Spring is arriving in Alaska and for Kate Shugak, who lives miles away from any town or village in the isolated Park, this means charging the battery for her truck, washing the windows and making sure she has enough firewood to see her through until it gets warm. Mutt her dog, half wolf half husky also knows it is spring and is enamored with a large timber wolf who has come calling. Kate, unwilling to fill her house with pups, is determined to keep the two animals separated but it is hard work to drag her dog back into the house. Just as she gets Mutt inside she hears the sound of a helicopter, which decides to land in the clearing right in front of her homestead. Jim Chopin, an Alaskan State Trooper, emerges with a warning.  A local man has had a mental breakdown and has been shooting random people and he is headed straight towards Kate’s homestead. After giving her the news he gets in the helicopter to track the killer by air, leaving Kate on her own.

Luckily, Kate is fully capable of taking care of herself. She is a native of the tribal peoples who live in The Park and she was a member of the Anchorage D.A.’s Investigators staff and contributed to bringing many bad guys to justice. Although now retired from the D.A’s staff she still helps the Alaskan State Troopers in The Park when they need her skills as an investigator.

With the help of Mutt, Kate is able to capture the deranged killer but by the time they capture him he has already killed nine people. As Kate and Jim review the murder scenes, however, Kate begins to have second thoughts about one of the murders.  When the ballistics report returns Kate’s suspicions are confirmed and she realizes that someone in The Park used the cover of the deranged killer’s rampage to get revenge. As Kate investigates, her search for justice reveals painful secrets and the way hatred and distrust can eat away at a relationship until something snaps.

I first heard of Stabenow when I was reviewing books for our family’s Alaskan Cruise. This is the second in the series and is just as good or better than her Edgar award winning first book A Cold Day For Murder. If you like murder mysteries and police procedurals I highly recommend these books! Stabenow’s plots are carefully and meticulously crafted, and her pacing keeps the suspense taut. Kate is a complicated, interesting woman with many secrets who is trying to figure out her place in the world now that Plan A is no longer an option. The landscape of Alaska is a major character in these novels and it shines in all its deadly glory.

Brenda’s Rating: ****(4 Out of 5 Stars)

Recommend this book to: Keith, Marian and Sharon

Book Study Worthy: yes

Read in ebook format.