A Cold Day for Murder (Kate Shugak Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Dana Stabenow (Author) "THEY came out of the south late that morning on a black-and-silver Ski-doo LT..." (more)
Key Phrases: snow machine, Mark Miller, Ken Dahl, Billy Mike (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
This whodunit rides the crest of today's styles: a female detective, a remote locale and the conflict between the traditional way of life (in this case Aleut) and modern America. Detective Kate Shugak became the top investigator for the Anchorage District Attorney's Office. But after getting her throat cut while apprehending a child abuser, she has retired to the Park, 20 million acres of Alaskan wilderness, snow and eccentrics--yet the children's cries keep reverberating in her head. When a park ranger--a congressman's son--disappears, as does the investigator sent after him, the FBI and Shugak's old boss ask for her help. In the process Shugak gets shot at twice and readers get a guided tour of the local landmarks, including Shugak's manipulative grandmother's house in Niniltna (pop. 800) and Bernie's Roadhouse, site of a hilarious showdown between two drunken pipeline workers with a stolen 30-ton excavating machine and a helicopter-flying state trooper. Stabenow's ( Second Star ) tale lacks tension, and Shugak's unfocused anger at the world seems a bit forced, but overall this is an enjoyable and well-written yarn.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
YA-- Up in the cold Alaskan countryside, a young National Park Ranger disappears. When the investigator on the case also vanishes, it's time for detective Kate Shugak to start hunting for answers. For those who like murder mysteries, female sleuths, and books set in Alaska, this is the one.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Berkley; 2nd printing edition (June 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 042513301X
• ISBN-13: 978-0425133019
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #147,383 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 1 in The Kate Shugak Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Once more, with gusto, January 12, 2002

By	TundraVision (o/~ from the Land of Sky Blue Waters o/~) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

A rookie federal Park Ranger/son-of-a-congressman, and an investigator sent to find him, go missing in the cold expanse of Kate Shugak's Alaskan Park (occupying "twenty million acres, almost four times the size of Denali National Park but with less than one percent of the tourists.") Reluctantly, Kate, a former D.A's investigator herself until a run-in with a child molester left him dead and her soured her on the job and a major portion of "civilization," is on the case.

This is the first of Dana Stabenow's Kate Shugak mystery series, and I'm glad I went back and started at the beginning. The reader is introduced to Jack Morgan, the aforementioned D.A., with whom Kate had an affair before leaving his employ in Anchorage to return home to the environs and inhabitants of her native Village and Park. The characters and locale will become old familiar friends as this series wends on.

The introduction to Jack Morgan is particularly resonant:"He looked like John Wayne ready to run the claim jumpers off his gold mine on that old White Mountain just a little southeast of Nome, if John Wayne had been outfitted by Eddie Bauer." (If you are clueless about the humour, I suggest you go over to videos and get a copy of the movie "North to Alaska" - pay attention to the song being sung during the credits.) That Johnny Horton song is on jukeboxes everywhere here in our part of the Tundra, and everybody sings along ;-) And, speaking of jukeboxes and bars, the scene at Bernie's Bar in the book is really a hoot!

Along the way to finding out what happened to the Ranger and his would-be rescuer, Stabenow gives the reader an overview of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act and life in the villages. It's a good start to a good series and I recommend it.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Impressive debut, September 29, 2000

By	Larry Eischen (Joliet, IL United States) - See all my reviews

Kate Shugak is a loner. She's a loner on a homestead on federal land in Alaska. She's a loner because she killed a child abuser years ago and it haunts her. It left physical and mental scars. All of this makes Kate a unique personality in mystery fiction. But she also has friends-half the people on the tribal grounds are relatives and many of the others are good friends. They add more unique flavor to this mystery. Kate is called in to find a friend who went missing while searching for a congressman's son who is missing. During the investigations, all of these unique personalities come together along with plenty of other local flavoring. Dana Stabenow has created a compelling, sympathetic series family. I hope to see a lot more of Stabenow and Shugak.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good read...., December 1, 1999

By A Customer

A promising start to the series. I have ordered the next book, and am looking forward to reading it.