The opening of Kate Shugak's third outing will have landlubbers wondering, What on earth is this woman doing? (Answer: shifting a crab pot on a boat deck during a storm.) But once readers get their sea legs, they'll realize that Stabenow ( A Cold Day for Murder ) offers a satisfactory blend of mystery and danger that is balanced by a gentler side, a view of Alaskan native culture. Kate, who occasionally investigates for the Anchorage district attorney, is working on the Avilda , a crabber, hoping to learn--on the quiet--why two of its crew members disappeared during its last trip. Harry Gault, the Avilda 's skipper, claims that, when water supplies ran low, the men went ashore on Anua Island to locate fresh water and failed to return. Just keeping up with the crabbing exhausts Kate, but with a bit of prowling she learns that Gault has his hands in more than one crab pot. Between crabbing jobs, she visits Unalaska Island, traditional home of her own people, the Aleuts. Here she meets Olga, a skilled weaver of grass baskets, and her daughter Sasha, who uses a "storyknife" to carve out a brief tale that is very much to the point of Kate's investigations.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Book Description

A Kate Shugak Mystery

There are some pretty tough men on an Alaskan fishing boat...and now one very tough woman is about to join the crew. Kate Shugak, once the star investigator of the Anchorage D.A.'s office, is working undercover to find out why two crew members disappeared from a boat on the Bering Sea. But while she's casting her net for a killer, she may also be courting disaster.

"Right on target with its descriptions of the greed that motivates murder." (Washington Times)

"Stabenow is a splendid writer who knows how to hook her readers with an exciting blend of thrills, danger, humor, pathos, fact, and fable." (Booklist) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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3.8 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Kate Tackles the Bering Sea, Mar 13 2004

By	W. Carol "dog lover" - See all my reviews

To read the Kate Shugak series is to immerse oneself, with great pleasure, into Alaskan lore, from native folktales to the modern hearty souls who populate its great expanses. "Dead in the Water," the third in the series, is the best so far as it melds Aleutian folklore (Kate, as readers know, is a native Aleut) with a modern-day mystery.

Working as an undercover agent to investigate the presumed murder of two young crewmen on an Alaskan crabbing vessel, Kate hires on as a crew member. The work is dangerous, grueling, back-breaking, and tough beyond measure as the crew battles high seas, horrible weather, ice storms, and even treachery from other fishing boats out to grab the same lucrative catch. Kate is no shrinking violet, and she can outdo anyone on board, given half a chance. But this is no ordinary ship. And its captain is either the most incompetent sailing man on the Bering or any other sea, or--as Kate suspects and must prove--up to no good in a very major way.

Putting herself in considerable danger, both from the job itself and from those who have a murderous secret to hide, Kate methodically sets out to find out who murdered the former crew members--and why.

The only thing missing from this wonderful tale is Kate's faithful half-wolf dog, Mutt, who I missed very much. Mutt is back on the Alaskan mainland, where Kate very much wants to be as well...and where the reader hopes she will return in one piece. A great yarn, a wonderful read. It leaves the reader impatient to read the next in the series!

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4.0 out of 5 stars Aleutian chill, May 2 2002

By	tertius3 (MI United States) - See all my reviews

I wasn't sure I'd enjoy a mystery set aboard a fishing vessel in cold Alaskan waters--I just knew Kate would be drowned (shiver)--but I started anyway because I like the series about Aleut detective Kate Shugak. Very glad I did, this story has everything. Atmosphere (not just fog but Alaskan "characters"), terror, mean people, romance, Aleut customs. True, there's not much mystery about whodunnit, but there's lots of suspense about how Kate will ever prove it. Although Shugak has definite native Alaskan and envrionmentalist tendencies, nature description is not Stabenow's strong point nor goal. A good light read with a touch of social consciousness to it.

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3.0 out of 5 stars Lots about the Aluetians, not much mystery though, Jan 17 2001

By	Carol Peterson Hennekens (Colorado Springs, CO United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

My husband and I are both big fans of the Kate Chugak series. We both came away disappointed with this installment. The problem is pretty basic. In the other books in this series, the mystery is the core of the book and the setting is the frosting on the cake. The mix is seriously reversed in this book, which is fine if you really want to learn about the Aluetian Islands. It's not so hot if you want a page turning mystery.

Bottom line -- if you really like reading your mysteries in order, this is worth reading since the horrors of the crab boat are referred to often in later books. Otherwise, don't go out of your way to find this book.

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Most recent customer reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars A Little On The Light Side
I didn't enjoy this one as much as I have the other books in this series. The action scenes were very good, but the plot was a little thin. Read more

Published on Jun 10 2000 by N. Sausser