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Though Not Dead (2011)

by Dana Stabenow(Favorite Author)

4.24 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0312559119 (ISBN13: 9780312559113)

languge

English

genre

Mystery & Thriller

publisher

Minotaur Books

series

Kate Shugak

review 1: I thoroughly enjoyed this novel set in the largest state park in Alaska in early 1900s and describes the latest exploit of Kate Shugak, a private investigator. The story opens with the death of eighty-nine year-old Sam Dementieff who leaves a will leaving everything to his niece Kate including a note saying, "Find my father". This is difficult to accomplish since Sam's father is a mystery man who disappeared after Sam's birth taking with him a stolen priceless tribal artifact, a Russian icon. Kate takes the command seriously and begins to investigate Sam's background which results in attacks, including being run off the road and having to spend the night in twenty degree weather. Of course, Kate is up for the challenge and pulls out her survivor kit while he half-wolf M... moreutt goes for help. The flashbacks from Sam's life, including scenes from major events in Alaska's colorful history, highlight the story of Kate's attempt to uncover the truth about her uncle despite being struck in the head several times. She finds a book in her uncle's cabin that contains a map denoting nine gold mines, and Kate heads out on her snow mobile with Mutt to find the mines. The background on a flu epidemic in Alaska that killed over half the tribal community is one of the many historical facts that Dana weaves into her story. Another interesting description is an earthquake that occurred and the Anaqaq Mountains she describes so well that I searched for them to discover they were a figment of her incredible imagination. Her characters are amazingly delineated and the reader feels as if they also live in the Alaskan environment. This a great read and I will be going back to read more from this prolific writer.
review 2: My dad loved this book, mostly because he loves Alaska (as a tourist), and he loved reading about the Park. I mildly enjoyed speeding through it, since I felt like I learned a bit about Alaska during WWII and a tiny bit about native culture. Unlike most mystery series I have read, though, this book was difficult to read if you hadn't read the 17 preceding books. The author continually references them, but not in a skim past review way that makes it easier for new readers to the series. The allusions also included spoilers for those preceding mysteries, more than I thought necessary to follow the current mystery. less

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