Most Helpful Customer Reviews
141 of 143 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fans of strong female sleuths, this is for you!, 15 Jan 2003
I bought this book on a recommendation from a friend and wasn’t disappointed. I am a big fan of those capable female sleuths (you know, Kinsey Milhone and the like), and Kate Shugak lives up to all expectations you might have. Quite the strong, silent type, she’s clearly had some painful experiences as a cop before the series starts (this is the first of a dozen so far, so there’s lots more to be looking forward to!), and as a result has resigned and now lives alone with her dog in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness. Apart from the crime plot, the scenery and way of life play a good part in the book, and contribute to the “lived-in” feeling – not a surprise since the author herself lives up there! All in all, a very good book, if off the beaten track (well it’s a change from forensic pathologists!) – a good find, and I shall be reading more about her!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Left me shivering and happy not to live in Alaska, 13 Jan 2009
On the one hand, a great whodunit placed in a fascinating setting (the far Alaska north) by a writer who really knows her stuff. (The writer, Dana Stabenow, lives in Alaska and it shows). On the other hand, the novel had such a gloom and doom atmosphere, it left me very much depressed after I had finished it. Oh well, maybe that is a sign of good writing; intentional or not, it's a darn good read anyway. Kate Shugak, the heroine of this novel, is a traumatized ex-investigator of the Anchorage D.A.'s office, who gets - against her will, with a lot of arm-twisting - called upon to investigate the disappearance of two men because she knows the area (and its eccentric people) like the back of her hand. She also knows she's not going to like the answers to this mystery - and boy, is she right (but I'll leave that to the reader to find out). In between, we meet up with a lot of fascinating, larger-than-life characters that seem to have stepped straight out of Northern Exposure. It does have enough humor in it to put a smile upon your face now and then (just visit the Roadhouse to see what I mean). Alaska is cold, rugged and dangerous, deadly to the unwary, so a sense of humor seems one of the required survival-traits to live there.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good if you are patient with it, 1 Sep 2011
This review is from: A Cold Day for Murder (Kate Shugak #1) (Kindle Edition)
I bought this book after reading the other reviews on Amazon, I have recently read all of the Jo Nesbo (Harry Hole) series and am quite into 'foreign' crime authors so thought I would give this a go. Firstly I'd just like to say that I did quite enjoy this book in the end and found myself looking forward to reading it. However, I am not a big fan of the writing style, I don't really know how to express myself but I just found it a bit jarring. There is A LOT (!!!!) of alaskan and native american jargon and it makes no attempt a lot of the time to explain what it means, it just assumes you will understand. If you can get past this it does make a really good read and then I guess once you are used to it it will make the other books easier to read. I really enjoyed the characters and the atmosphere of the scene descriptions so I think it's worth giving it a try.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
