Dead in the Water

Rating:
Summary: A Little On The Light Side
Review: I didn't enjoy this one as much as I have the other books in this series. The action scenes were very good, but the plot was a little thin. I missed reading about Mutt, the homestead, and the folks back home. Still, a pretty good read.

Rating:
Summary: A Little On The Light Side
Review: I didn't enjoy this one as much as I have the other books in this series. The action scenes were very good, but the plot was a little thin. I missed reading about Mutt, the homestead, and the folks back home. Still, a pretty good read.

Rating:
Summary: Aleutian chill
Review: I wasn't sure I'd enjoy a mystery set aboard a fishing vessel in cold Alaskan waters--I just knew Kate would be drowned (shiver)--but I started anyway because I like the series about Aleut detective Kate Shugak. Very glad I did, this story has everything. Atmosphere (not just fog but Alaskan "characters"), terror, mean people, romance, Aleut customs. True, there's not much mystery about whodunnit, but there's lots of suspense about how Kate will ever prove it. Although Shugak has definite native Alaskan and envrionmentalist tendencies, nature description is not Stabenow's strong point nor goal. A good light read with a touch of social consciousness to it.

Rating:
Summary: Lots about the Aluetians, not much mystery though
Review: My husband and I are both big fans of the Kate Chugak series. We both came away disappointed with this installment. The problem is pretty basic. In the other books in this series, the mystery is the core of the book and the setting is the frosting on the cake. The mix is seriously reversed in this book, which is fine if you really want to learn about the Aluetian Islands. It's not so hot if you want a page turning mystery.

Bottom line -- if you really like reading your mysteries in order, this is worth reading since the horrors of the crab boat are referred to often in later books. Otherwise, don't go out of your way to find this book.

Rating:
Summary: Lots about the Aluetians, not much mystery though
Review: My husband and I are both big fans of the Kate Chugak series. We both came away disappointed with this installment. The problem is pretty basic. In the other books in this series, the mystery is the core of the book and the setting is the frosting on the cake. The mix is seriously reversed in this book, which is fine if you really want to learn about the Aluetian Islands. It's not so hot if you want a page turning mystery.

Bottom line -- if you really like reading your mysteries in order, this is worth reading since the horrors of the crab boat are referred to often in later books. Otherwise, don't go out of your way to find this book.

Rating:
Summary: Another great mystery by Dana Stabenow
Review: Number 3 in the Kate Shugak mystery series, this book is set in the Aleutian Islands. I enjoyed the plot and felt immersed in the diffucult and dangerous life on a fishing boat. I greatly enjoyed the interaction between Kate and the elder, Olga.

Dana Stabenow again sparked my curiousity about Alaskan history, leading me to research and learn more about the Aleutian Islands and the battles that took place there in WWII. It's wonderful that she included a reference to a good historical writer on the subject.


Rating:
Summary: Kate Tackles the Bering Sea
Review: To read the Kate Shugak series is to immerse oneself, with great pleasure, into Alaskan lore, from native folktales to the modern hearty souls who populate its great expanses. "Dead in the Water," the third in the series, is the best so far as it melds Aleutian folklore (Kate, as readers know, is a native Aleut) with a modern-day mystery.

Working as an undercover agent to investigate the presumed murder of two young crewmen on an Alaskan crabbing vessel, Kate hires on as a crew member. The work is dangerous, grueling, back-breaking, and tough beyond measure as the crew battles high seas, horrible weather, ice storms, and even treachery from other fishing boats out to grab the same lucrative catch. Kate is no shrinking violet, and she can outdo anyone on board, given half a chance. But this is no ordinary ship. And its captain is either the most incompetent sailing man on the Bering or any other sea, or--as Kate suspects and must prove--up to no good in a very major way.

Putting herself in considerable danger, both from the job itself and from those who have a murderous secret to hide, Kate methodically sets out to find out who murdered the former crew members--and why.

The only thing missing from this wonderful tale is Kate's faithful half-wolf dog, Mutt, who I missed very much. Mutt is back on the Alaskan mainland, where Kate very much wants to be as well...and where the reader hopes she will return in one piece. A great yarn, a wonderful read. It leaves the reader impatient to read the next in the series!

Rating:
Summary: Kate Tackles the Bering Sea
Review: To read the Kate Shugak series is to immerse oneself, with great pleasure, into Alaskan lore, from native folktales to the modern hearty souls who populate its great expanses. "Dead in the Water," the third in the series, is the best so far as it melds Aleutian folklore (Kate, as readers know, is a native Aleut) with a modern-day mystery.

Working as an undercover agent to investigate the presumed murder of two young crewmen on an Alaskan crabbing vessel, Kate hires on as a crew member. The work is dangerous, grueling, back-breaking, and tough beyond measure as the crew battles high seas, horrible weather, ice storms, and even treachery from other fishing boats out to grab the same lucrative catch. Kate is no shrinking violet, and she can outdo anyone on board, given half a chance. But this is no ordinary ship. And its captain is either the most incompetent sailing man on the Bering or any other sea, or--as Kate suspects and must prove--up to no good in a very major way.

Putting herself in considerable danger, both from the job itself and from those who have a murderous secret to hide, Kate methodically sets out to find out who murdered the former crew members--and why.

The only thing missing from this wonderful tale is Kate's faithful half-wolf dog, Mutt, who I missed very much. Mutt is back on the Alaskan mainland, where Kate very much wants to be as well...and where the reader hopes she will return in one piece. A great yarn, a wonderful read. It leaves the reader impatient to read the next in the series!