Village of the Ghost Bears: A Nathan Active Mystery [Hardcover]

Stan Jones (Author)

Book Description

Series: A Nathan Active Mystery | Publication Date: December 1, 2009

Alaska State Trooper Nathan Active must figure out what connects a dead hunter on a remote Arctic lake with a year-old fatal plane crash in the Brooks Range and a fire that killed eight people.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Northwest Alaska is the shining star of Jones's fourth Nathan Active mystery (after 2008's Frozen Sun), often viewed from a Super Cub plane flying perilously over wilderness foothills, craggy ridges and autumn tundra. While on a camping trip to a remote lake, Nathan, an Inupiaq (native) Alaska state trooper, and Grace, the woman he loves, come upon a body in a creek, its face eaten by pike. Arson soon follows murder. Back home in the village of Chukchi, the recreation center goes up in a blaze, claiming eight victims, including the town's police chief. Rumors of polar bear poaching complicate both cases. Jones, who's been a bush pilot and an investigative reporter, brings stomach-wrenching verisimilitude to crimes despoiling the land and the people, while he sensitively renders the tender, painful romance between Nathan and Grace. His sympathetic portrayal of Alaska's mixed-ethnic traditions is a tribute to both the state and the states of mind it inspires. (Dec.)
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From School Library Journal

Adult/High School—This novel follows Alaska State Trooper Nathan Active as he tries to solve two possibly connected occurrences: the discovery of the body of a hunter at a remote lake and a fire at the Chukchi Recreation Center that claims eight lives. Without having read the previous books in the series, it is initially difficult to engage with the characters, but that quickly becomes inconsequential as the main focus of the novel turns to solving the mysteries. Jones provides a unique look at the Alaskan landscape and reveals many of the racial tensions that still exist in this part of the world. Ghost Bears leaves readers looking forward to the next "Nathan Active" installment.—Kelliann Bogan, Colby-Sawyer College, New London, NH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Soho Crime (December 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569476063
• ISBN-13: 978-1569476062
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #884,282 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dress warmly for this adventure, November 7, 2009

By 

Patto (Vermont) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Village of the Ghost Bears: A Nathan Active Mystery (Hardcover)

I look forward intensely, with any mystery by Stan Jones, to simply soaking up the atmosphere in this remote Arctic corner of Alaska.

Here the buildings stand on pilings to avoid being swallowed by melting permafrost. Polar bears have their own heaven somewhere out on the ice. A father might reincarnate as a husky to watch over his daughter. Spirits in dreams can inspire murder. And the reader starts feeling half Inupiat (Eskimo) a quarter into the book.

Alaska State Trooper Nathan Active is the brains behind any investigation in the town of Chuckchi. He's part Inupiat, part white, and would rather be in the civilized city of Anchorage. But he's stuck for the moment in backward Chuckchi, his current post. Despite the handicap of some white blood, Nathan is amazingly resourceful in the wild. He's also attractive to women. Only his girlfriend can resist him.

The crime facing Nathan and his fellow troopers in this book is the burning down of the local Rec Center. Eight people died, and it looks like arson. The motive eludes everyone, as the investigation takes bewildering turns through jealous rivalries and illegal activities (like selling bear gallbladders to the Russians and Koreans).

Stan Jones spent some time as a bush pilot, and he can always be relied upon to give us a harrowing ride or two in small planes through frightening conditions.

With Nathan Active, Jones has created a likeable, thoughtful, mild-mannered hero who shoots only when necessary - but can turn into a fearless daredevil on a manhunt. Although notoriously manly, Nathan is not above consulting an Inupiat healer for advice on his love life. I'd recommend reading every novel in this series, in order if you can.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars terrific Alaskan thriller, November 20, 2009

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Village of the Ghost Bears: A Nathan Active Mystery (Hardcover)

Inupiaq Alaskan state trooper Nathan Active is camping with his beloved Grace when they find a corpse in a creek. The pike had eaten away the face of the deceased.

Soon afterward someone sets a fire to the recreation center in the remote village of Chukchi. Eight people including the police chief die in the deadly inferno.

Nathan investigates both cases of homicide. At the same time, apparent polar bear poaching, an illegal act as the animal is protected by law, makes his inquiry much more dangerous and convoluted especially the body in the brook inquiry.

The latest Nathan Active police procedural (see Frozen Sun) is a terrific Alaskan thriller that hooks the reader early with its stark beautiful description of remote Alaska mostly from an aerial view. Nathan is his super self working exciting twisting investigations into homicides and poaching that look like Bridges to Nowhere except for his diligence, and his romance enhances the plot as he turns to a native healer for advice. However, Alaska owns this super tale as Stan Jones provides a deep look at a remote part of the state.

Harriet Klausner

3.0 out of 5 stars Some Missed Opportunities, December 6, 2011

By 

Jon Gerloff (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Village of the Ghost Bears: A Nathan Active Mystery Set in Alaska (Nathan Active Mysteries) (Paperback)

I like the main character here, Alaskan State Trooper Nathan Active, and I like the setting, a small village/city on the outskirts of the northern tundra. What I didn't particularly like was the storytelling itself. There was some real missed opportunities to keep the reader guessing in classic whodunit mode. In the hands of a more experienced, better writer, this book would have taut with tension. But instead of keeping the reader guessing at the most crucial moments, he wraps things up way too conveniently, making the fatal mistake of telling rather than showing.