Customer Reviews

Fine and Bitter Snow

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

With each book, Dana Stabenow has gotten better and better. She has a strong voice and writes beautifully about Alaska, a state she obviously loves. She creates compelling characters and writes great action scenes. So I was really disappointed with this, her latest installment in the Kate Shugak series. In fact, I was so disappointed that I checked her website to see what was going on. It turns out that the author was required by contract to produce a book that had her writing much of it just when, like many of us, she got bogged down in a September 11th depression. All I can say is, too bad her publisher didn't give her more time.

At only 304 pages, the book is way too short (and not coincidentally it's list price is way too high). The author seemed to be treading water through most of the story and the murder mystery seemed to be added as an afterthought. Too much of the story was spent with various people describing others (including the murder victim) as outrageous characters. By the end, you don't care about the murder victim, the murderer, or the soap opera-worthy reason for the murder. This is not Ms. Stabenow's best book. If you're new to the series, read an earlier installment. If you just want to keep up with Kate, read this one and hope that Ms. Stabenow gets back in the game with her next book.

This is the 12th in the Kate Shugak series of mysteries set in Alaska. In this outing, Kate is back in the Park, winter is upon them, and she is beginning to emerge from her self-imposed cocoon. When two of the park's long-time residents are killed, she teams up with state trooper Jim Chopin to find the killer

I've been a big fan of Dana Stabenow since her first Kate Shugak mystery, A Cold Day for Murder. This is not one of her best. There's too much description and not enough action. There's not much plot - what there is takes place in the last 60 pages of the book.

It's more of a series transition - moving Kate from mourning Jack to a new relationship. It is as if the author had to meet a deadline for a book and this was the result. Stabenow's heart didn't seem to be in this book. I'm hoping that this really is a transition, and not the beginning of the end. I hope Stabenow will be back in form in the next Kate Shugak book.

Dana Stabenow, lifelong Alaska resident, has important things to say about the preservation of the environment. And she says them while spinning a good murder mystery. The new Old-Boy Oil Administration in Washington wants to drill for oil in ANWR and they're dumping the long-time Park Ranger who may disagree with their agenda. An environmentalist is killed, her friend critically injured, and Kate Shugak and her endearing wolf/dog Mutt are on the case. Meanwhile, Kate's personal life is sloping towards a seismic shift. Hang on, folks, we're in for a bumpy ride!

When bureaucrats try to force park ranger Dan O'Brian into early retirement, Kate Shugak springs into action, chatting up the locals with political influence to save Dan's job. It doesn't help, though, when Dan is found crouched over a recently murdered body. Kate is certain that Dan is innocent, but she isn't convinced that the crazy Viet Nam vet turned up as an alternate suspect was the killer either. Still, what possible motive could anyone have for killing an aging World War II WASP? Kate insists on looking--alongside too-sexy cop Jim Chopin.

Since the death of her lover, Kate has been trying to get her personal life under control. She isn't sure of much, but she is certain that she doesn't want to be the next notch on Jim's belt. Still, Jim seems anxious to allow Kate to tag along as he investigates increasingly unlikely suspects. Kate is sure they haven't found the killer--but she's also certain that everyone has secrets. And, as Jim points out, no secrets can survive a murder investigation.

Author Dana Stabenow writes convincingly of the Alaska wilds--where 'up the road' means a 70 mile haul and where the only way to stay in touch is by plane. When the close-knit community is shattered by murder, the residents want to pull together and are all to anxious to deny the possibility that the murder might be one of them. Kate's angst over her lost lover adds emotional depth to her character as does her long history with the victim.

A FINE AND BITTER SNOW is enjoyable reading, but has a few holes. I would have liked to see a little more motivation for Jim to invite Kate along on the investigation--surely sexual desire wouldn't be enough to allow him to drag her along in that way. Also, although fans of the series may know, readers of A FINE AND BITTER SNOW have no idea what Kate does for a living or how she manages to find so much free time to spend rescuing friends and investigating murder. I would have appreciated a bit more of her motivation--and some concept that her life extends beyond chosing boyfriends and chasing killers.

Now that the Republicans are back in the White House, there is an intense interest in exploring the Alaskan wilderness for oil reserves. The natives of the state are torn between the need for new jobs and preserving the beauty of their untamed land. Chief park ranger Dan O'Brien is on the record for wanting to preserve the environment and as a result was asked by his superiors to take an early retirement.

Kate Shugak, a homesteader in the Park, is rallying the people to save Dan's job. When two elderly radical conservationists that Kate spoke to about the problem are found dead, Alaska state trooper Jim Chopin arrests a Vietnam vet, covered in blood and holding the murder weapon. Although it looks like an open and shut case, both Kate and Jim find that things seem too pat and decide to investigate, a decision that puts Kate in deadly danger.

Although A FINE AND BITTER SNOW is a great mystery, the author puts more emphasis on the strange but very real courtship of Kate and Jim. Kate's efforts to avoid Jim and his honest bewilderment about his feelings for the prickly investigator make for some funny episodes. As always, Dana Stabenow brings the beauty and the danger of the Alaskan frontier alive, but also provides insight into the oil rigging environmental controversy This exciting novel will leave readers excited yet bushed from a wonderful reading experience.

Harriet Klausner

I had read a few Kate Shugak books years ago and enjoyed them, so I looked forward to getting back into the series with this book. Big mistake.

Do not, I repeat, do not read this book. It is obviously a hastily written first draft, badly in need of editing, and unfit to be published let alone released for sale. It has no more plot than you'd find in a short story, and the action doesn't even start until halfway through the book. Most of the pages are an enormous pile of padding, much of it totally irrelevant to the action at hand and riddled with errors of action, timing, and point of view. We get way too much detail on the home decor of everyone's cabin, the history and personal lives of all (and I mean ALL) the Colorful Local Characters, overcute children badly in need of spanking, and a wolf-dog hybrid who thinks in human words and acts like no dog, wolf, or hybrid I've come across, PLUS it's a female that supposedly weighs 140 lbs. Riiight - that means it's either half St. Bernard, part pony, or grossly overweight.

But the biggest irritation is the author's obvious love affair with her creation, Kate Shugak, who is constantly described in glowing terms even while acting like a [...]. We hear far too much of her sex life past and present, which frankly isn't all that interesting (but then, neither is Kate at this stage). This book is nothing more than an Alaskan bodice ripper, and even has the standard passionate sex scene which is nothing more than rape - but, like bodice rippers, It's Okay because after a while Kate Enjoys It.

Really, Dana Stabenow, you are (or were) far too good a writer for this nonsense. What were you thinking / drinking? And please, PLEASE get someone to proofread your manuscript, because your publishers aren't doing it for you. And while you're at it, find out the sad truth about wolf-dog hybrids. They are NOT the wonderful pets you write about and often end up being destroyed.

In her 12th book in the Kate Shugak series, Ms. Stabenow focuses more on environmental issues and scenery than she does on her characters and their development. Although there is a mystery at the center of the story, the characters seemed more one dimensional than she usually treats them. Through out the series, there has always been a chemistry between Kate and Chopper Jim, but in this book it seemed forced as tho Ms. Stabenow was setting up the two characters to go in separate directions. After reading this book, I cannot imagine how Kate and Jim could ever have any type of relationship that would be one that could sustain itself. Kate came off as very self-centered, very entrenched in her past and very unwilling to compromise on anything until the last few pages. As Kate's character has become stagnant tho, Chopper Jim's has started to fill in and provide the reader with insites into his psyche. It will be interesting to see what happens in the next book both in terms of Jim and Kate's relationship and hopefully in terms of a tighter mystery!

This is Kate at her very best - Stabenow has a way of grabbing you at the beginning and never letting go. Her characters are believable and keep to their boundaries. One of the reasons, stabenow's books appeal to both my husband and me is that she knows when to end a story. The plots are tight, gripping and when it's over - it's over - Unlike Tom Clancy or Patterson who would have good story lines if they ended their books 3/4 of the way through! This is action packed,holds your attention and serendipitously, you learn something about the real Alaska - stripped of the Romantic notion.

This book was the final selection of the Copper River Readers Book Group from last year when we read mysteries. Our Book Group is associated with Prince William Sound Community College- Copper Basin Campus and one of our members chose this selection since it takes place in our back yard- Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. Overall, the members were disappointed in the book both from the its depiction of our home and from the implausibility of the mystery plot. While we understood that the author wished to fictionalize the geography and the people who live here, it was just so far off the mark to the people who reside and work here that we could not suspend our "disbelief" and try to imagine this park that the author created. A lot of the members would have felt better about the fictional license if there had been a more extended explanation in the author's notes section.

Some of our members work in law enforcement and had trouble with the inaccuracies of the Rangers and Troopers work practices. And as mentioned above, the plot itself was derivative and easily figured out.

We hope mystery readers interested in Alaska will check out books by Sue Henry and John Straley for a better representation of our State.

This eleventh entry in the wonderful Kate Shugak series is very quick, almost an interlude during which the author moves along the plot from the last book to the next book...and that's just fine with me!

At least half of the book is given over to Kate's state of mind, important to regulars like me who know the terrible loss she has sustained and the long healing process she is undergoing (I won't do a spoiler here and say more than that!). We also catch up on all our "Park rats," the regulars who populate each of the novels, and I found that catchup process completely enjoyable.

The second half of this short book is devoted to a shocking and heartbreaking murder of one of our favorites; Kate and Chopper Jim's efforts to solve the murder--and--to Kate's fear and wrath, her growing interest in Jim. I am very anxious to get to the next book to see what will happen!

Fun, fast, and quintessential Stabenow.