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Cecil Younger #1
The Woman Who Married a Bear
Cecil Younger, local Alaskan investigator, is neither good at his job nor at staying sober. When an old Tlingit woman hires him to discover why her son, a big game guide, was murdered, he takes the case without much conviction that he'll discover anything the police missed. He really just needs the extra cash. But after someone tries to kill him, Younger finds himself traveling across Alaska to ferret out the truth in a midst of conspiracies, politics, and Tlingit mythology. High drama meets local color as Cecil Younger works to uncover the motive and identity of the killer. What he unearths is a virtual fairytale contrived to hide a primal conspiracy.
Alternate cover for ISBN: 9781569479315
Alternate cover for ISBN: 9781569479315
244 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1992
665 people are currently reading
2251 people want to read
About the author
John Straley
40 books194 followersNovelist John Straley has worked as a secretary, horseshoer, wilderness guide, trail crew foreman, millworker, machinist and private investigator. He moved to Sitka, Alaska in 1977 and has no plans of leaving. John's wife, Jan Straley, is a marine biologist well-known for her extensive studies of humpback whales.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 256 reviews
November 5, 2017
I don't usually care for hardboiled crime fiction written in the first person, featuring a flawed private detective, a la Sam Spade or Philip Marlowe. I fell in with this book, having read the author's excellent quirky storyCold Storage, Alaska. I soon realised this was a very different novel. It wasn't just a different genre, it was written way earlier -- in the early 1990s. The start wasn't encouraging to me either. Clever authors these days know not to indulge in huge info dumps.
But this novel has a lot of good points that drew me into the story.
It' has an excellent mystery storyline, which kept me guessing.
John Straley uses the sights, sounds and smells of Alaska to paint a vivid picture of the place.
He finds the right balance to write about indigenous people with sensibility, humour and pathos.
The ping and pong of many of his dialogue scenes soar -- offering a sneak preview of an author bound for better things.
Now for some negative comments:
I found the ending a bit lame, a bit like cheap and nasty television shows of the 1980s.
It didn't answer all my questions either.
You could say the first 15 per cent of the book and the last 15 per cent lost this book a star. But the middle 70 per cent was well worth the price of admission.
But this novel has a lot of good points that drew me into the story.
It' has an excellent mystery storyline, which kept me guessing.
John Straley uses the sights, sounds and smells of Alaska to paint a vivid picture of the place.
He finds the right balance to write about indigenous people with sensibility, humour and pathos.
The ping and pong of many of his dialogue scenes soar -- offering a sneak preview of an author bound for better things.
Now for some negative comments:
I found the ending a bit lame, a bit like cheap and nasty television shows of the 1980s.
It didn't answer all my questions either.
You could say the first 15 per cent of the book and the last 15 per cent lost this book a star. But the middle 70 per cent was well worth the price of admission.
June 13, 2019
Cecil Younger is a bundle of paradoxes: a hard-drinking private eye in Sitka, Alaska. He writes haiku and lives with the guilt of career failure and the pain born when he wife walked out on him.
Younger, needs a good case to get his mind off his troubles, and it comes when an old Tlingit woman hires him to find out why her son, big-game guide Louis Victor, was shot to death. She does not believe the mentally unbalanced man convicted of the crime was responsible.
Younger takes on the closed case mainly to placate the grieving mother, but after he is the target of potshots, he comes to believe there is a deeper story than the facts suggest.
This is Straley’s first novel, he is a criminal investigator for Alaska's Public Defender Agency. This is also the first in a series.
Younger, needs a good case to get his mind off his troubles, and it comes when an old Tlingit woman hires him to find out why her son, big-game guide Louis Victor, was shot to death. She does not believe the mentally unbalanced man convicted of the crime was responsible.
Younger takes on the closed case mainly to placate the grieving mother, but after he is the target of potshots, he comes to believe there is a deeper story than the facts suggest.
This is Straley’s first novel, he is a criminal investigator for Alaska's Public Defender Agency. This is also the first in a series.
October 21, 2018
I decided to read a book from my shelves for a change!
This was originally published in 1992 (this edition is a reprint from Soho,) and is the first in the Cecil Younger Investigation series. A man is killed by what they think is bears but the autopsy reveals a gunshot wound. Cecil is hired by the dead man's mother to find out not who did it, but why. There are some elements of Tlingit mythology, but they aren't fleshed out as much as I would have liked, particularly when the whole title is referencing it. While Cecil lives in Sitka like the author, he ventures frequently to various parts of Alaska, which for me and for my reasons to pick up this book (to read more Alaskan lit), I appreciated.
I bought this book at Darvills Bookstore on Orcas Island, right after I'd returned from Alaska.
This was originally published in 1992 (this edition is a reprint from Soho,) and is the first in the Cecil Younger Investigation series. A man is killed by what they think is bears but the autopsy reveals a gunshot wound. Cecil is hired by the dead man's mother to find out not who did it, but why. There are some elements of Tlingit mythology, but they aren't fleshed out as much as I would have liked, particularly when the whole title is referencing it. While Cecil lives in Sitka like the author, he ventures frequently to various parts of Alaska, which for me and for my reasons to pick up this book (to read more Alaskan lit), I appreciated.
I bought this book at Darvills Bookstore on Orcas Island, right after I'd returned from Alaska.
January 4, 2021
'The Woman Who Married a Bear' by John Straley is an unusual mystery. The setting is in Alaska which can be a powerfully evocative location of prehistoric wild(erness) when described by a good writer. Straley nails it.
The main character, Cecil Younger, is a private detective who spends more time being blackout drunk and passed out on Sitka's sidewalks than he does sleeping in his three-story house. I got the impression he wants to drink himself to death more than anything else. If it wasn't for being the caretaker of Todd, a mentally disabled man Younger met in jail, I think Younger would be dead. Todd's attorney had hired Younger to question Todd about his defense in stealing a few items of women's clothing. Todd was missing his mother who had died and he wanted some clothes which reminded him of her. Social Services asked Younger to watch out for him. They've been sharing a house for two years.
The thirty-six-year-old Younger is not a great detective but he knows a lot of people. Everyone knows his and his family's history. His father was a judge who died ten months ago of a stroke. Younger's girlfriend has left him. He does not seem to care much about anything, including Truth, especially about himself. Quote: "and see what she wanted to believe and then give it to her. That's the way it usually works, at least if you want to satisfy your client."
I do not understand Younger at all so far in reading this first book in the Cecil Younger series. He is painted as a person who loves music and art, but for some reason, as of yet unknown, he has come undone. His father's death accelerated the process of Younger's disinterest in everything except drinking. I can see the point of massaging facts into a shape a client wants. However Younger is trying to avoid Reality on any level especially his own. Frankly, I have seen this attitude in real life only this extreme in chronic alcoholics and drug addicts and in religious fundamentalists. So. I suppose the author has nailed it again in creating his main protagonist.
Younger decides to take on a new case for which he has been hired for real though as the book opens. But he is abandoning his usual modus operandi not only because his new client intrigues him. An attack happens which startles him out of his usual uncaring fugue state.
Mrs. Victor lives in the Pioneer Home, a "state-run institution for the aged". She doesn't believe the man Alvin Hawkes, who was convicted of murdering her son Louis Victor, really killed her son. Hawkes was mentally ill, but her son, a vigorous and capable bear hunter and tourist guide, knew how to deal with Hawkes, his employee. Mrs. Victor knew both men. There were other people, family and friends, who were also there on the boat and at the cabin where Louis was killed. Mrs. Victor knew all of them too. She feels some of those people had good reasons to lie about what happened. If Hawkes had truly killed Louis, though, Mrs. Victor wants to know WHY. Why Hawkes had killed, if he had killed, had never been told in Hawkes' trial.
Younger plans to read through all of the material she has collected, talk to some of the people involved, write up a report. However, the next day someone tries to kill Younger!
He is wide awake now and sober for the moment.....and VERY interested in following up on Mrs. Victor's suspicions!
Alaska is the main character of this novel. Straley writes very poetically whenever he describes the land. The oil-and-water mix of old Alaska and new Alaska is also fascinating - business people with fashionable clothes and modern interests live and work in Juneau among Alaskan natives pursuing more subsistence-related activities for themselves and for tourists. As the book was published in 1992 perhaps cultures have become more intertwined since then. One day I would like to visit Alaska.
This novel is a classic modern American mystery generally, but Cecil Younger is extremely damaged emotionally. He can barely tell the difference between being awake and asleep, and he has an odd way of thinking. He really does seem to have the slipping mental gears I've noticed in the minds of real alcoholics.
The main character, Cecil Younger, is a private detective who spends more time being blackout drunk and passed out on Sitka's sidewalks than he does sleeping in his three-story house. I got the impression he wants to drink himself to death more than anything else. If it wasn't for being the caretaker of Todd, a mentally disabled man Younger met in jail, I think Younger would be dead. Todd's attorney had hired Younger to question Todd about his defense in stealing a few items of women's clothing. Todd was missing his mother who had died and he wanted some clothes which reminded him of her. Social Services asked Younger to watch out for him. They've been sharing a house for two years.
The thirty-six-year-old Younger is not a great detective but he knows a lot of people. Everyone knows his and his family's history. His father was a judge who died ten months ago of a stroke. Younger's girlfriend has left him. He does not seem to care much about anything, including Truth, especially about himself. Quote: "and see what she wanted to believe and then give it to her. That's the way it usually works, at least if you want to satisfy your client."
I do not understand Younger at all so far in reading this first book in the Cecil Younger series. He is painted as a person who loves music and art, but for some reason, as of yet unknown, he has come undone. His father's death accelerated the process of Younger's disinterest in everything except drinking. I can see the point of massaging facts into a shape a client wants. However Younger is trying to avoid Reality on any level especially his own. Frankly, I have seen this attitude in real life only this extreme in chronic alcoholics and drug addicts and in religious fundamentalists. So. I suppose the author has nailed it again in creating his main protagonist.
Younger decides to take on a new case for which he has been hired for real though as the book opens. But he is abandoning his usual modus operandi not only because his new client intrigues him. An attack happens which startles him out of his usual uncaring fugue state.
Mrs. Victor lives in the Pioneer Home, a "state-run institution for the aged". She doesn't believe the man Alvin Hawkes, who was convicted of murdering her son Louis Victor, really killed her son. Hawkes was mentally ill, but her son, a vigorous and capable bear hunter and tourist guide, knew how to deal with Hawkes, his employee. Mrs. Victor knew both men. There were other people, family and friends, who were also there on the boat and at the cabin where Louis was killed. Mrs. Victor knew all of them too. She feels some of those people had good reasons to lie about what happened. If Hawkes had truly killed Louis, though, Mrs. Victor wants to know WHY. Why Hawkes had killed, if he had killed, had never been told in Hawkes' trial.
Younger plans to read through all of the material she has collected, talk to some of the people involved, write up a report. However, the next day someone tries to kill Younger!
He is wide awake now and sober for the moment.....and VERY interested in following up on Mrs. Victor's suspicions!
Alaska is the main character of this novel. Straley writes very poetically whenever he describes the land. The oil-and-water mix of old Alaska and new Alaska is also fascinating - business people with fashionable clothes and modern interests live and work in Juneau among Alaskan natives pursuing more subsistence-related activities for themselves and for tourists. As the book was published in 1992 perhaps cultures have become more intertwined since then. One day I would like to visit Alaska.
This novel is a classic modern American mystery generally, but Cecil Younger is extremely damaged emotionally. He can barely tell the difference between being awake and asleep, and he has an odd way of thinking. He really does seem to have the slipping mental gears I've noticed in the minds of real alcoholics.
August 31, 2023
This is the first in a series about private investigator Cecil Younger, published in 1992. Cecil is the hard-boiled detective type, also a hard drinker ( it seems to go with the territory). But he also has a poetic side. The mystery, about a Native Alaskan hunting guide who was murdered out in the Alaskan bush ( and then his body eaten by bears), is a good one and I read it fast as it was only a little over 200 pages. Why do so many mysteries have to run over 300, 400 pages?
The reason for giving Straley's book 4 stars is mainly due to its setting--Alaska, "the Last Frontier." Straley shows us the dark side of Alaskan towns, their sidestreets and bars, and also the wild and wet bush country, where you know a bear has to show up sooner or later. The title, of course, comes from a Native tale...
John Straley has lived in Alaska and also been an investigator for the state and private clients.
The reason for giving Straley's book 4 stars is mainly due to its setting--Alaska, "the Last Frontier." Straley shows us the dark side of Alaskan towns, their sidestreets and bars, and also the wild and wet bush country, where you know a bear has to show up sooner or later. The title, of course, comes from a Native tale...
John Straley has lived in Alaska and also been an investigator for the state and private clients.
September 6, 2012
Mention myths or folklore, and I'm “hooked.” When I heard this title and learned it was a mystery set in Alaska, I had to read this book. The author notes that the version of the story he uses is a variant of several Yakutat Tlinget stories. Like so much of folklore, without a cultural context, the story could mean almost anything, so it's a clue that's subject to multiple interpretations, and therefore perfect to be the center of a mystery.
The primary setting is Sitka, an island community of small fishermen, bar flies, and the training center for the state's police force – a town of contradictions, it's marginal status underscored by location in the southeast tail of Alaska. The narrator is a detective, of sorts, Cecil Younger. He doesn't drive and he doesn't carry a gun. Most of the time he is anesthetizing himself with alcohol. Of his occupation, he modestly summarizes: “If cops collect the oral history of a crime, I gather folklore. And people who have set themselves up to be the judge rarely accept folklore as the whole truth, unless it's their own story they're telling.” It is his distinctive voice that sets the mood. Other reviewers have noted how it evokes John D. MacDonald (whom I have not read, but plan to). What's notable is that Cecil maintains his own individuality. That individuality is expressed by observations and voice, which serve to balance the moody introspection. Sperm whale exploding from the sea to feast on herring, eagles floating on the updrafts; or the memory of picking berries in a graveyard with Hannah, the woman who has just left him are examples of that tone.
The story begins simply. Louis Victor, a local hunting guide, was murdered. Alvin Hawkes, his mentally unstable employee, was convicted of the crime. Louis' mother has hired Cecil to investigate the murder because Alvin Hawkes' actions do not “make sense” to her. Cecil decides its a matter of asking around and finding a story that will placate the old woman. When his roommate, Todd is shot by a bullet meant for him, Cecil begins to suspect the old woman's intuition might be correct. The deeper he probes into the case, the more confused his investigation becomes.
The pace of this book is extremely leisurely for a mystery. Considerable time is spent telling the back story of Todd, Cecil's complicated relationship to his father (“the Judge”), his relationship with Hannah – both past and present, and even his barroom friends. Another frequent diversion is nature. Weather, mountains, riverbanks, eagles, ravens and salmon are all described in detail. It is a tribute to Straley's writing that these details add to the mood of the book rather than divert from the mystery.
This is a well-written mystery with interesting characters, and a balance of cultural detail and present-day social grit -- all embedded in a well-constructed mystery plot.
The primary setting is Sitka, an island community of small fishermen, bar flies, and the training center for the state's police force – a town of contradictions, it's marginal status underscored by location in the southeast tail of Alaska. The narrator is a detective, of sorts, Cecil Younger. He doesn't drive and he doesn't carry a gun. Most of the time he is anesthetizing himself with alcohol. Of his occupation, he modestly summarizes: “If cops collect the oral history of a crime, I gather folklore. And people who have set themselves up to be the judge rarely accept folklore as the whole truth, unless it's their own story they're telling.” It is his distinctive voice that sets the mood. Other reviewers have noted how it evokes John D. MacDonald (whom I have not read, but plan to). What's notable is that Cecil maintains his own individuality. That individuality is expressed by observations and voice, which serve to balance the moody introspection. Sperm whale exploding from the sea to feast on herring, eagles floating on the updrafts; or the memory of picking berries in a graveyard with Hannah, the woman who has just left him are examples of that tone.
The story begins simply. Louis Victor, a local hunting guide, was murdered. Alvin Hawkes, his mentally unstable employee, was convicted of the crime. Louis' mother has hired Cecil to investigate the murder because Alvin Hawkes' actions do not “make sense” to her. Cecil decides its a matter of asking around and finding a story that will placate the old woman. When his roommate, Todd is shot by a bullet meant for him, Cecil begins to suspect the old woman's intuition might be correct. The deeper he probes into the case, the more confused his investigation becomes.
The pace of this book is extremely leisurely for a mystery. Considerable time is spent telling the back story of Todd, Cecil's complicated relationship to his father (“the Judge”), his relationship with Hannah – both past and present, and even his barroom friends. Another frequent diversion is nature. Weather, mountains, riverbanks, eagles, ravens and salmon are all described in detail. It is a tribute to Straley's writing that these details add to the mood of the book rather than divert from the mystery.
This is a well-written mystery with interesting characters, and a balance of cultural detail and present-day social grit -- all embedded in a well-constructed mystery plot.
November 17, 2013
This book took longer to read than I had anticipated, considering it's just a smidge over 200 pages and I'm generally a quick reader. Normally slow reads indicate that either I was not invested in the book, had difficulty understanding all of the book, or it's just a gazillion pages long. This book does not fall into any of those categories. The only excuse I have is that I have been busy.
That being said, this is the perfect kind of book to have around for times when things are busy. It's not a taxing read, it's well-written, it's a nicely paced mystery, and it takes place in Alaska, a place I've visited once and would love to visit again.
The story itself is fine - Cecil Younger is an investigator in Alaska who is asked to look into the murder of a Tlingit Indian woman's son. I'm a fan of decently written mysteries that are also smart as well as entertaining (John Dunning and Michael Connelly are a couple examples), but this is the first one I've read where the investigator lives and works in Alaska. I liked this change of scenery which automatically also gives the read a different pace as well. Life moves much differently in Alaska than it does in LA or New York City, and the cultures and histories are vastly different as well. Straley, who lives in Sitka, did a wonderful job bringing Sitka and its people to life.
I hadn't heard of Straley before I found this book on a clearance shelf at my favorite bookstore, but today while searching shelves in a Baltimore used book shop, I found two other Cecil Younger novels. One of them was a first edition relatively highly priced which made me realize I must really have been missing something by not recognizing his name or his work sooner. I didn't manage to get either of the copies of the books at that store today, but I do intend to finish the Cecil Younger books eventually.
That being said, this is the perfect kind of book to have around for times when things are busy. It's not a taxing read, it's well-written, it's a nicely paced mystery, and it takes place in Alaska, a place I've visited once and would love to visit again.
The story itself is fine - Cecil Younger is an investigator in Alaska who is asked to look into the murder of a Tlingit Indian woman's son. I'm a fan of decently written mysteries that are also smart as well as entertaining (John Dunning and Michael Connelly are a couple examples), but this is the first one I've read where the investigator lives and works in Alaska. I liked this change of scenery which automatically also gives the read a different pace as well. Life moves much differently in Alaska than it does in LA or New York City, and the cultures and histories are vastly different as well. Straley, who lives in Sitka, did a wonderful job bringing Sitka and its people to life.
I hadn't heard of Straley before I found this book on a clearance shelf at my favorite bookstore, but today while searching shelves in a Baltimore used book shop, I found two other Cecil Younger novels. One of them was a first edition relatively highly priced which made me realize I must really have been missing something by not recognizing his name or his work sooner. I didn't manage to get either of the copies of the books at that store today, but I do intend to finish the Cecil Younger books eventually.
August 16, 2020
Woman Who Married A Bear is the first Cecil Younger mystery by John Straley. It's an excellent introduction to this series. Cecil Younger is a Private Eye working out of Sitka Alaska. He is a bit of a drunk, shares his accommodations with Toby, a man he feels a responsibility towards. Younger is hired by Mrs. Victor, an elderly woman residing in an old folks home in Sitka. 5 years before he son was murdered at Prophet Cove. A man is in prison for the murder but she wants the whole story. She believes there is more to the murder than the police discovered.
Younger starts his investigation on a sour note as an attempt is made to murder him but instead Todd is the victim of the assassination attempt. As Todd fights for his life in hospital, Younger begins a journey that will take him to around Alaska as he tries interview everyone involved in the event and tries to sort out the case and discover a solution that will satisfy Mrs. Victor. There will be threats to his life, someone is trying to get him to stop his investigation.
The story is well - paced and Younger is an interesting character, dealing with issues from his past, with his father, the Judge and also his ex-girlfriend, Hannah. There are so many excellent characters that also people this story, from suspects to people that Younger meets on his journey. We see details from Younger's past that also flesh out his character. All in all, it's a well-crafted story, well-paces and descriptive. It draws you in and you will enjoy the journey with Cecil until a very satisfying ending (5 stars)
Younger starts his investigation on a sour note as an attempt is made to murder him but instead Todd is the victim of the assassination attempt. As Todd fights for his life in hospital, Younger begins a journey that will take him to around Alaska as he tries interview everyone involved in the event and tries to sort out the case and discover a solution that will satisfy Mrs. Victor. There will be threats to his life, someone is trying to get him to stop his investigation.
The story is well - paced and Younger is an interesting character, dealing with issues from his past, with his father, the Judge and also his ex-girlfriend, Hannah. There are so many excellent characters that also people this story, from suspects to people that Younger meets on his journey. We see details from Younger's past that also flesh out his character. All in all, it's a well-crafted story, well-paces and descriptive. It draws you in and you will enjoy the journey with Cecil until a very satisfying ending (5 stars)
August 21, 2008
Offbeat, Alaska-based but in the Raymond Chandler mode. Beautiful descriptive style and respect for the Alaska of native peoples. The journey is more important than the mystery.
May 28, 2023
This was very good and I can see why it won "best first novel". Fast, easy to devour fiction is my kinda thing. And set in Alaska? Always a plus! 4.5 ⭐.
February 16, 2014
In a word: boring. In two words: badly written. In three words: waste of time.
The mystery wasn't badly conceived. It was, however, extremely badly written.
The characters were clichés and one dimensional clichés at that.
The pacing was beyond annoying. There would be several pages where nothing at all happened then, when something was happening, as when main character was running from bad guys, the writer would interrupt the action to describe the different wildflowers lining the path.
The main character was a drunk...not a clever drunk, not a troubled drunk, just a flat out drunk who drank for no reason other than to get drunk. That may be realistic, but in a book, it's boring!
The title...well, the title has very little to do with the storyline except in an "oh my, aren't I clever" kind of way.
Unfortunately, Mr. Straley isn't all that clever.
The mystery wasn't badly conceived. It was, however, extremely badly written.
The characters were clichés and one dimensional clichés at that.
The pacing was beyond annoying. There would be several pages where nothing at all happened then, when something was happening, as when main character was running from bad guys, the writer would interrupt the action to describe the different wildflowers lining the path.
The main character was a drunk...not a clever drunk, not a troubled drunk, just a flat out drunk who drank for no reason other than to get drunk. That may be realistic, but in a book, it's boring!
The title...well, the title has very little to do with the storyline except in an "oh my, aren't I clever" kind of way.
Unfortunately, Mr. Straley isn't all that clever.
September 7, 2015
Yet another review where I keep opening the file, sit staring at it for a while, then close it down, because I am just not sure what to write. It's another dreaded "well, it was fine" type of thing. As a mystery, it's...perfectly acceptable. It was an easy read. But I won't be rushing out to get the next in the series.
Note: The rest of this review has been withdrawn due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
Note: The rest of this review has been withdrawn due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
September 23, 2023
So disappointing. I liked Straley’s quirky Cold Storage, Alaska, so was hoping to enjoy this intriguingly titled book, latch onto a new-to-me detective series set in Alaska, and learn a little about native Tlingit culture. But I found the alcoholic, on-again/off-again PI protagonist uninteresting and the plot plodding. I put it down half-way through, and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 weeks later, still couldn't bring myself to pick it up again. After years of enjoying Dana Stabenow's detective fiction set in Alaska, I was hoping for another gold mine with Straley. But I should have known that there ain't no mo' gold in Alaska. At least not in this book.
April 9, 2019
I tried listening to the audio edition of this, none are listed here on GR. I didn't care for the narrator - slow even at 1.5x - nor the story line. I started listening to this a couple of weeks ago & it was turning me off, so I put it aside & tried again yesterday. Still no joy. I don't like the style of writing. Worse, the MC is a loser private detective who doesn't carry a gun or even have a car. He hitchhikes around Alaska solving cases. Nope.
My library has more in this series, so this is mostly a note to myself not to get any more.
My library has more in this series, so this is mostly a note to myself not to get any more.
November 28, 2021
I received this ebook through a goodreads giveaway. The opinion below is my own.
I found this book hard to follow and the characters hard to connect to. Didn't seem to hold my interest. Although I suggest you read it for yourself and draw your own conclusions.
I found this book hard to follow and the characters hard to connect to. Didn't seem to hold my interest. Although I suggest you read it for yourself and draw your own conclusions.
April 21, 2012
Maybe 3 1/2. It was better in its descriptions of Alaska than as a mystery.
May 15, 2025
This one’s a shaggy dog story in snow boots. “The Woman Who Married a Bear” has all the ingredients of a good mystery: rugged setting, a private investigator with substance issues, a cultural myth woven into the plot, a murder to solve. Trouble is, none of it ever properly bites. It lumbers, it wobbles, it occasionally growls, but mostly it just stares at you from the treeline and shrugs.
To start with the good: Straley writes Alaska with real bite. The place is a character in its own right. The forests, the rivers, the chill that gets into your bones and won’t leave. It’s all there. You can practically feel the damp creeping up your jeans. And the dialogue crackles, too. When people talk, they talk. The banter works. It sounds like actual humans, not exposition with teeth.
But then you get stuck with Cecil Younger. He’s our detective, and also quite possibly the most boring alcoholic in fiction. He drinks a lot, sure, but without the charm, self-loathing or tragic poetry required to make that kind of character work. One moment he’s supposedly a burnout, the next he’s piecing together a fairly complex murder case with suspicious competence. Pick a lane. The man is a contradiction in flannel. His personality wavers between smug detachment and garden-variety sad bloke, and neither is particularly gripping.
Plot-wise, it’s fine. The mystery is serviceable, which is a polite way of saying it probably wouldn’t survive a second watch on SBS. There are enough twists to keep you turning pages, but none of them land hard. And just when you think it might be building to something substantial, it caps things off with an ending so disappointingly twee, I half expected to hear a laugh track. It feels like the script from a cancelled 1987 pilot for Northern Exposure: Special Victims Unit.
And let’s talk about the supposed heart of the novel. The Tlingit myth that the book is named after should be the spiritual spine of the story, but it ends up more like a decorative footnote. For all its importance to the plot, the Native American element is kept at a safe distance, like a cultural artefact in a locked glass case. It’s referenced, nodded to, but never really explored or felt. The whole thing rings hollow.
Two and a half stars. One for the scenery, one for the dialogue, and half for the fact I actually finished the bloody thing. If you're a die-hard fan of slow, offbeat crime novels with semi-functional detectives and the narrative focus of a drunk man recalling last week, sure, give it a crack. Everyone else can probably leave this one to hibernate.
To start with the good: Straley writes Alaska with real bite. The place is a character in its own right. The forests, the rivers, the chill that gets into your bones and won’t leave. It’s all there. You can practically feel the damp creeping up your jeans. And the dialogue crackles, too. When people talk, they talk. The banter works. It sounds like actual humans, not exposition with teeth.
But then you get stuck with Cecil Younger. He’s our detective, and also quite possibly the most boring alcoholic in fiction. He drinks a lot, sure, but without the charm, self-loathing or tragic poetry required to make that kind of character work. One moment he’s supposedly a burnout, the next he’s piecing together a fairly complex murder case with suspicious competence. Pick a lane. The man is a contradiction in flannel. His personality wavers between smug detachment and garden-variety sad bloke, and neither is particularly gripping.
Plot-wise, it’s fine. The mystery is serviceable, which is a polite way of saying it probably wouldn’t survive a second watch on SBS. There are enough twists to keep you turning pages, but none of them land hard. And just when you think it might be building to something substantial, it caps things off with an ending so disappointingly twee, I half expected to hear a laugh track. It feels like the script from a cancelled 1987 pilot for Northern Exposure: Special Victims Unit.
And let’s talk about the supposed heart of the novel. The Tlingit myth that the book is named after should be the spiritual spine of the story, but it ends up more like a decorative footnote. For all its importance to the plot, the Native American element is kept at a safe distance, like a cultural artefact in a locked glass case. It’s referenced, nodded to, but never really explored or felt. The whole thing rings hollow.
Two and a half stars. One for the scenery, one for the dialogue, and half for the fact I actually finished the bloody thing. If you're a die-hard fan of slow, offbeat crime novels with semi-functional detectives and the narrative focus of a drunk man recalling last week, sure, give it a crack. Everyone else can probably leave this one to hibernate.
February 24, 2021
I asked a really quiet guy for a book recommendation (even though I have something like 600 titles on my TBR list). He's a reader and got very verbose about recommending series and it started with this one. Had never read John Straley, so thought...why not?
Unique title, cultural insights into the clash of Alaskan white and native people, and a generally good story. It's a book for dudes! Brief at 225 pgs, readers meet Cecil Younger, a self-made private investigator who is asked to delve into a murder that is all wrapped up, complete with a confessing murderer in prison. Cecil is youngish, an alcoholic, and a bit of a manipulator. There is wry humor as he plies information from receptionists and fellow drunks. He has a beautiful ex-girlfriend who would come back to him in a heartbeat if he would just get sober. Not happening.
The action is not particularly suspenseful, the romance is not particularly romantic. But Cecil is a colorful character who ultimately solves the puzzle. The nice infusion of bears, whales, and seals all adds to the setting. Not sure I'll follow up on this series, but it was not a bad diversion.
Unique title, cultural insights into the clash of Alaskan white and native people, and a generally good story. It's a book for dudes! Brief at 225 pgs, readers meet Cecil Younger, a self-made private investigator who is asked to delve into a murder that is all wrapped up, complete with a confessing murderer in prison. Cecil is youngish, an alcoholic, and a bit of a manipulator. There is wry humor as he plies information from receptionists and fellow drunks. He has a beautiful ex-girlfriend who would come back to him in a heartbeat if he would just get sober. Not happening.
The action is not particularly suspenseful, the romance is not particularly romantic. But Cecil is a colorful character who ultimately solves the puzzle. The nice infusion of bears, whales, and seals all adds to the setting. Not sure I'll follow up on this series, but it was not a bad diversion.
April 4, 2019
So, it starts with a private detective leaving his book of Wendell Berry poetry on a bench outside a nursing home in Sitka Alaska, knowing that no one will steal it. He enters to find an old woman whose son has been killed. The trial is over. The murderer is in prison. She says she knows who killed her son, but she wants the private detective to find out why. I found this to be a fascinating book. I loved the settings and the musings of the drunken son of a judge. There was one chapter where the "woman who used to love him" talks to him about Christianity, but he resists because he likes answers. This book is short and is part of a series. I plan on reading the rest of these books. They makes me smile and think. The story is good too.
June 27, 2022
When I first picked up this book, I thought it might have somethng to do with a person suffering from mental illness (along the lines of The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat). But it turned out to be a murder mystery set in Alaska. The detective travels around Alaska talking to the principals but never seems to be getting anywhere. Then someone tells him the story of the Woman who married a Bear and he goes back to the scene of the crime only to overhear our criminals talking amonst themselves, thereby revealing everything. And now we can see the correlation between the Woman and the murder mystery but there never seems to be much through most of the book that would allow the reader to try to pick up on. I might give his second in this early series to see if it is better.
December 7, 2013
Stellar - in a genre obsessed with successors, let me venture out on a limb and say that Straley and his protagonist Cecil Younger are the clearest heirs to Ross MacDonald that have yet appeared in American crime fiction. Even in the series' first entry, Straley shows exquisitely sensitive attention to the language and his masterful invocation of an unfamiliar locale is nuanced and never belabored. Like the finest literary exponents from this genre, Straley is far more interested in character and relationships than plot, but the story is strong and holds your attention.
August 30, 2018
An amazing regional mystery series that's been going for 20 years and I never heard of??? Sign me up!
Cecil Younger is an alcoholic investigator in Sitka, Alaska, taking whatever jobs he can to make ends meet. When an aging Tlingit woman asks her to look into her son's death, he takes the job.
Another man is already in prison for the killing but the woman wants to know "why" her son was killed.
Straley's writing is brilliant, painting a vivid picture of Alaska and its people while also telling a damned good story.
The other used books in the series are lready on order.
Cecil Younger is an alcoholic investigator in Sitka, Alaska, taking whatever jobs he can to make ends meet. When an aging Tlingit woman asks her to look into her son's death, he takes the job.
Another man is already in prison for the killing but the woman wants to know "why" her son was killed.
Straley's writing is brilliant, painting a vivid picture of Alaska and its people while also telling a damned good story.
The other used books in the series are lready on order.
October 7, 2010
This is one of those mysteries in which the solution is secondary to the evocation of place and character, and in which the quality of the writing calls attention to itself. All of these are very good--Straley does a very convincing take on the over-educated, depressed, alcoholic, apparently low-life private eye with a strong sense of duty and justice. His description of Alaska and its inhabitants is true and memorable. The mystery is pretty good too. I'll be reading more of these.
April 29, 2012
Straley gives us such a sense of place in his Alaska mysteries. The land is brutally indifferent to the lives of men and women, and this echoes the good parts of Jack London. Good writing shows us a world we may not be familiar with, and makes it familiar. Straley does so to good effect here. He involves us in this strange world and makes us care.
October 23, 2012
Most of the book was just OK. Reason I gave it 3 stars is that I really appreciated the descriptions of Sitka and the surrounding area of Alaska. Mysteries have to be terrific for me to give them a high rating. I get tired of alcoholic detectives, police, or (in this case) private investigators who are alcoholics with personal problems.
March 29, 2020
Straley writes like a poet. My favorite things to read are language and setting. This book was gorgeous in both. The characters, also, were almost like a setting - we got to live inside the half-dream of Cecil Younger and his dirty, dirty life. More of my favorite things to read.
November 12, 2018
There’s a lot of really lovely writing in this book.
April 3, 2020
For a thriller I found this distinctly lacking in thrills, though I did appreciate the beautiful descriptions of the Alaskan setting.
October 29, 2018
John Straley is a new author for me, and I liked him. This was the first of his mystery series about an Alaskan detective called Cecil Younger, and I expect to read more because it was interesting and literate. Although I wasn't crazy for the long character-revealing digressions about the protagnonist's past drunken debaucheries, they were wildly imaginative and often poetic, so why complain? Straley seems to have a deep knowledge of Alaska, including an appreciation of tribal lore and the majesty of nature. He spent 30 years as a criminal defense investigator and apparently knows how things work.
In this episode, an old Tlingit woman in a nursing home asks Younger to find out what really caused the murder of her son, a bear-hunting guide, as she does not believe the police version. At first, Younger, hard up for some cash, thinks he will just ascertain what she wants to hear and hand it to her. But then someone tries to kill him, severely wounding the young man with mental limitations whom he looks after in his home. Now his native curiosity hardens into determination to find out what's going on.
Between drunken binges related to his prominent father's disappointment in him and also to the departure of the "woman who used to love me," Younger travels by plane and boat to remote parts of Alaska, encountering much beauty and exotic wildlife while trying to figure out what the father of a murdered witness and also the family members of the deceased bear hunter really mean when they tell him things.
I didn't "get" what was attractive about the ex-girlfriend or why mystery-book policemen must always cleave to an obviously too-easy theory of the crime, but I thought the ending was quite satisfying.
In this episode, an old Tlingit woman in a nursing home asks Younger to find out what really caused the murder of her son, a bear-hunting guide, as she does not believe the police version. At first, Younger, hard up for some cash, thinks he will just ascertain what she wants to hear and hand it to her. But then someone tries to kill him, severely wounding the young man with mental limitations whom he looks after in his home. Now his native curiosity hardens into determination to find out what's going on.
Between drunken binges related to his prominent father's disappointment in him and also to the departure of the "woman who used to love me," Younger travels by plane and boat to remote parts of Alaska, encountering much beauty and exotic wildlife while trying to figure out what the father of a murdered witness and also the family members of the deceased bear hunter really mean when they tell him things.
I didn't "get" what was attractive about the ex-girlfriend or why mystery-book policemen must always cleave to an obviously too-easy theory of the crime, but I thought the ending was quite satisfying.
March 18, 2018
I read and enjoyed Straley's most recent, Cold Storage Alaska, so I've gone back to some of his earlier work. This is the first in the Cecil Younger series. Cecil is a private eye who lives in Sitka, Alaska.
This was an excellent whodunit with some colorful characters and a narrative balanced between current action and reminiscences of the main character's past. It also blends elements of Native American folklore - hence the title. Don't let the title lead you to believe that this is an outrageous comic novel or an entry in the genre of magical realism. It's more a hard-boiled and flawed detective novel with a setting other than urban lower 48.
Suffice it to say I enjoyed this one enough to continue the series.
This was an excellent whodunit with some colorful characters and a narrative balanced between current action and reminiscences of the main character's past. It also blends elements of Native American folklore - hence the title. Don't let the title lead you to believe that this is an outrageous comic novel or an entry in the genre of magical realism. It's more a hard-boiled and flawed detective novel with a setting other than urban lower 48.
Suffice it to say I enjoyed this one enough to continue the series.
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