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Cecil Younger #5
The Angels Will Not Care
PI Cecil Younger works out of Sitka, Alaska, a place of stark beauty and unpredictable danger, where a man paid to look for the truth can just as easily disappear and even the angels will not care.
Cecil Younger never thought it would come to this--providing surveillance for a chicken coop being raided by a fowl thief. But things have not exactly been breaking right lately for the Alaskan PI. The logical thing to do? Take a vacation cruise.
Well, it's not exactly a vacation. Younger has been paid to investigate a suspicious ship's doctor aboard a luxurious first-class cruise ship. Now Younger finds himself trapped on a ship of fools with a murderer who is leaving a trail of well-to-do passengers in his wake...and leaving evidence pointing an accusing finger at Cecil! By the time the S.S. Westward makes landfall up the Alaskan coast, Younger will be wishing he was back guarding chickens...instead of sleeping with the fishes.
Cecil Younger never thought it would come to this--providing surveillance for a chicken coop being raided by a fowl thief. But things have not exactly been breaking right lately for the Alaskan PI. The logical thing to do? Take a vacation cruise.
Well, it's not exactly a vacation. Younger has been paid to investigate a suspicious ship's doctor aboard a luxurious first-class cruise ship. Now Younger finds himself trapped on a ship of fools with a murderer who is leaving a trail of well-to-do passengers in his wake...and leaving evidence pointing an accusing finger at Cecil! By the time the S.S. Westward makes landfall up the Alaskan coast, Younger will be wishing he was back guarding chickens...instead of sleeping with the fishes.
238 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
40 people are currently reading
152 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 - 27 of 27 reviews
July 30, 2020
I think this might be my favorite in the series so far. These books are so unique to any other detective novels I've ever read; Cecil's good at his job, not because he has any particular prowess for finding clues, but because he understands people and their motivations and the forces that can move them to taking drastic action. If anything, Cecil seems constantly buffeted by the events of each case, thrown around by strange and surprising forces far beyond his control, in a way that feels far more realistic than any cop show I've ever seen (the John Mulaney bit, "This might as well happen, adult life is already so goddamn weird" often comes to mind ). I think it's that lack of control that really appeals to me, even when Cecil himself doesn't. But he does seem to be maturing into a character that I really really enjoy, even if it's taken several books for us to get there--and I like that that doesn't seem to be something Straley takes lightly, I appreciate the sense that growing as a person is something that takes an entire lifetime, even for a fictional private detective.
There's always something really nice about reading these for me, even though the stories and mysteries are often violent and convoluted (if maybe a little silly at times). They grab my attention, but they don't punish me for paying it. They're beautiful stories, even if the events that happen in them are devastating.
I don't know if any of this makes sense. I'm well into this series, and I still don't really know how to talk about or recommend it, or even to explain what the appeal is. But it certainly is there for me in a profound way, and I'm actively trying to pace myself so I don't snap up the rest of the series this week. I don't want to be caught up with it yet, I want to keep having more of these to read. But when I do get there, I'm very much looking forward to future rereads.
There's always something really nice about reading these for me, even though the stories and mysteries are often violent and convoluted (if maybe a little silly at times). They grab my attention, but they don't punish me for paying it. They're beautiful stories, even if the events that happen in them are devastating.
I don't know if any of this makes sense. I'm well into this series, and I still don't really know how to talk about or recommend it, or even to explain what the appeal is. But it certainly is there for me in a profound way, and I'm actively trying to pace myself so I don't snap up the rest of the series this week. I don't want to be caught up with it yet, I want to keep having more of these to read. But when I do get there, I'm very much looking forward to future rereads.
October 25, 2019
Robert Frost did not write The Maltese Falcon.
But there are other poets who wrote mysteries and mystery authors who wrote poetry. Stephen Dobyns, Cecil Day-Lewis/Nicholas Blake, Fredric Brown, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and Raymond Chandler, among others. Mystery author and editor Ellery Queen wrote:
“[P]oets, it has always seemed to us, are peculiarly sensitive to the smell of evil, to the sounds of violence, to the sight of cruelty, to the touch of tragedy, to the taste of murder—and to that sixth sense which detects and diagnoses the heartache and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to.”
John Straley is a poet who has written a series of mystery novels featuring Alaskan private investigator Cecil Younger. The Angels Will Not Care is the fifth book in the series. Younger is going through a bad period. A man whom he was trying to help died, and most people blamed Younger - and it seems that one of those people is Younger himself.
Younger is offered a job carrying out an investigation on a cruise ship traveling through the waters off of Alaska. He is told that he is to check on the physician on the ship, but he is given no details. He is allowed to bring two other people, one being his girlfriend Jane Marie, something of an expert on both Alaskan wildlife and games, valuable information on a cruise ship. Younger is also accompanied by his roommate, Todd, who has "the look of a damaged New Wave paperboy, kind of the friendly Road Warrior image favored by some urban youth" Todd is, I believe, intended to be somewhere on the autism spectrum. Younger wants to bring Todd because he is afraid to leave him home alone.
People with whom Younger interacts on the cruise include the Captain, the social director, the doctor, members of the crew (including crewmen who are not supposed to interact with passengers), and another private investigator. Most of these people are not happy to make Younger's acquaintance.
Then, of course, there are the other passengers. Many of them seem to be in poor health - very poor indeed. Some of them are members of an intriguing organization called "L'Inconnue de la Seine." One of the healthy passengers is a woman writing and illustrating a book about angels.
Some of these people will die during the cruise.
Off the ship, Younger and Jane Marie will also make the acquaintance of a large brown bear, who seems to appreciate being treated with respect.
Like all the books that I have read in this series, The Angels Will Not Care gives fine portraits of a number of people as well as a fascinating broader picture of parts of Alaska. There is a very satisfying ending, which ties up ends, including some that I had forgotten were untied.
But there are other poets who wrote mysteries and mystery authors who wrote poetry. Stephen Dobyns, Cecil Day-Lewis/Nicholas Blake, Fredric Brown, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and Raymond Chandler, among others. Mystery author and editor Ellery Queen wrote:
“[P]oets, it has always seemed to us, are peculiarly sensitive to the smell of evil, to the sounds of violence, to the sight of cruelty, to the touch of tragedy, to the taste of murder—and to that sixth sense which detects and diagnoses the heartache and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to.”
John Straley is a poet who has written a series of mystery novels featuring Alaskan private investigator Cecil Younger. The Angels Will Not Care is the fifth book in the series. Younger is going through a bad period. A man whom he was trying to help died, and most people blamed Younger - and it seems that one of those people is Younger himself.
Younger is offered a job carrying out an investigation on a cruise ship traveling through the waters off of Alaska. He is told that he is to check on the physician on the ship, but he is given no details. He is allowed to bring two other people, one being his girlfriend Jane Marie, something of an expert on both Alaskan wildlife and games, valuable information on a cruise ship. Younger is also accompanied by his roommate, Todd, who has "the look of a damaged New Wave paperboy, kind of the friendly Road Warrior image favored by some urban youth" Todd is, I believe, intended to be somewhere on the autism spectrum. Younger wants to bring Todd because he is afraid to leave him home alone.
People with whom Younger interacts on the cruise include the Captain, the social director, the doctor, members of the crew (including crewmen who are not supposed to interact with passengers), and another private investigator. Most of these people are not happy to make Younger's acquaintance.
Then, of course, there are the other passengers. Many of them seem to be in poor health - very poor indeed. Some of them are members of an intriguing organization called "L'Inconnue de la Seine." One of the healthy passengers is a woman writing and illustrating a book about angels.
Some of these people will die during the cruise.
Off the ship, Younger and Jane Marie will also make the acquaintance of a large brown bear, who seems to appreciate being treated with respect.
Like all the books that I have read in this series, The Angels Will Not Care gives fine portraits of a number of people as well as a fascinating broader picture of parts of Alaska. There is a very satisfying ending, which ties up ends, including some that I had forgotten were untied.
May 23, 2020
So entertaining, a perfect embodiment of Straley's style, which is unlike anything else in the genre. As I read through some of the less flattering reviews it actually saddened me that some people just do not get "it" when it comes to this series. And, of course, that's not a knock, it's a reminder that even the very best writing is not for everyone. Cecil Younger is a kindred soul to me, and as odd as it may sound, I find a ton of comfort in these novels, as I found a ton of comfort in the novels I grew up reading as a kid. Like Mr. Straley, I am both a real-life private investigator and a novelist, as well as a dabbler in poetry. It is strange to say, but I see a lot of myself in Cecil Younger. I've never been to Alaska, and I am pretty good at my detective work, overall. Probably better than Cecil, though maybe not. It has never been my goal to be the best, at any rate. The work is a living and a respite from harder times, and I take it serious-- that is as much as I can say. But I am a writer and a reader above all else, and it is my greatest hope to produce work this brilliant. I have my demons, the same as Cecil, and there is something about his love with Jane Marie, and his kinship with Todd, that makes me feel better about the world, my actual world, though I may stumble through it, at times. I will shout from the rooftops in hopes someone else will read these novels and love them as much as I do, they are among the best I have ever read.
July 22, 2025
Cecil Younger, the bizarre private detective in this equally bizarre series, along with his marine biologist girlfriend and neuro-divergent roommate, is "hired' by a cruise director to surreptitiously investigate frequent deaths on board a cruise ship plying the Inside Passage from Seattle to Juneau. As ever, Cecil attracts trouble. Descriptions of passengers, crew, scenery and wildlife are wonderful as ever. I'd like to give this book a 5 but it might be too quirky for some readers. I love the fact that you never know what is going to happen next or what Cecil is doing or thinking and sometimes it's clear he doesn't know what he's doing or thinking!
September 27, 2018
I loved the hitch-hiking adventures in the previous book in this series, so I was very pleased to find Cecil, Toddy and Jane Marie taking an Alaskan cruise.
Cecil has been asked to investigate complaints about medical treatment on a cruise ship, so the three travel aboard the S.S. Westward.
This is a wonderful series with flawed but loveable characters and a dramatic setting. The cruise allows us to see parts of Alaska and its coast that have not been open to Cecil previously. And the writing is spectacular.
Cecil has been asked to investigate complaints about medical treatment on a cruise ship, so the three travel aboard the S.S. Westward.
This is a wonderful series with flawed but loveable characters and a dramatic setting. The cruise allows us to see parts of Alaska and its coast that have not been open to Cecil previously. And the writing is spectacular.
December 3, 2021
I found my first John Straley Cecil Younger mystery while in Sitka (for the jazz festival), at the lovely bookstore downtown. How could I not pick one up? I have been reading them in order ever since. This one was perfect for my 3-night ferry trip from Juneau to Bellingham, with part of the story taking place on a cruise ship. The story even included a chicken coop and chickens (we will have chickens here in MN next year). I found this to be another engaging mystery with all the Southeast Alaska elements I love (and now miss)!
June 14, 2024
Given to me by my buddy, Gordon. Thanks Gordon for a really good book, This apparently is a series about detective Cecil Younger. This novel being #5 in the series. Good narrative and descriptions of Cecil, his wife and his roommate Todd. They carry on with twists and turns from Juneau up and down the Alaska Passage on a cruise ship, trying to discover why so many people die on this one particular ship, with the enemies being the ship owners, and the entertainment company, Good book.
July 23, 2017
Made sense to take a mystery set onboard a cruise ship on a cruise ship trip. Unfortunately, this strikes me as one of John Straley's weaker stories. He sets Cecil up for an issue with his conscience but that never really happens. Also, the story line for a string of deaths on the ship is dated and there is a subtle hint of anti-gay sentiment. All in all, unsatisfying.
September 6, 2021
I have only read one book in what is a pretty lengthy series, set in Sitka--in a blatantly derivative of one's own job kind of series. Cecil is a criminal defense investigator who gets wrapped up in a crime--he has a questionable home life--may take--and while I got three of these out to try them, I may not move on...
December 13, 2021
The further I get into the Cecil Younger series, the more confused I am. It seems like the original mysteries get more interesting with each book, but the way they're solved gets less believable each time. I'll keep reading them, because I'm in too far to stop now, but I find myself rolling my eyes a little more with each one.
August 9, 2017
Another story of the self-deprecating detective anchored in Sitka. This one has a bit more violence than his other books but not so much by the standard of others who write mystery/detective novels. A great read.
July 14, 2018
I like Straley's Cecil Younger series, but this one didn't do much for me. The plot just didn't hold together somehow. Maybe actions and motivations will make sense to others, but they left me confused on many points.
January 4, 2022
Enough intrigue and confusion to hold interest along with Toddy goofiness but damn I hate it when Cecil denigrates himself and gets screwed time and again and mostly not in a way he should or could like…and the bad guys just drift away.
November 28, 2022
It took me a very long time to read this disaster. Reading this book must be exactly what it feels like after taking LSD. The entirety of it was just confusing and stupid. The best part was the chickens.
July 28, 2018
on cape cod - my ratings may be skewed since everything is more enjoyable
September 14, 2018
This was a recommendation by Marilyn Stasio and it was pretty good. Will check out some other from the series.
May 7, 2019
Another good private eye story by Straley; this one set on an Alaska cruise ship. He writes such good, quirky characters.
October 6, 2022
It's original, fast-moving, has twists -- all the things that make a mystery a great way to enjoy a few hours.
August 10, 2016
The Angels Will Not Care by John Straley is book 5 of the Cecil Younger series set in 1999 Alaska. Cecil is a private investigator in Sitka, where he has lived for 15 years. His girlfriend Jane Marie DeAngelo of three years is a research biologist and CEO of a games company, the ‘day job’ that funds research on humpback whales. Their friend Todd lives with them. Todd is not well adapted socially. Cecil quotes a neighbor, “Todd ain’t dumb, he’s just smart in his very own way.”
Cecil says of life in Sitka: “The smaller the city in Alaska, the more tolerance is required. Gossip stings, friends get on your nerves, simple things cost more and everything you hear on the news seems distant and slightly strange, as if the news was being badly translated from another language. Sitka has eight thousand people, hardly a village, and it requires as much tolerance as I can muster.”
Cecil’s job prospects wither after he mishandles a hostage situation. A client takes pity and hires him to stake out a chicken coop. Jane Marie finds a job for Cecil with the Great Circle Lines cruise line. Many deaths occur on a specific ship, and cruise director Sonny Walters wants to hire Cecil to investigate the ship doctor. Cecil, Jane Marie, and Todd all go on the cruise, playing tourist in their home state. On board ship Jane Marie works as a lecturer and games organizer, Todd pursues his photography hobby, Cecil immediately abuses his bar tab and gets it revoked.
The first death occurs on the very first night. Cecil discovers a travel group onboard that caters to the terminally ill, and meets a few of its members. The ship, officers and crew belong to three different companies, a situation that provides a confusing (and sometimes conflicting) chain of command. Todd and Jane Marie are mostly on their own as Cecil suffers misadventures below decks, pursuing clues to the series of deaths.
When the doctor disappears, the ship’s crew sends Cecil and Jane Marie to a small island to search for him. Their overnight adventure includes surviving a bear.
The fairly obvious explanation of the deaths is eventually revealed. The cruise lines cloak the whole incident in secrecy, paying off key players to remain silent. Cecil, Jane Marie and Todd return to their home in Sitka, where Jane announces big news.
The Cecil Younger series concludes with book six, Cold Water Burning. Learn more about the author and his books at johnstraley.com.
Cecil says of life in Sitka: “The smaller the city in Alaska, the more tolerance is required. Gossip stings, friends get on your nerves, simple things cost more and everything you hear on the news seems distant and slightly strange, as if the news was being badly translated from another language. Sitka has eight thousand people, hardly a village, and it requires as much tolerance as I can muster.”
Cecil’s job prospects wither after he mishandles a hostage situation. A client takes pity and hires him to stake out a chicken coop. Jane Marie finds a job for Cecil with the Great Circle Lines cruise line. Many deaths occur on a specific ship, and cruise director Sonny Walters wants to hire Cecil to investigate the ship doctor. Cecil, Jane Marie, and Todd all go on the cruise, playing tourist in their home state. On board ship Jane Marie works as a lecturer and games organizer, Todd pursues his photography hobby, Cecil immediately abuses his bar tab and gets it revoked.
The first death occurs on the very first night. Cecil discovers a travel group onboard that caters to the terminally ill, and meets a few of its members. The ship, officers and crew belong to three different companies, a situation that provides a confusing (and sometimes conflicting) chain of command. Todd and Jane Marie are mostly on their own as Cecil suffers misadventures below decks, pursuing clues to the series of deaths.
When the doctor disappears, the ship’s crew sends Cecil and Jane Marie to a small island to search for him. Their overnight adventure includes surviving a bear.
The fairly obvious explanation of the deaths is eventually revealed. The cruise lines cloak the whole incident in secrecy, paying off key players to remain silent. Cecil, Jane Marie and Todd return to their home in Sitka, where Jane announces big news.
The Cecil Younger series concludes with book six, Cold Water Burning. Learn more about the author and his books at johnstraley.com.
October 19, 2014
Subtle. Straley, you're frickin' subtle. You caught my attention without my even realizing it, sucked me in, then wouldn't let me go until the last page.
Given the number of people who see the state of Alaska from the deck of a cruise ship, it is a setting that is rarely examined by the state's authors. In the hands of a talent like John Straley, it allows us to meet a cross-section of people AND address a few aspects of today's society – the author takes us to the impact of those masses of tourists making day-trips to the small towns on the Inside Passage to the morality of assisted suicide.
This is the 5th of 6 novels featuring investigator Cecil Younger. It's a shame that my next book in the series will be my last.
RATING: 5 stars.
Given the number of people who see the state of Alaska from the deck of a cruise ship, it is a setting that is rarely examined by the state's authors. In the hands of a talent like John Straley, it allows us to meet a cross-section of people AND address a few aspects of today's society – the author takes us to the impact of those masses of tourists making day-trips to the small towns on the Inside Passage to the morality of assisted suicide.
This is the 5th of 6 novels featuring investigator Cecil Younger. It's a shame that my next book in the series will be my last.
RATING: 5 stars.
April 25, 2012
I haven't read this author for years. This one was pub'd in 2000. I have a little catching up to do. It's a detective novel series set in Sitka Alaska. The first book, The Woman Who Married A Bear, broke my heart in a good way. This one mostly takes place on a cruise ship. I liked it a great deal. There is poetry and alienation and sweetness. Even if it's quite a stretch to think that an 8,000 person village needs a private detective.
July 21, 2010
Fun book to read after just going on a cruise to Alaska. Purchased in Sitka, Alaska, home of Straley. This was the first book that I read of Straley's and I look forward to reading more.
June 26, 2011
Love his writing
Read
April 5, 2014Set in the Pacific Northwest, really well written mysteries.
April 13, 2014
quick read, fun story from the inside passage/SEAK.
November 24, 2024
Not any better the 2nd time around.
April 13, 2018
Good book set in Alaska with very accurate details relating to various settings throughout Southeast Ak. Easy and enjoyable read. I will read other books from this author. Story takes place on cruise ship with good and believable storyline.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews