A Fine and Bitter Snow

De: Dana Stabenow

Narrado por: Marguerite Gavin

Book 12: A Kate Shugak Novel

Dana Stabenow's back with another winning installment in A Fine and Bitter Snow

Change never comes easy, but it comes just the same, and it's on its way to the Park, to Niniltna, in southeast Alaska. This time it concerns the possibility of drilling for oil in a wildlife preserve near there, near Aleutian P.I. Kate Shugak's home territory. Battle lines are drawn across their community, but at least it gives Kate something to do. Still just months after her lover's violent death, though she doesn't know quite how, she is trying to get back into her daily life.

First, tensions run high as their resident park ranger, Dan O'Brien, is deemed "too green for them" by management and asked to take early retirement. Kate rallies the troops inside the Park to fight for his job, but before she can really start throwing her weight around, a long-time Park resident is brutally murdered, another stabbed and left for dead as well.

Alaska State Trooper Jim Chopin enlists Kate to help investigate, and together they tackle the loose ends: motive, timing, opportunity, means. One thing is for certain-in Dana Stabenow's masterful crime novels about the beauty and the danger of living and dying in Alaska, nothing is as simple as it seems.

State of suspense: listen to more Alaskan mysteries in the Kate Shugak series.©2002 Dana Stabenow (P)2002 Books on Tape Inc.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"The series is known for its breathtaking portrayal of the Alaskan scenery and way of life, its complex characterizations and the wry humor that gives the stories their unique appeal." (Writers Write)

Kate Shugack at her best!

What did you love best about A Fine and Bitter Snow?

Fast pace...intense sexual moments but Dana Stabenow writing about Kate Shugack at her absolute finest!

What did you like best about this story?

Kate is amazing and real...Jim is hot and together they are explosive.

Have you listened to any of Marguerite Gavin’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, other Kate Shugack novels...she rocks it out of the park.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Mutt saves Kate by going back to the Roadhouse to get Jim, awesome! I can't potty train a puppy let alone train one to love and protect me!

A Fine and Interesting Book.

Good book. slow start but great ending. Everytime I think this is the last one I get hooked again

Good to see Kate back in the Park

"A Fine And Bitter Snow" moves right along from "Singing For The Dead" continuing the "we're really a series now" feeling that has been there since "Hunter's Moon".

This book brings Kate back to the Park and gets her reinvolved with the regular cast of characters from the previous books. Kate is most fully herself in the Park. Seeing her in this environment shows how she has changed: her quite assumption that she can and should intervene in Park politics, the hole in her life where Jack used to be and her dawning recognition that, although she still values her solitude, she yearns for a man to share her life with.

I can also see what hasn't changed: Kate's loyalty to her friends, her refusal to be pushed into anything, her bravery in the face of danger and her practical compassion in her dealings with people in trouble.

"A Fine And Bitter Snow" gave me another opportunity to see Kate through Jim Chopin's eyes. Somehow this seems a clearer and more passionate view than I ever remember getting through Jack Morgan's eyes.

There is, of course a murder and Kate involves herself in investigating it. The death takes Kate back to her childhood and beyond, to the very early days of the Park being formed and shows once again that you can never leave your past behind you. The murder mystery is not particularly challenging but that is more than made up for by how well drawn the characters are.

I dislike murder books that seem fascinated with the murderer, revelling in the violence they do to others and relegating the victims to incidental plot devices. Dana Stabenow draws real people and describes real grief. In many ways, this makes her murders much more terrible than those of her more blood-thirsty contemporaries.

One of the ways that the people in the Park deal with grief is through holding a Potlach. Kate sets this one up (another way in which she is unconsciously stepping into her grandmother's shoes) and her choice of the picture as a Potlach gift sums up the focus on celebrating the person's life. The stories told at the Potlach reminded me of the ones that were told at the wakes my (Irish) grandfather's generation used to hold.

I'm hooked on Kate Shugak now and no longer constrained by books not being available on audible (at least in the US - there are still gaps in the UK) so I've downloaded the rest of the books and will be rationing them out at one a month (unless I give way to weakness and read more).

wonderful as usual

superb reading as usual but had to laugh when she did child's voice. it just didn't work and I was glad it was of short duration. omg, funny.

Kate is back in the Park & back in my esteem.

I was very disappointed in books 9 & 10. I missed book 11. And I am so glad that in this book - book 12 - Kate is back where she belongs. She is at home in her Park. She is at home with Johnny. She is at home in her own skin.

What is good: Jim Chopin is growing as a character. He was almost cartoonish in some of the early books. He wasn't likable or intriguing. But in this book he becomes a person who is real and has both compassion and heart. I think he will become a character to love.

What is still missing: 1. Bobby in a bigger role. That character brings comedy and heart and I miss him. 2. Alaska as a character. In many of the earlier volumes Alaska takes a central role and becomes a character in itself. We explored the phenomenon known as break up, the salmon fishing industry, tribal politics, and so much more. We lost that in books 9 & 10 and it is still missing from this book.

Wanted the whole series after reading this.

Found this book in a used book store and had never heard of Kate Shugak or the author. Loved the book and then found out it was a series. Made me go looking for all of them. So well written and grabs your attention and holds on. There are so many twists and turns that you don't realize who the killer is. In so many mysteries you can guess who did it, but not in a Stabenow book. I recommend all of her books.

Kate's Back in the Park

Kate is back in the Park, recovering. When she discovers that the local ranger is about to be cashiered because he opposes administration policy on oil drilling, she springs into action. All the familiar characters are there--Mutt is my favorite. As always, Stabinow illuminates one of the contemporary Alaska issues--oil drilling in the natural environment. Oh, and there is some crime involved and Kate solves it. "Chopper Jim" evolves and becomes a character we can enjoy. Where's book #13?

Another Great One

Yet another fine read. I thoroughly enjoyed this one from beginning to end. I love the characters Dana has created in this series and can’t wait to move on to the next book.

Fine and bitter snow

I love all of Dana Stabinow/Kate Shugak series! I can’t get enough of this story line.