Rating: 
Summary: Beware the Alaska Breakup!
Review: As readers of this hilarious entry in the wonderful Kate Shugak series now know, Breakup is the time between the frozen solid Alaska winter and the spring--a time when the potholes reach several feet deep, the slush competes with the mud, the weather is unpredictable--and the bears wake up crabby and hungry from their long hibernation. It's also a time, apparently, when the locals take leave of their senses, and the most mundane errand is run at one's own risk.Kate sees most of the action in this novel from the floor of her local pub, where stray bullets from angry housewives are flying at random; in the mud, where she is knocked down several times by everyone from friend to foe to bear; and from her house, which just happens to be partially demolished by an engine that has dropped from the sky off a jetliner. And that's just in the first few pages! Even wonder-dog Mutt is cranky in this truly funny look at all the regulars as they emerge--like the bears--from their long winter hibernation. There's a serious undertone dealing with Kate's new and unwanted position as head of tribal affairs, but mostly it's just a wild romp as we get to know our favorite Alaskans maybe a bit too well. Much recommended!
Rating: 
Summary: Action packed with a colorful cast of bush-bound characters.
Review: Characters and action are the substance of this, more or less, murder mystery. Although there are a few bodies, whose deaths are questionable, the life styles of the Alaskan outbackers is the core of the story. Crusty behavior full of impetuous acts occur on nearly every page. Mostly it is placed in Denali National Park with natives, homesteaders, and bureaucrats thrown together in an unlikely society that has to have permissiveness at its heart.
Rating:
Summary: I love breakup!
Review: Having read one Kate Shugak mystery some years ago (which I enjoyed), I decided to try more recently. I'm enjoying them all, but have seldom laughed as hard over anything as I did over BREAKUP. I'm guessing that Stabenow collected all the wildest tales she'd heard about breakup mishaps and adventures and rolled them together into this marvellous story. There is a mystery, and Kate does work it through most capably, but don't try to read this volume in a situation that requires quiet. This is definitely a laugh-out-loud book, or even a shriek-out-loud one. (Obviously) I loved it.
Rating:
Summary: Guaranteed to make you laugh
Review: I have been reading the Kate Shugak series in order this fall and just finished Breakup. By the time I finished the first chapter, I was already laughing. As each chapter continued, I just laughed harder and harder. This is one of the best female sluth series I've read yet (other good ones are Nevada Barr, Sue Grafton, etc.). In Breakup, Kate experiences a neverending series of unfortunate events that are guaranteed to make you laugh. The mystery plot is not as prominent in this story as in the previous ones, but the humor and action more than make up for it. I definitely recommend this book and series to anyone who enjoys mysteries set in exotic and/or natural locations. My only hope is that you will start at the beginning of the series and read them in order. It's worth it!
Rating:
Summary: By far my favorite!
Review: I have enjoyed all of Stabenow's books...even the one I didn't like the ending of. (You know which one I mean!) But this was the one that made me LAUGH OUT LOUD! I stayed up all night reading and laughing. I made my husband read it as soon as I was done. I recommend reading the series in order, but this is the best!
Rating:
Summary: it brings alaska to you!
Review: i have read 2 of the kate shugak mysteries, this being my 2nd. loved them so much, i am ordering the rest of the series. this book shows just what spring is like after a very long alaskan winter... breakup. there are several things going on besides the latest mystery kate has,again, become involved in with out even trying. a great trip to alaska with a great character!!
Rating:
Summary: Not her best
Review: I really did not enjoy this. I like a true mystery, but the mystery seemed to take a backseat to the everyday wacky life in Alaska. The mystery really didn't develop until you were almost through the whole book. I don't think this was one of Stabenow's best. In fact, her last two I have not liked. Her first books were fantastic and kept you on the edge of your seat! This last one was more like she was trying for something that could be an episode from Northern Exposures. I would not really recommend this to anyone wanting to read a good mystery.
Rating:
Summary: A trip to Alaska with the spring crazies without the expense
Review: I very much enjoyed Breakup. The desciptions of how things are is wonderful. There is nothing so pleasant as being able to laugh at someone else falling in the muck without getting hurt. The writing is well paced and easy reading. I read the book in almost one sitting (unfortunately work had to interfer with my reading). Kate Shugak is very believable. A woman who knows what she's about & what her tolerances are. Three cheers for a bang up Alaskan heroine.
Rating:
Summary: Alaskan winter breaks up but Kate Shugak comes together.
Review: I've enjoyed all the Kate Shugak books but this one rates as the best. Kate faces charging bears, tourists from Beacon Hill, falling jet engines, the Alaskan version of the Hatfields and McCoys and the obligatory murder. And in the process the real Kate Shugak suddenly comes together and shows us the person we always knew was there. She once again demonstrates that Kate is not a person to be messed with (the more descriptive expression is not one I will write where anyone of any age can read it). But in all the daring do, in all the life and death experiences she goes through, those of us that love her know that the hardest for her to face, the one that takes the most courage is when Kate stands at a meeting of the tribal elders and acts as an advisory. She has begun to accept the heritage left to her by her grandmother. The only 'bad' thing about this book is that if you haven't followed Kate through her other books, you can't see what a victory this is for her. Thank you Dana Stabenow for giving us not just a female sleuth but a well-rounded person we can enjoy reading about and admire.
Rating:
Summary: A great combination of humor, mystery and alaskan heritage
Review: In this novel Stabenow has built the craziness of the Spring breakup and the foibles of Kate Shugak into a novel which invites the reader's involvment and appreciation. A delightful read, and a very enjoyable deviation from previous Shugak tales, one I reread immediately
| 
