A Taint in the Blood: A Kate Shugak Novel (Kate Shugak Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Dana Stabenow (Author)

Book Description

Series: Kate Shugak Mysteries | Publication Date: August 26, 2004

Thirty-one years ago in Anchorage, Alaska, Victoria Pilz Bannister Muravieff was convicted of murdering her seventeen-year-old son William. The jury returned a quick verdict of guilty, believing the prosecutor's claims that she had set fire to her own home with both her sons inside; William died and the other, Oliver, narrowly escaped. Victoria was sentenced to life in prison without parole, and though she pled not guilty at the trial, she never again denied her guilt.

Now her daughter, Charlotte Muravieff, has hired Kate Shugak to clear her mother's name. Her daughter has always believed in her innocence, and now that Victoria has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, Charlotte wants her free. Kate is the only p.i. Charlotte can find who's willing to take such a long-shot case. Kate, on the other hand, is only willing because she's suddenly a single parent to a teenager, a teenager she hopes will decide to go to college. Besides, it can't be bad to do a favor for the Bannister family, one of the wealthiest and most prominent families in Alaska's short history.

As Kate begins an investigation, Victoria protests, refusing to cooperate. But soon it seems she isn't the only one who wants to leave the past in the past. In this spell-binding novel, Kate's confrontation with thirty years of secrets and regret-and murder-in one of Alaska's most powerful families shows award-winning crime writer Dana Stabenow at the top of her game.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Known for her evocative wilderness settings, Edgar-winner Stabenow heads into urban territory in her uneven 14th Kate Shugak mystery, which is set mainly in Anchorage and picks up where 2003's A Grave Denied left off. Charlotte Bannister Muravieff, of an influential Alaska family, hires Kate to prove that her imprisoned mother, Victoria, wasn't the culprit behind a 30-year-old tragedy. Convicted of setting a fire in her house that killed her sleeping son William, Victoria is now dying of cancer. Kate hires poacher Kurt Pletnikoff, who's come to Anchorage for work, to help interview everyone still alive connected with the crime, including a reluctant Victoria and her remaining son, Oliver. Fast-paced action scenes, sympathetic child characters and Kate's appealing dog, Mutt, help smooth a complex plot strewn with chunks of historical background. Those looking for bodice-ripping romance will savor the heat generated between Kate and Alaska state trooper Jim Chopin, though established fans may be dismayed by Kate's aggressive sexual behavior. First-time readers may wish that a host of supporting characters, mostly Kate's friends and relatives, were better identified.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Recently ensconced in a new cabin following the torching of her house--see A Grave Denied [BKL Ag 03]--Kate Shugak receives a visitor: Charlotte Muravieff, from Anchorage. Fashionable Muravieff is in the Alaskan bush to ask Kate to reinvestigate her mother's murder conviction. Kate does just that, and soon people connected with the 30-year-old case start dying. This fourteenth Kate Shugak mystery is among the best in a consistently strong series. Along with the series' typical appealing features--Kate's erotically charged romantic life with Trooper Jim Chopin; delightful character sketches of various residents of the Alaskan bush, including a dog named Mutt; and, of course, the vivid rendering of the Alaskan landscape--Stabenow adds a new element this time: setting the case in Anchorage allows her to portray Kate dealing with life in the city and to consider Alaskan history outside the backcountry. Even with the more urban setting and theme (political corruption drives the plot), this entry will still appeal to fans of outdoor mysteries by Nevada Barr and Sue Henry. John Rowen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; 1st edition (August 26, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312306830
• ISBN-13: 978-0312306830
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,278,434 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

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Stabenow's Kate Shugak series remains fresh and engaging, January 13, 2005

By 

Henry W. Wagner (Rockaway, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Taint in the Blood: A Kate Shugak Novel (Kate Shugak Mysteries) (Hardcover)

The latest Kate Shugak mystery begins on a humorous note, as an overzealous Kate, eager to repay her friends for favors performed in 2003's A Grave Denied, becomes an annoyance to everyone she knows. Thus, her friends breathe a sigh of relief when she becomes preoccupied with a new client, Charlotte Bannister Muravieff. A member of a wealthy Alaskan family, Muravieff wants Kate to gather evidence to help clear her mother, Victoria, who was imprisoned for the murder of her son William some thirty years prior. Unable to turn down the large fee the woman offers, Kate begins her investigation of what she quickly realizes is no ordinary cold case.

Fourteen installments in, Stabenow's Kate Shugak series remains fresh and engaging. Shugak is an impressive leading lady, an aggressive, capable, tough as nails heroine who somehow also manages to endear herself to most everyone she encounters. Stabenow has also created an impressive supporting cast for Kate to interact with, from her sage uncle Old Sam, to her lovable dog Mutt, to her romantic conquest, the increasingly enamored lawman Jim Chopin. All bring out different sides of Stabenow's multifaceted protagonist, as well as providing frequent comic relief.

It's a winning mix, one that's only enhanced by the intriguing mysteries Stabenow has concocted for Kate over the years. If you haven't experienced the charms of this series as yet, A Taint in the Blood is as good a place as any to start.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Possibly the best yet!!!, April 1, 2005

By 

Dr. Clive F. Jacks "A Former College Teacher" (the southeastern U.S.) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Taint in the Blood: A Kate Shugak Novel (Kate Shugak Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Don't believe any of the carping or nit-picking by reviewers who were put off by the "graphic sex scenes," which were a delight in fact. What a romp the whole book was, so much so that I sat up late to-night to finish it, well past my usual bed-time. It was great fun and for the sex, that was just funnier than heck. Be assured that any reader who doesn't think so is either a prude or inhibited or lacks a sense of humor, since at the end of every last one of these scenes I was not left aroused but laughing ... and if you want to know why, then give yourself the pleasure of reading the whole thing - full of the expected quirky characters and convoluted plot that kept me guessing almost to the end as well as the strong "sense of place," not to mention giving the reader a strong sense of Alaska - its history, environment, people, traditions ... warts and all!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for a winter afternoon, December 19, 2004

By 

Dr Cathy Goodwin (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Taint in the Blood: A Kate Shugak Novel (Kate Shugak Mysteries) (Hardcover)

As a long-time fan of Dana Stabenow and her heroine, Kate Shugak, I was happy to go along on another adventure. Stabenow has added a lighter touch, opening with some snapshots of Kate's excessive helpfulness. And it was fun to follow Kate around Anchorage, which the author knows well. Alaska is magnificent in summer and the author captures the feeling well.

The plot isn't bad. A wealthy woman pays Kate a huge (unspecified) sum of money to get her mother out of jail after 30 years. The mother needs medical treatment and the daughter is afraid she'll die in prison. Kate investigates systematically, calling in favors from all over, and soon realizes several parts of the story are unexplained.

There are a few odd steps in her detection, such as her decision to have dinner with an influential wealthy suspect. The solution seems plausible but not obvious and the cover-up and the explanation seems a little more tangled than it might be. The obligatory climax with real physical danger seems a little forced but easy to read and enjoyable to follow.

However, I have to agree with other reviewers. Stabenow gives us too many steamy (or pseudo-steamy) sex scenes, where she moves to the viewpoint of Chopper Jim. Some of his reactions seem more appropriate to an inexperienced teenager, not a middle-aged ladies' man. We can already guess that Kate would be fantastic as a sex partner because she's so athletic and in touch with her body. We don't need the details, down to her underwear. Given that Kate is a dignified woman who commands more respect than liking, I feel that we're invading her privacy.

And because the tale has been set in Anchorage, we don't get to revisit Johnny and the Park rats. That's understandable: in any series, the author has to move us away so we won't get bored with the same old scenes.

Finally, I lived in Alaska in 1989-1991. Every year Alaska gets more and more like "Outside," so I can see where Stabenow has to stretch to give us a sense of place. But I hope she does. Kate's home must be very different than when the series started. I'd like to learn more.