The Kate Shugak mysteries are particular favorites of mine. The unique (to me, at least) settings of Alaska; the interesting cast of characters and Kate herself.Kate is small, dilignet, skilled and feels it is her duty to protect the way of life in "The Park"--the federal wildlife preseve on which she lives.Kate lacks one quality--finesse. She has to work hard to be even slightly subtle. She is beginning to round up allies to save the job of Park ranger Dan O'Brien, who is inivited by the new administration, to take 'early retirement". Having no intention of breaking in a new Park Ranger wih no experience, Kate starts to rally the troops.But then an unexpected tragedy occurs. Two long term residents of the community--Dina and Ruthe--are attacked. One killed; one left for dead. Since Kate has known both women from infancy, she at once becomes involved.Alaska State Trooper Jim Chopin, knowing of Kate's former investigative background quickly enlists her help and the two begin a search to find a cunning and angry killer....There is one comment I want to make. Although the Kate Shugak mysteries are complete in each volume, they DO make more sense if read in publication order and this is #12. Still, pikc up any mystery in this series and I think you will be pleased--I have enjoyed every book so far in this series.Highly recommended for any mystery fan. Some violence but not drenched in gore; fast pace and good characterizations.
Since I'm reading Dana's Kate Shugak series in order and this is the twelfth book, my reviews tend to focus on the books as a story arc and not each book separately. Also, I had read all the books through the seventh and then skipped to the last few, so I'm reading these in the middle of the series for the first time. With those caveats, I will say this is one of my favorite entries in the series. What I love about it is that a reader could come in at this book, get a lot of the backstory, and be able to continue from here. And for me, reading from the beginning, it was nice to have a mini-refresher course in the Kate Shugak universe. I did enjoy the mystery, although I was a little sad as to who was murdered. I won't say more because I don't want to spoil the plot. But what I enjoy most about this series are the characters and how they have grown, and I appreciate Dana's fine work in this area. (I am especially aware of Dana's character development and skillful writing after reading Fifty Shades of Grey. I tried to move on to the second book but couldn't get past the first chapter because of the poor writing.)So thank you, Dana, for having your characters grow and change, and for constantly working on your writing craft. It is apparent from your books you work hard at what you do, and I appreciate it.
What do You think about A Fine And Bitter Snow (2003)?
Kate Shugak is one of the most compelling series characters in the mystery and detective genre. I love the fact that she develops and changes throughout the series. In this book, two older ladies, fixtures in the Park for many years, are brutally attacked. And Kate, the avenging angel of the Park, sets out to solve the crime and restore justice to her world. The main story is interwoven with Kate’s continuing struggles in her personal life. My only criticism is that I spotted the murderer very early in the book. Still, that may have been a fluke, since I’m not usually good at the detecting part of mysteries.
—Beth
I found this to be frustrating. Until the big reveal, I was going to give it a fourth star, but having a villain who seems like an unreliable narrator about the crime made my head hurt. Too many of the clues at the crime scene didn't make sense if the murderer told the truth in the reveal, and the method for getting to and from the crime didn't make sense, in terms of time, speed and distance. I honestly couldn't tell if it was an author error or a nonsensical lie by the killer, and that's a bad sign.The non-mystery parts of the story were more interesting and coherent than the mystery itself, as a result of this, and that's a weakness. The mystery involves a crime with more confessions than criminals, which kept me turning the pages, but the actual result just didn't add up to a satisfying conclusion.The non-mystery part of the story was better, resolving several ongoing character developments within the series. That's good, as too many hanging plot threads can create a false sense of tension within the drama. Now they've been trimmed to a more manageable number.
—Nick
After reading Stabenow’s clever short story in the Sherlock Holmes collection, this novel was a disappointment. Although A Fine and Bitter Snow is intermittently clever with dialogue and description, these are brief moments, and the bulk of the novel is…well…boring. There’s just not enough mystery—it takes 80 pages in for the crime to happen, and the novel is only a little over 200 pages. The entire mid-section of the book contains too little investigation—the characters seem to drink more hot chocolate and tea than interrogate each other, and few secrets are revealed. The novel’s strength is the vividly described action sequences, including an exciting climactic face-off with the killer, and these do propel the reader to keep going...if one hasn’t already given up before the crime is committed. Overall, if there had just been more of a driving force to the plot, A Fine and Bitter Snow would have been much more engaging.
—Terry
