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335th out of 399 books
—
994 voters
Whisper To The Blood (Kate Shugak #16)
by
Dana Stabenow (Goodreads Author),
Cherie Northon
Inside Alaska’s biggest national park, around the town of Niniltna, a gold mining company has started buying up land. The residents of the Park are uneasy. “But gold is up to nine hundred dollars an ounce” is the refrain of Talia Macleod, the popular Alaskan skiing champ the company has hired to improve their relations with Alaskans and pave the way for the mine’s expansio...more
Hardcover, 368 pages
Published
February 17th 2009
by Minotaur Books
(first published 2009)
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Another exciting entry in a wonderful series! I love Kate Shugak, as she is the strong outdoorswoman/private investigator/Alaskan native I will never be :). In Whisper to the Blood, Kate is finding her position in her community--in absentia, she was elected chairman of the Niniltna Native Association--and is also being pressured to move closer to town as part of this position. There is also a mine that is preparing to open, and the company's representative, a beautiful woman, is flirting her way...more
I wasn't disappointed. Dana Stabenow always meets my highest expectations, and she's done it again. The fact that it's the sixteenth book in the series and made the New York Times' bestseller list when none of the others in the series have done so probably speaks for itself, though.
My personal opinion is that Breakup is the best in the series, but this may run a close second for personal favorite.
Love the references to Jim Butcher!
My personal opinion is that Breakup is the best in the series, but this may run a close second for personal favorite.
Love the references to Jim Butcher!
"I received this book as an advance reading copy through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program. I've been reading this series for a while now, and even in order (so you know I really like it). This is the sixteenth Kate Shugak mystery. I strongly encourage you to read the previous 15 (in order!) before starting this book (the first book is A Cold Day for Murder, just to get you started). If you like Sara Paretsky's V.I. Warshawski mysteries, I think you'll like the Kate Shugak mysteries.[retu...more
I don't normally review pulp fiction, but this one so irritated me that I am making an exception. Swings in voice within the first ten pages had convinced me that this was an author's first attempt at writing. I was surprised to learn that Ms. Stabenow is a well-published and award-winning author. Surely, this book won't further that line of accolades.
Examples of the book never finding a unifying voice range from annoying, cutesy asides like "He frowned down at the gingerbread, which didn't des...more
Examples of the book never finding a unifying voice range from annoying, cutesy asides like "He frowned down at the gingerbread, which didn't des...more
A mining company is going to open a pit mine in the middle of the Park. They plan to create many jobs for Park dwellers, which is supposed to make everyone forget the acids which are used to refine gold and then released into the environment. The Native Alaskans who live on subsistence hunting and fishing are facing the literal death of their natural surroundings, and possibly responding with violence. In the meantime outlaws are hijacking travelers on the river highway, and the story of Louis D...more
WHISPER TO THE BLOOD (PI-Kate Shugak-Alaska-Cont) – G+
Stabenow, Dana – 16th in series
Minotaur Books, 2009, US Hardcover – ISBN: 9780312369743
First Sentence: “Grin bought out Mac Devlin.”
PI Kate Shugak, without her knowledge, as been made chairman of the board of the Niniltna Native Association. Gold, copper and molybdenum have been discovered in Alaska’s Iqaluk Wildlife Refuge by Global Harvest Resources Inc., known to the park residents as Grin. The residents are not happy about the prospect of...more
Stabenow, Dana – 16th in series
Minotaur Books, 2009, US Hardcover – ISBN: 9780312369743
First Sentence: “Grin bought out Mac Devlin.”
PI Kate Shugak, without her knowledge, as been made chairman of the board of the Niniltna Native Association. Gold, copper and molybdenum have been discovered in Alaska’s Iqaluk Wildlife Refuge by Global Harvest Resources Inc., known to the park residents as Grin. The residents are not happy about the prospect of...more
I saw the author do a little promo for the Kate Shugak Series on YouTube. (It was funny the way she would hold up a book, give a brief tantalizing summary then throw it over her shoulder.) This combined with reading one of her short stories and remembering the endorsement on Charlaine Harris' blog made me want to try these mysteries. Still it took me awhile to pick up this book because I usually make it a rule to read a series in order.
Despite the fact that I was not able to read the previous 15...more
Despite the fact that I was not able to read the previous 15...more
The second largest gold mine is going to be just down the road--jobs on the one hand and rape of the land on the other--Kate is voted in as the chair of the NNA whether she wants it or not and keeping everyone happy will never be a possibility. Thank goodness for Johnny and Jim in her life, keeping it sane because between the aunties hiring out thugs and all the park rats taking vengence on lawbrakers, Jim and Kate are out of the ususal loop. I love when Kate asks Jim about Talia and he says "sh...more
I’m wishing we had an exponentially more intricate system of html tags to denote intonation, because then I could calibrate the exact quality I need when I say that I am struggling with feelings of rage.
I like this series, okay? It’s a bunch of mysteries featuring a subsistence-living Alaskan Aleut and her half-wolf, and twenty of her most colorful friends, and her awesome and screwed up community. This series has been clever and geeky, and it can go from dry to slapstick in a breath. It made me...more
I like this series, okay? It’s a bunch of mysteries featuring a subsistence-living Alaskan Aleut and her half-wolf, and twenty of her most colorful friends, and her awesome and screwed up community. This series has been clever and geeky, and it can go from dry to slapstick in a breath. It made me...more
9 likes · like · see review
Global Harvest Resources Inc. has announced that they will be opening the Suulutaq Gold Mine on state-leased land in Alaska's Iqaluk Wildlife Refuge. Talia Macleod, a beautiful, well-known Alaskan athlete, who has just appeared in her second Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue has been hired for public relations. The natives are worried about their fishing and hunting, and Kate Shugak has just been made Chair of the Niniltna Native Association. Policeman Jim Chopin has moved in with Kate and Johnn...more
Kate Shugak is embarrassingly ill-equipped to handle the job she has been maneuvered into as the new chairperson of Ninilta’s Native Association. A Canadian mining company has discovered a rich gold deposit in Alaska’s enormous Iqaluk Wildlife Refuge. Promising jobs and prosperity for the locals, the company hires Talia McLeod, a famous Alaskan Olympian, as spokesperson. But Ninilta’s residents, who live near the proposed site, are split. Will the jobs actually materialize? Will the land be dest...more
Jul 29, 2011
Catherine Woodman
added it
Dana Stabenow, a lifelong Alaska native and one who writes about the state and is an ambassador for the northern wilderness above and beyond her role as an author whose books are set there--is a long time favorite, and this book does not disappoint. The story is strong, it stands alone (if you have not read the series that has 16 other volumes) so you do not necessarily need to have read any that go before (if you do you will learn about the aunties, and Jack, and Jim, and Johnny--all characters...more
It is unusual for me to jump around in a mystery series like I have with this one. Steve picked this one off the shelf at the library, and since I love the character I went ahead and read it. (After all, I haven't read any of the other books in this series all in a row!) Kate Shugak is at home in the park in this one, raising her adopted teenage son, and romantically involved with the district law enforcement. The big drama in town is that a large mining company has planning to mine a huge gold...more
I am returning again to the Kate Shugak mysteries after a long absence, not because I don't like them, but because I got caught up in other reading. I've always enjoyed Dana's writing (I met her at a conference in Anchorage about ten years ago, and I'm sure she doesn't remember me, but I remember her fondly) and was glad to return to this series. What I enjoyed most about this book was Kate's exploration of her relationships with others in her life, including her boyfriend. There are two scenes...more
If you are unaware of Stabenow's Kate Shugak series of mysteries set in rural, native Alaska, they are delightful in how they give a sense of place and the nature and dynamics of the community. This latest novel is much the same, and I generally read the books more for that than the mystery itself. Nonetheless, Stabenow does, generally, write interesting mysteries, the nature of which are thoroughly grounded in the characters and social, political, cultural, and/or psychological issues of the re...more
Another great Shugak book. It has a good story, great characters and a number of twists in the story to keep you interested. After all, very rarely, if at all does the main character die in a mystery book. They always get their gal/guy by the end of the story.
I really like the Kate Shugak series from Dana Stabenow. It is a very good series and each book can stand on it's own. I am reading this book out of sequence, but it makes very little difference. The story can stand on it's own.
I am learni...more
I really like the Kate Shugak series from Dana Stabenow. It is a very good series and each book can stand on it's own. I am reading this book out of sequence, but it makes very little difference. The story can stand on it's own.
I am learni...more
Ooo ooo, it's like Anna Pigeon was dropped into a Tony Hillerman book! Kate Shugak definitely has an Anna-esque attitude, and the setting (a Tlingit town in a park in Alaska) is quite worthy of the Pigeon series. Unfortunately, at least in this book, I found the interrelations of the extensive cast of secondary characters made it a little hard to follow. But that may have been because this book incorporated events from the past into the current mystery, so there was a lot of rehashing of past ev...more
Kate Shugak and Jim Chopin are back in this tale of Alaska with its beautiful wilderness and complex challenges to everyday life interspersed with the backdrop of the impact of a planned major mine project. The bodies start to mount up while Kate learns to navigate the pitfalls of sitting on the board of the Niniltna Native Association while being shoehorned into the chairman's position, deals with her ward Johnny's foray into semi-adulthood and continues to ponder her relationship with the prev...more
This was a very satisfying read, with a well-plotted mystery and great developments in the characters. There's a lot of insight into the politics of development in Alaska for good measure. Kate, as always, is by turns terrifying and deeply compassionate, which pretty much sums up Mutt, too.
There did seem to be some funky editing- a few repetitions of backstory, some characters that got introduced a few pages after they first came on the scene, and I'm pretty sure a minor character got renamed b...more
There did seem to be some funky editing- a few repetitions of backstory, some characters that got introduced a few pages after they first came on the scene, and I'm pretty sure a minor character got renamed b...more
This one will stick with me for a while. I have read nineteen Dana Stabenow books and found them all to be quite good, and some were simply stellar. Whisper to the Blood is one of the stellar books.
The Kate Shugak series will probably always be my favorite, though the Liam Campbell books are very good too. Kate grows as a character from book to book, and I have to admire her tenacity and strength of character as I vicariously enjoy her view of a world I can only imagine; the harsh reality of th...more
The Kate Shugak series will probably always be my favorite, though the Liam Campbell books are very good too. Kate grows as a character from book to book, and I have to admire her tenacity and strength of character as I vicariously enjoy her view of a world I can only imagine; the harsh reality of th...more
I don't like starting in the middle of a series, but this was the one I found at B&N. Also downloaded all the short stories from iTunes. So I have now ordered the first 5 from Amazon. I love starting a new series, and Dana Stabenow is a wonderful writer of mysteries -- all set in Alaska. This is an additive series, so starting with number one is best. Great characters, wonderful descriptions of life in Alaska (which makes me glad I live in Hawaii), and wonderful plotting. What more could one...more
Number 16 in the series featuring Kate Shugak. I really enjoy this series. Dana Stabenow writes a good mystery but also as an Alaskan, she gives the reader the environment of Alaska. This book continues to solve the murder of Louis Deem while a closed gold mine is re-opened causing many issues for the way of life in the Park. The new storyline of dealing with Global Harvest, the mining company, will provide room for new characters as well as new storylines of Park life. Recommend the entire seri...more
On retrouve dans ce seizième opus tous les ingrédients qui font de cette série un véritable plaisir à découvrir, lire et relire : l'Alaska y est un personnage à part entière ; des intrigues multiples se recoupent sans s'éclipser ; des personnages réalistes et certains attachants (les 4 Aunties et Bobby, notamment) ; une bonne dose d'humour et pas mal de cynisme (souvent dirigé vers le reste des États-Unis) ; Johnny en pleine adolescence ; Kate & Jim qui essaient de ne pas faire face à la réa...more
Again I am reviewing two Shugak books together. I am still caught up in reading all of these books in order, and this book and the next in order, A Night Too Dark, have a new twist to them. A gold mining company has come to the park (book 16) and things are changing. New residents are moving there in high numbers to work the mine (book 17) and and not only Kate is nervous about the changes, so am I. It is interesting to follow what can happen when a large company moves to a small tucked-away are...more
A monstrously big mine is coming to the Park and the Park rats are getting restless. Kate is now on the native association board and not feeling up to the task. She and Jim Chopin are trying to figure out where their relationship stands. Oh, and a few murders to solve as always.
This the sixteenth book in the Kate Shugak series and the series is still going incredibly strong. The characters have grown and changed and they are still interesting. Also loved the references to George Martin's Song of...more
This the sixteenth book in the Kate Shugak series and the series is still going incredibly strong. The characters have grown and changed and they are still interesting. Also loved the references to George Martin's Song of...more
I had read most of the Kate Shugak books several years ago, first in random order from the library and then as I found them second hand.
Recently I got my husband hooked on them and bought all of them for our Kindles. As I have been reading them in order I find I read them for the personalities of the characters more than for the mysteries involved.
I am as short as Kate Shugak. I wish I were as strong, as self-disciplined, and self-sufficient. Kate lives the adventurous life for me.
Recently I got my husband hooked on them and bought all of them for our Kindles. As I have been reading them in order I find I read them for the personalities of the characters more than for the mysteries involved.
I am as short as Kate Shugak. I wish I were as strong, as self-disciplined, and self-sufficient. Kate lives the adventurous life for me.
Very well-written. Like an insider's view to a part of Alaska. Great descriptions of what life is like there for the residents. The centering of much of the story around the gold mine that will open leads to beliefs that a couple murders were motivated by stopping it. Instead, the murders were due to revenge for the deaths of others. Except perhaps Talia MacLeod, the mine's publicity agent. I don't remember who murdered her or why. Too much covering up of crimes--hope it isn't real.
Kate Shugak's story continues and with hers, so does that of Jim Chopin and the rest of her family and friends. A new story that continues to teach us in the most painless way possible, the life of the bushrats in the Alaskan bush.
Dana Stabenow fans will grab this with great glee and new readers will enjoy it, although I do recommend starting with the first of the Kate Shugak series so you can completely understand the life and story of this wonderful woman.
Dana Stabenow fans will grab this with great glee and new readers will enjoy it, although I do recommend starting with the first of the Kate Shugak series so you can completely understand the life and story of this wonderful woman.
Kate Shugak is named chair of the Ninilta Native Association and seems to be shunned by all, especially the four Aunties. Frustrated, she eventually gets involved in stopping the muggings of Park rats along the frozen river. Meanwhile, there is a large gold and minerals discovery and a large company plans to develop a mine, bringing jobs and other problems to the Park. Chopper Jim works to solve murders, which seem to be related to the mining company.
I had a hard time choosing between 3 and 4 stars for this. I love the Kate Shugak character, so I devoured the book. That'd normally be at least a 4, right? But I think the past few haven't been as good as a number before that, so I'm skeptical of my own rating system! It's a good book regardless of whether you're a fan, but it wasn't stellar - - but it was better than the last one. Helpful review, huh?
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Danamaniacs: Whisper to the Blood *SPOILERS* | 1 | 5 | May 08, 2013 08:41pm |
Dana Stabenow was born in Anchorage and raised on 75-foot fish tender in the Gulf of Alaska. She knew there was a warmer, drier job out there somewhere.
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“We need more bodies, 'cause it's not looking enough like the last scene in Hamlet already. --Chopper Jim Chopin”
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“How come you're always so mean? --Howie Katelnikof”
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Apr 05, 2009 10:00am