Dead in the Water

A Kate Shugak Novel, Book 3

Once, Kate Shugak was the star investigator of the Anchorage D.A.'s office. Now she's gone back to her Aleut roots in the far Alaska north - where her talent for detection makes her the toughest crime-tracker in that stark and mysterious land.

©2012 Dana Stabenow (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

So very addictive, I want more

Where does Dead in the Water rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This book belongs at the top of all my audio books. I eagerly await any new Shugak novel.

Kate Rocks the Boat

I never imagined that I would fall in love with a series set in Alaska (hate snow and cold weather) where the residents are either fishing, talking about fishing or eating fish (not a favorite).

After reading and listening to the entire Kate Shugak series at least 10 times, I can honestly say that these books just keep getting better with time.

love these books

my absolute favorite novels, the best series ever! I love the characters, the stories, and Alaska. makes you wish you lived in the Park with Kate & Mutt

Delightful heroine

Listened to this book during my hourlong commute to and from work each day. Kate is a compelling character and this is a gripping storyline.

Kate goes fishing for killers

The Kate Shugak books are usually credible, compact mysteries, set against a backdrop of some significant aspect of life in Alaska. "Dead In The Water" has Jack Morgan getting Kate to go under-cover as crew boat fishing for crab off the Aleutian Islands, to investigate the disappearance of two former crew members.

What follows is a vivid description of what life on board is like and an mystery with enough twist and turns and action and physical danger to keep everything moving along nicely.

For me the "whodunit" aspects of the Kate Shugak novels are secondary considerations, a frame for hanging the important stuff from. When the book is back on the shelf and time has passed, it's not the plot twist that stay with me but the vivid scenes of Alaskan life and what I learn about Kate Shugak.

"Dead In The Water" has several of these memorable moments: Kate drinking with a crew of Russian fishermen in a bar in the port, all of them trying to woo her in a semi-serious, larger than life kind of way; Kate's enounter with a young, deformed, Aluet girl who interprets life by using a storyknife to draw in the sand on the beach and her basket-weaviung grandmother who shares details of the history of her people and Kate's plunge into the freezing depths, trapped in a crab cage. All of these are told with a skill and an eye for detail that makes them real and compelling.

Kate is the centre piece of all of these novels. She is the reason I keep coming back. I this novel I got to see her as a woman confident enough of her own attractiveness and her own strength to spend time with the Russian sailors without feeling threatened by them or offending them. I saw the softer side of her in her gentle teasing of her young, over-enthusiastic Californian-surfer crewmate who loves EVERYTHING Alaskan. I saw the heart of her in her passionate relationship with Jack Morgan. I saw her again tracing the impact of her heritage and her culture in her deference to the elder who teaches her to weave and her affection for the young girl telling stories written in sand.

That is more than enough to make any book successful and is quite extraordinary for a short, crime-fiction novel.