Breakup (Kate Shugak Mysteries) [Mass Market Paperback]

Dana Stabenow (Author)

Book Description

Series: Kate Shugak Mysteries | Publication Date: April 1, 1998

April in Alaska is the period of spring thaw, what the locals call breakup. For Kate, this year's meltdown brings nothing but mayhem. First, the snow uncovers a dead body near Kate's home. Than a woman is killed in a suspicious bear attack. Kate is drawn further into the destruction of breakup - and into tha path of a murderer...


• Winner of the Edgar Award for her book A Cold Day for Murder
• The next book in the acclaimed Kate Shugak mystery series
• Stabenow's hardcover, Killing Grounds, will be on sale from G.P. Putnam's Sons June 1, 1998

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The Alaskan spring brings problems and new hope for Kate Shugak. She must investigate a murder near home even as she takes over the role of clan leader from her Aleut grandmother. A wonderful series.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

"Breakup" is what Alaskans call their brief spring, when the state "melts into a 586,412-square-mile pile of slush." The seasonal change unhinges Alaskans just as Santa Ana winds unhinge Los Angelenos in Raymond Chandler's mysteries. Kate Shugak lives in the bush with Mutt, a wonderful husky-wolf mix, and is facing a terrible breakup. Her taxes are intractable; she has three encounters with grizzlies, two near misses with airplanes, and ends up in a handful of gunfights--and a corpse turns up near her homestead. This sixth entry in Stabenow's lively, entertaining series offers a tough, insightful heroine; a set of intriguing, slightly eccentric supporting characters; and a healthy dose of Alaskan atmosphere. Although the mystery element isn't even introduced until well into the story, Stabenow more than compensates with a detailed look at how Shugak and company deal with the effects of breakup: verve is important, but it helps to have Jimmy Buffet playing in the background. John Rowen --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (April 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425162613
• ISBN-13: 978-0425162613
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #185,279 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

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

Her first science fiction novel, Second Star, sank without a trace (but has since been resurrected as an e-book), her first crime fiction novel, A Cold Day for Murder, won an Edgar award, her first thriller, Blindfold Game, hit the New York Times bestseller list, and her twenty-eighth novel and nineteenth Kate Shugak novel, Restless in the Grave, comes out February 14, 2012.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Alaskan winter breaks up but Kate Shugak comes together., June 6, 1999

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Breakup (Kate Shugak Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

I've enjoyed all the Kate Shugak books but this one rates as the best. Kate faces charging bears, tourists from Beacon Hill, falling jet engines, the Alaskan version of the Hatfields and McCoys and the obligatory murder. And in the process the real Kate Shugak suddenly comes together and shows us the person we always knew was there. She once again demonstrates that Kate is not a person to be messed with (the more descriptive expression is not one I will write where anyone of any age can read it). But in all the daring do, in all the life and death experiences she goes through, those of us that love her know that the hardest for her to face, the one that takes the most courage is when Kate stands at a meeting of the tribal elders and acts as an advisory. She has begun to accept the heritage left to her by her grandmother. The only 'bad' thing about this book is that if you haven't followed Kate through her other books, you can't see what a victory this is for her. Thank you Dana Stabenow for giving us not just a female sleuth but a well-rounded person we can enjoy reading about and admire.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I love breakup!, February 12, 2001

By 

V Vermooten (Arlington, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Breakup (Kate Shugak Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

Having read one Kate Shugak mystery some years ago (which I enjoyed), I decided to try more recently. I'm enjoying them all, but have seldom laughed as hard over anything as I did over BREAKUP. I'm guessing that Stabenow collected all the wildest tales she'd heard about breakup mishaps and adventures and rolled them together into this marvellous story. There is a mystery, and Kate does work it through most capably, but don't try to read this volume in a situation that requires quiet. This is definitely a laugh-out-loud book, or even a shriek-out-loud one. (Obviously) I loved it.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Kate Shugak novel with humor, June 14, 2000

By 

Karen Potts (Lake Jackson, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Breakup (Kate Shugak Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

It seems that Dana Stabenow touches on a different aspect of Alaskan life in each book of this wonderful series. In Breakup, we are entertained with descriptions of springtime, when the ice and snow are breaking up and all sorts of weird things happen. Kate seems philosophical through it all--from airplanes falling from nowhere to grizzlies appearing in her path. She attributes every situation to the time of year. This book has all the attributes of the previous novels in this series--great descriptions of the scenery and lifestyle of Alaska,and an intriguing murder, but it also includes side-splitting humor. I recommend it!