreads First Reads program (and loved it), I decided to go back to the beginning and allow myself to be introduced to Kate Shugak good and proper. What can I say? I am in love with Dana Stabenow and her creation, Kate Shugak.
Kate is an Alaskan native in every sense of the word. She can trace her Aleutian roots deep into the Alaskan soil and ice. She is living in a homestead cabin in the Park, away from civilization, with only her half-wolf/half-husky companion Mutt as company. She does not want to be bothered by anyone or anything, so she is not terribly pleased to hear the roar of the snow machine heading for her homestead. She is even less pleased to see who climbs off. After she is told that her help is needed to find not one but two missing people, a Park ranger and the man sent to find him, she is definitely unhappy. But she agrees to help because she knows that she is the only one who can find them.
One of the things that I love about Dana Stabenow's writing is this: she alludes to things past without feeling the need to explain anything. She gives small glimpses, little teases, tiny but sometimes horrific snapshots. The reader is then allowed and encouraged to put these bits together and figure out what happened. No lengthy backstory is required. The snippets provided are plenty enough to understand.
Another thing I love about Stabenow is the way she paints a portrait of the glorious Alaskan wilderness. She writes in such a way that I feel the deadly coldness through the pages. I can smell the crispness of the winter air. Stabenow opens little windows everywhere so you can peek into the souls of the characters, their lives, their cultures. And it's not always pretty. Or happy. Or fair. But it is what it is.
And that's why I will continue reading this series. Besides, Kate and Mutt are the greatest kick-ass team around. On to book two.
Kate is an Alaskan native in every sense of the word. She can trace her Aleutian roots deep into the Alaskan soil and ice. She is living in a homestead cabin in the Park, away from civilization, with only her half-wolf/half-husky companion Mutt as company. She does not want to be bothered by anyone or anything, so she is not terribly pleased to hear the roar of the snow machine heading for her homestead. She is even less pleased to see who climbs off. After she is told that her help is needed to find not one but two missing people, a Park ranger and the man sent to find him, she is definitely unhappy. But she agrees to help because she knows that she is the only one who can find them.
One of the things that I love about Dana Stabenow's writing is this: she alludes to things past without feeling the need to explain anything. She gives small glimpses, little teases, tiny but sometimes horrific snapshots. The reader is then allowed and encouraged to put these bits together and figure out what happened. No lengthy backstory is required. The snippets provided are plenty enough to understand.
Another thing I love about Stabenow is the way she paints a portrait of the glorious Alaskan wilderness. She writes in such a way that I feel the deadly coldness through the pages. I can smell the crispness of the winter air. Stabenow opens little windows everywhere so you can peek into the souls of the characters, their lives, their cultures. And it's not always pretty. Or happy. Or fair. But it is what it is.
And that's why I will continue reading this series. Besides, Kate and Mutt are the greatest kick-ass team around. On to book two.
August 24, 2018
A Cold Day for Murder is the first Kate Shugak mystery by Dana Stabenow. Kate was the lead investigator for the Anchorage ADA, Jack Morgan. Something happened on one of her cases which lead her to quit and move back nearer home in The Park. She lives alone with her dog (wolf) Mutt. Kate is an Aleut.
Jack and an FBI agent show up to ask her help in finding a missing Ranger and the current ADA investigator. The Ranger disappeared 6 weeks ago and his father is a US Senator who has pressured the FBI to become involved. Morgan had sent Ken Dahl to search for the young man and he also had disappeared two weeks ago. Morgan wants Kate to take up the search. (Morgan and Kate had previously had a relationship, it seems)
Taking on the assignment means Kate returns to her home town, Niniltna to find their trail. This means making contact with her grandmother Ekaterina (Emaa), who rules the roost and is a leading member of the Aleut community in Alaska. There is considerable friction between the two.
The story is a quick read, with action right from the get-go. We meet a great many interesting people, from her Uncle Abel, Bennie owner of the Road House and Bobby, the legless Vietnam Vet who provides weather reports and short wave radio communications for the community to the world at large.
There are many suspect, including family members of Kate and the story moves along nicely. We get an excellent feel for The Park and being winter, you can almost feel the cold. It's very much a Wild West (or maybe North is more appropriate) and a fascinating place. For a first story, it's an excellent intro to Kate. I hope we find out more about her past in future stories. (4 stars)
Jack and an FBI agent show up to ask her help in finding a missing Ranger and the current ADA investigator. The Ranger disappeared 6 weeks ago and his father is a US Senator who has pressured the FBI to become involved. Morgan had sent Ken Dahl to search for the young man and he also had disappeared two weeks ago. Morgan wants Kate to take up the search. (Morgan and Kate had previously had a relationship, it seems)
Taking on the assignment means Kate returns to her home town, Niniltna to find their trail. This means making contact with her grandmother Ekaterina (Emaa), who rules the roost and is a leading member of the Aleut community in Alaska. There is considerable friction between the two.
The story is a quick read, with action right from the get-go. We meet a great many interesting people, from her Uncle Abel, Bennie owner of the Road House and Bobby, the legless Vietnam Vet who provides weather reports and short wave radio communications for the community to the world at large.
There are many suspect, including family members of Kate and the story moves along nicely. We get an excellent feel for The Park and being winter, you can almost feel the cold. It's very much a Wild West (or maybe North is more appropriate) and a fascinating place. For a first story, it's an excellent intro to Kate. I hope we find out more about her past in future stories. (4 stars)
November 22, 2013
Not an easy read as there is so much to process being introduced into the world of Kate Shugak and life in one of Alaska's National Parks.
However, the writing is crisp and beautifully captures the surrounding environment; furthermore the characters are well drawn and speak with all the power of real people.
It is a simple missing person mystery that Kate is called to solve. For one she knows every inch of the park, secondly is related to most of the key people to contact to review the case and lastly the original investigator sent to trace the park ranger no-one had seen for weeks had also disappeared without trace, and Kate called him a 'friend'.
Plenty of help is forthcoming, evidence is confusing and the advice misleading at times but Kate slowly builds up a solution perhaps no-one else would be able to reach.
Full of clever dialogue and humour. This is life on the edge with a "wildwest" feel. It is a sympathetic treatment of the indigenous peoples and is a story that will stay with you long after you reach its climax.
Happily for everyone Dana Stabenow struck gold in them hills with this novel and a cannon of work exists where Kate Shugak is the investigator, a series of books to discover like the wide expanses of Alaska itself.
However, the writing is crisp and beautifully captures the surrounding environment; furthermore the characters are well drawn and speak with all the power of real people.
It is a simple missing person mystery that Kate is called to solve. For one she knows every inch of the park, secondly is related to most of the key people to contact to review the case and lastly the original investigator sent to trace the park ranger no-one had seen for weeks had also disappeared without trace, and Kate called him a 'friend'.
Plenty of help is forthcoming, evidence is confusing and the advice misleading at times but Kate slowly builds up a solution perhaps no-one else would be able to reach.
Full of clever dialogue and humour. This is life on the edge with a "wildwest" feel. It is a sympathetic treatment of the indigenous peoples and is a story that will stay with you long after you reach its climax.
Happily for everyone Dana Stabenow struck gold in them hills with this novel and a cannon of work exists where Kate Shugak is the investigator, a series of books to discover like the wide expanses of Alaska itself.
February 4, 2024
Family….it can be the best thing in the world and it can be the worst thing in the world. And sometimes it is both at the same time. I found this to be a wonderful start to the series set in Alaska. The setting was beautifully described and the people were interesting. Kate is a strong woman battling some demons and it appears she has a long road ahead of her. Thankfully she has an amazing 4 legged sidekick to help her along her journey. I am not sure why it has taken me so long to start this series besides the fact that my TBR is ginormous and I will never be able to read everything I want to read. But at least this is a start. See you again, Kate!
January 6, 2023
Alaskan mystery!
I tell you, I literally breathed the cold of the mountain air, I heard the grand silence, and I felt Aleut woman Kate Shugak’s dismay, her hurt, and importantly her love for Alaska and it’s wilderness.
The National Park she lives in covers twenty million acres. A ranger has been missing for six weeks, and an FBI agent who was strangely investigating the disappearance, for two.
Kate, a former District Attorney Investigator, now doing private consulting, has been called to follow up on these disappearances. She’s from the area, she’s whip smart, and has a way of cutting through to the truth.
Only Kate doesn’t want to do it. She lives out in the wilderness with her wolf dog Mutt, her top of the line Arctic Cat machine, and her injuries from a previous case. We’re not sure what it was but her throat was cut. She has an unsightly scar and a hoarse voice.
What she does know is that the two missing are two men she’d worked with before. Where are they? And are her family involved?
A great start to a new adventure series set in the wilds of Alaska where the only way in is plane or up a disused railway track.
A Park full of interesting characters, from her astute grandmother, various cousins, old time miners, to a couple of drunken dimwits.
I was living the thrill, and the despair of it all!
An Aria & Aries ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
I tell you, I literally breathed the cold of the mountain air, I heard the grand silence, and I felt Aleut woman Kate Shugak’s dismay, her hurt, and importantly her love for Alaska and it’s wilderness.
The National Park she lives in covers twenty million acres. A ranger has been missing for six weeks, and an FBI agent who was strangely investigating the disappearance, for two.
Kate, a former District Attorney Investigator, now doing private consulting, has been called to follow up on these disappearances. She’s from the area, she’s whip smart, and has a way of cutting through to the truth.
Only Kate doesn’t want to do it. She lives out in the wilderness with her wolf dog Mutt, her top of the line Arctic Cat machine, and her injuries from a previous case. We’re not sure what it was but her throat was cut. She has an unsightly scar and a hoarse voice.
What she does know is that the two missing are two men she’d worked with before. Where are they? And are her family involved?
A great start to a new adventure series set in the wilds of Alaska where the only way in is plane or up a disused railway track.
A Park full of interesting characters, from her astute grandmother, various cousins, old time miners, to a couple of drunken dimwits.
I was living the thrill, and the despair of it all!
An Aria & Aries ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
April 22, 2021
Aleutian Kate Shugak and her dog/wolf companion, Mutt, live alone outside of town in the Park, an Alaskan reservation. Scarred physically and psychically after after she killed her attacker while investigating a child abuser for the DA, she hasn't been to town for over a year. Now her past lover and ex-boss, Jack Morgan, wants her to find two men missing in the park - one of whom is another ex-lover.
The descriptive writing in this book is fabulous. Visiting Alaska after reading this book will result in deja vu, I'm sure. I'm booking a ticket to get there - seriously. Kate herself as a character works really well - tough, dryly amusing, very competent. There are a couple of other interesting characters who need more developing.
While this is Ms Stabenow's first novel in the series, surely it is not her first novel? If so it is a very impressive start. I recommend this book. I enjoyed it and moved straight on to the next book in the series.
The descriptive writing in this book is fabulous. Visiting Alaska after reading this book will result in deja vu, I'm sure. I'm booking a ticket to get there - seriously. Kate herself as a character works really well - tough, dryly amusing, very competent. There are a couple of other interesting characters who need more developing.
While this is Ms Stabenow's first novel in the series, surely it is not her first novel? If so it is a very impressive start. I recommend this book. I enjoyed it and moved straight on to the next book in the series.
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