Thursday, May 30, 2013

A Cold Day for Murder by Dana Stabenow


First Line: They came out of the south late that morning on a black-and-silver Ski-doo LT.

Somewhere in the endless acres of "The Park" a ranger has gone missing. No one puts up much of a fuss about it, figuring his body will be uncovered in time for the ground to thaw so he can be buried. But when a detective sent in to look for the missing ranger disappears as well, something has to be done. The Anchorage, Alaska District Attorney's Office sends two men out, hats in hand, to their former investigator, Kate Shugak. Shugak knows The Park because she was born there. She's an Aleut who left her home village in pursuit of education and a career. In reluctantly agreeing to search for the missing men, Kate finds herself being pulled out of her self-imposed exile back to the life she'd left behind.

This slim little volume is a quick read that introduces the reader to two prime objects: the Alaskan wilderness and the prickly character of Kate Shugak. In many ways, I think my reading experience was tempered by the fact that I'd already read Stan Jones' mystery series set in Alaska that also features a Native American main character. If I'd come to Stabenow's book totally fresh, I would have been much more in awe of what I was reading.

Alaska is shown to be the beautiful, wild place that it is; Shugak is the strong, silent type of female that we're still not quite accustomed to; and although the story line didn't hold many surprises for me, I'll be back for more. This is the first book in a very popular series, and Stabenow not only marks her territory, she populates it with a woman I just have to know more about.

A Cold Day for Murder by Dana Stabenow 
ISBN: 9780425133019
Berkley Prime Crime © 1992
Mass Market Paperback, 208 pages

Female Sleuth, #1 Kate Shugak mystery
Rating: B-
Source: Purchased from Amazon.

6 comments:

  1. Cathy - Interesting that your view of the Nathan Active series coloured your view of this one. I wonder how often that happens to people... I kind of like the Kate Shugak series but I can see how you'd come to it with a different view since you've read Jones.

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    1. Yes, I'd already been introduced to the landscape, the climate, and some of the Indian culture, so I didn't have the upswelling new-ness, the "wow" of it all in reading this book. I feel a bit as though I've done a disservice to Stabenow, since her series came first, but I can't unread something, once read. :-(

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  2. I have enjoyed the Kate Shugak books I've read. I don't necessarily read them in order but I've been reading them a long time. I always enjoy reconnecting with the characters when I pick one up. I never thought of them as being an introduction to Alaska. I find authors generally put their own mark on their books' settings even if the locales are the same.

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    1. Yes, they do, Teresa. In my roundabout way, I suppose I was saying that I preferred Jones' descriptions of Alaska. But wait-- that's not really fair. I've read 4 of Jones' books to one of Stabenow's. It just means that I'll have to read more Stabenow. I can handle that! 8-)

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  3. I have read a number in this series and always enjoy them. Darn now I have to check out this Stan Jones fellow..lol

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    1. He's very good, although he does write about the Arctic Circle, so it's a slightly different area. Fascinating, though!

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