Bad Blood: A Kate Shugak Mystery, Book 20

If she had finished the book

Not Dana Stabenow

I've been a fan of Dana Stabenow's books for many years and this is the first tme she's disappointed me. She left the story hanging like the last season episode of Dallas. Shame on you Dana, it's not like you have to force your readers to return by leavng a story unfinished!

This 20th book in the story of Kate Shugak and Alaska is another winner, though much of the story is actually about Jim Chopin. The plot, straight out of Shakespeare, involves the feud between two villages in the Park, and the problems of young love in the midst of feud fueled by profound cultural and socio-economic differences.
This book ends with a rather controversial ending that I will not describe or comment on to avoid spoiling the book. Suffice it to say, it's a shocker.
But even knowing that, I am extremely glad to have read this book, and, as usual, Marguerite Gavin's superb narration adds to the enjoyment and understanding.

I love the Shugak series. I listen to them again and again...but I won't bother with this one. It's stuffed with poofy purple prose and so much description that one is ready to gag on it.

In general, it's a Romeo and Juliet rehash with star-crossed lovers from two different villages that have traditionally feuded with each other. Gack. I don't care for this kind of storyline. I might as well be reading about a grizzly dating a beaver.

We've also got multiple murders, bootlegging, Erland Bannister is once again on the loose (he's tried to kill Kate before), and Jim Chopin is losing his ability to interact with hostile locals. His skiff is sabotaged, leading to a sinking in an icy cold river and potential hypothermia. Some one -- or everyone wants him to stop investigating the man who drowned in a fish wheel and the man who died, nailed into a crawlspace.

I don't need to hear stuff reiterated. Hearing the same details repeated inside of 5 or 10 minutes regarding Chopper Jim or Kate or two villages having a pissing match gets old. Really old. I usually listen to these books in a day, two at most. It took me a week to keep interested in this long enough to get to the bitter end.

It ends with a cliffhanger that's definitely dirty pool. Bullets are flying and two characters are hit. Then it ends. If my favorite character dies, I won't return to these books.

Wait for the next volume so that you can find out right away who lives, dies, whatever. It would also be a good idea to switch back to the ebook version so that you can flip pages with rapidity instead of listening to hours of blaah. A print version should be only an hour's read. At the very least, use your iPod and jack up the speed to "faster, must go faster!"

meandering ... uncharacteristic actions from the usual characters... dreadful ending

I love Dana's books. I will not recommend this one only.

very nice job

First off, I hate cliff hangers where the plot is not resolved. I was going to read the next book anyway so we didn't have to end on a cliff hanger. While this book was good it didn't seem to be up to the author's normal standards. That said, if it was a new author I would have found it acceptable.

Story was interesting as usual but Kate wasn't the center of the story as in most of the past stories. It seemed more about Chopper Jim than about her which is different. But after that it ended in a way I never thought could happen so it did leave me speechless.

This is a classic Kate Shugak story, with all your favorite characters and descriptions of The Park, but a twist at the end.