A Cold Day for Murder (1) (A Kate Shugak Investigation)
The Edgar Award-winning introduction to private investigator Kate Shugak, A Cold Day for Murder is the first in Dana Stabenow's critically acclaimed Kate Shugak Mysteries. Kate Shugak is a native Aleut working as a private investigator in Alaska. She's five foot tall, carries a scar that runs from ear to ear across her throat, and owns a half-wolf, half-husky dog named Mutt. Resourceful, strong-willed, defiant, Kate is tougher than your average heroine--and she needs to be to survive the worst the Alaskan wilds can throw at her. Somewhere in twenty million acres of forest and glaciers, a ranger has disappeared: Mark Miller. Missing six weeks. It's assumed by the Alaskan Parks Department that Miller has been caught in a snowstorm and frozen to death: the typical fate of those who get lost in this vast and desolate terrain. But as a favour to his congressman father, the FBI send in an investigator: Ken Dahl. Last heard from two weeks and two days ago. Now it's time to send in a professional. Kate Shugak: light brown eyes, black hair, five foot tall with an angry scar from ear to ear. Last seen yesterday... Reviewers on Dana Stabenow's Kate Shugak series: 'An antidote to sugary female sleuths: Kate Shugak, the Aleut private investigator.' --New York Times
'Crime fiction doesn't get much better than this.' --Booklist
'If you are looking for something unique in the field of crime fiction, Kate Shugak is the answer.' --Michael Connelly
'An outstanding series.' --Washington Post
'One of the strongest voices in crime fiction.' --Seattle Times
'Crime fiction doesn't get much better than this.' --Booklist
'If you are looking for something unique in the field of crime fiction, Kate Shugak is the answer.' --Michael Connelly
'An outstanding series.' --Washington Post
'One of the strongest voices in crime fiction.' --Seattle Times
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Community Reviews
This one has been on my to-read list since Feb2023, making it a candidate for my 2026 cleaning out the to-read closet challenge. I’ve read so many great reviews about this series and I do love stories that take place in AK. As a big fan of Marc Cameron’s Arliss Cutter series, this one about a former investigator, Kate Shugak, for the Anchorage DA’s office looked like my kind of story. Kate even has a doggie named Mutt, who is half husky and half wolf. Love Mutt!!!
The book summary pretty much lays out the primary storyline of a ranger, Mark, going missing along with the investigator, Ken, that was sent out to look for the missing ranger. What the book summary doesn’t say is that Ken and Kate are “friends with benefits”. After Ken goes missing, the Anchorage DA, Jack, shows up at Kate’s remote and isolated cabin and asks her to find out what happened to Mark and Ken. FYI: Kate and Jack are former lovers and it did not end well for them.
Most of the story has Kate following the same leads that Ken followed. However, Kate realizes that she can’t have the same impartial perspective that Ken probably had because Kate is too emotionally connected to scenes that are playing out in following the leads. It’s not long before Kate realizes that in order to find out what happened, she has to try and see it as Ken would have. It’s then that it becomes a really scary and intense scene and escape for Kate.
The pacing for the 173pg story was fast and mostly action-packed. The introductory character development for Kate was ok, but really thin for most of the other characters. Hopefully, the character development for a few of the ensemble characters is revealed in future installments; I’ve already added the second installment to my to-read list. The storyline was interesting and the writing ok. I’m looking at an overall rating of 3.4 that I will be rounding down to a 3star review.
The book summary pretty much lays out the primary storyline of a ranger, Mark, going missing along with the investigator, Ken, that was sent out to look for the missing ranger. What the book summary doesn’t say is that Ken and Kate are “friends with benefits”. After Ken goes missing, the Anchorage DA, Jack, shows up at Kate’s remote and isolated cabin and asks her to find out what happened to Mark and Ken. FYI: Kate and Jack are former lovers and it did not end well for them.
Most of the story has Kate following the same leads that Ken followed. However, Kate realizes that she can’t have the same impartial perspective that Ken probably had because Kate is too emotionally connected to scenes that are playing out in following the leads. It’s not long before Kate realizes that in order to find out what happened, she has to try and see it as Ken would have. It’s then that it becomes a really scary and intense scene and escape for Kate.
The pacing for the 173pg story was fast and mostly action-packed. The introductory character development for Kate was ok, but really thin for most of the other characters. Hopefully, the character development for a few of the ensemble characters is revealed in future installments; I’ve already added the second installment to my to-read list. The storyline was interesting and the writing ok. I’m looking at an overall rating of 3.4 that I will be rounding down to a 3star review.