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The Singing of the Dead: A Kate Shugak Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

by Dana Stabenow (Author) "She walked out on stage wrapped in fifty yards of sheer white chiffon, a pair of high-heeled shoes with jeweled buckles, and nothing else ..." (more)

4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)

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Product Details

Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Minotaur Books; 1st edition edition (May 2 2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312982887
ISBN-13: 978-0312982881
Product Dimensions: 17 x 10.9 x 3 cm
Shipping Weight: 159 g

Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)

Amazon.ca Sales Rank: #393,696 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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This is item 11 in The Kate Shugak Series.

Product Description

From Amazon.com

Politics has a way of bringing out the worst in people. Anne Gordaoff is running for Alaska state senator, glad-handing everyone she sees (and who doesn't see her first); her campaign manager will stop at nothing to get her candidate elected; her randy husband is exploring alternative methods of interacting with the constituency; her campaign researcher is digging up dirt on Anne as well as on her opponent; and said opponent has planted a mole in her campaign. All in all, it's the sort of situation PI Kate Shugak would do anything to avoid. Kate is still recovering from a job gone horridly awry--"World War III, Denali-style"--that killed her lover, Jack Morgan, and left her with a brutal scar on her throat and a glacier-sized lump of bitter grief within it. Machiavellian maneuvering is not her style. But when Anne, a Native American, starts receiving anonymous threats, Kate allows herself to be talked into a temporary stint as Anne's bodyguard.

The first body to turn up, however, isn't Anne's but that of her fundraiser and future son-in-law. The police are tempted to chalk up the murder to an adulterous liaison interrupted by a jealous husband, but Kate's not convinced. And when the campaign is rocked again by the murder of Anne's campaign researcher Paula Pawlowski, Kate must dig through closets filled with skeletons and dirty laundry: Paula had been combining standard politicking with research into her burgeoning historical novel. Old sins have long shadows, but could Anne's campaign really be connected to the 85-year-old murder of a Klondike prostitute?

Kate may make you think of Kinsey Millhone, Sue Grafton's California PI. Neither woman suffers fools gladly, both are fiercely independent, and both are as adept as porcupines when it comes to keeping people (and their unwanted attention or embarrassing sympathy) at arm's length. Dana Stabenow, in turn, shares Grafton's gift for capturing a character or a scene with a few words and a touch of humor. Here's her take on the rigors of the campaign trail--"Kate slept in a lot of different beds, and some were comfortable and some were not. She ate a lot of her meals standing up or out of a bag. She became sick of the sight of the back of Anne Gordaoff's head."--and on Mutt, Kate's 140-pound, half-wolf companion--"Like Kate, Mutt didn't care for a lot of noise about her person."

If The Singing of the Dead, the 11th novel in the Kate Shugak series, is your first introduction to Kate and the vast, unforgiving corner of Alaska she calls home, it will most likely send you scrambling for installments one through 10. If you're already a confirmed Shugak fan, it will have you waiting impatiently for number 12. --Kelly Flynn --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

HThe background of a hard-fought political campaign in Alaska (where "in a gathering of four people there are five marriages, six divorces, and seven political parties") and the devastating effect of a century-old scandal on the candidates gives even greater depth than usual to Stabenow's 11th Kate Shugak mystery. Kate, slowly recovering from the death of her lover, Jack Morgan, in 2000's Midnight Come Again, is hired as a security expert by Anne Gordaoff, a state senate candidate of partial Native heritage who has received threatening letters. Also appealing to Kate for protection is Jack's teenage son, Johnny, who has run away from his abusive mother. When Gordaoff's future son-in-law and a woman doing background research for Gordaoff are murdered, Kate joins state trooper Jim Chopin and local police chief Ken Hazen in the investigation. The novel shifts effortlessly between the present and the past, tracing the career of one of the state's most notorious "good time girls" from the gold mining era. The author paints a strong, striking picture of the tough life in Alaska 100 years ago and the narrow choice offered women housekeeper or whore. The character of Angel Beecham, known as the Dawson Darling, is compellingly portrayed as a complex woman whose relationship to the contemporary characters is slyly revealed in the epilogue (but wait until you've finished the book to read it). With well-drawn characters, splendid scenery and an insider's knowledge of Alaskan history and politics, this fine novel ranks as one of Stabenow's best. (May 15)Forecast: Striking but rather generic jacket art may attract non-mystery readers, and planned national publicity should push Stabenow out of the "regional" category.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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She walked out on stage wrapped in fifty yards of sheer white chiffon, a pair of high-heeled shoes with jeweled buckles, and nothing else. Read the first page

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Customer Reviews

12 Reviews

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.0 out of 5 stars (12 customer reviews)

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2.0 out of 5 stars Can't fit a square peg in a round hole, Dec 22 2003

By	Dave Schwinghammer "Dave Schwinghammer" (Little Falls, Minnesota USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

THE SINGING OF THE DEAD seems to be about two different stories: The first involves Kate Shugak's new job as "protection" for Anne Gordaoff's political campaign; the second flashes back to the travails of a "good-time girl" during the gold rush days in Alaska. The second is much more compelling than the first.
Someone has been sending Gordaoff threatening letters and Shugak is hired to protect her. She needs the money to help provide for her dead lover's son, whose mother wants him back, apparently just to spite Shugak. And that's what's wrong with this book. Everybody has it in for Kate Shugak. It's like President Nixon said about Reagan, "She's just not a pleasant person to be around." Shugak also locks horns with Gordaoff's campaign manager, Darlene Shelikof, with whom she attended The University of Alaska, Fairbanks. She doesn't get along with men any better, even those she's attracted to, like state cop Jim Chopin whom she thinks is condescending.
After two members of Gordaoff's staff are murdered, the murderer comes looking for Shugak. It's especially galling for Shugak when Chopin saves her. I found the resolution to be about as believable as the Kennedy conspiracies. Stabenow can't get the two stories to jibe and so she pounds a square peg into a round hole. I also kept paging ahead to see where the good-time girl story continued.

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3.0 out of 5 stars It's Alaskan, so I'll read it, Jul 25 2003

By	HopeP (Agoura Hills, CA) - See all my reviews

I was born in Alaska and lived there 23 years. I enjoy these books because it reminds me of home. Some are better than others. I still keep up on Alaska politics via adn.com, but this book didn't really ring very true with me. Hard for me to believe Kate is so darn appealing to every male she meets. Alaska men aren't that desperate for short native heavily scarred women.
The historical parallel story of the "good time girl" of the gold rush area was entertaining.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Learn about the Dawson Darling... & Kate, Feb 2 2003

By	Tanya L. Schaub "TSchlaack" (Livermore, Maine USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Singing Of The Dead: A Kate Shugak Novel (Hardcover)

This is the 11th in the Kate Shugak Series, and the second one since Kate's sole mate was brutally killed while helping guide on a hunting trip.

In this story Kate is "talked into" acting as a bodyguard for a Native Woman who is running for s state senate seat. The biggest drawback is that it involves dealing with a woman she knows from college. Let's just say there is no apparent love loss here. At the same time Johnny is now living with Kate, or at least Kate's friends.

Stabenow has also given us a look into the past with this book. This is really 2 stories in one. Yes they are tied together. But, you learn a bit about the beginning of the state's history (Alaska) and the type of people that brought her into statehood. You also learn a lot about the difference in politics in a land that is vast and wide.

I loved the way the Dawson Darling was brought to life. Though I did find the switching back and forth a bit annoying. (Which is the 4 star rating) I would have liked to see this one as a separate story.

I also love how you see the pleasure that books bring people and the joy of reading (as many of us do) thought the eyes of Kate and Paula.

If you like a good murder mystery you will like this one! But, if you are new to the series I suggest you start with an earlier book first.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Deep Alaska
Stabenow gives a good read for those of us making do at times with outdoor mystery novels instead of getting into the wild as much as we'd like. Read more

Published on May 23 2002 by riverlady

5.0 out of 5 stars Two Very Well Told Stories
Stabenow manages to entertain the reader with two very good stories in this book. Kate Shugak is employed as security to a woman who is campaigning for a Park Senate seat. Read more

Published on Aug 2 2001 by N. Sausser

4.0 out of 5 stars Another good read
Another good weekend spent in Alaska with long-time friends. I just hope that Stabenow never stops writing this wonderful series.

Published on Aug 2 2001 by Louise C. Stone