Booklist calls Kate18 “a standout entry”

Booklist
Issue: December 1, 2010

Though Not Dead.
Stabenow, Dana (Author)
Feb 2011. 464 p. Minotaur, hardcover, $25.99. (9780312559113).

In a starred review, Booklist says

In her newest Kate Shugak thriller, Stabenow proves she’s as comfortable dealing with Alaskan history as she is portraying Kate’s insular contemporary world and the harsh, beautiful, changing landscape she and her extended family call home. When her beloved uncle, Old Sam, dies, he bequeaths Kate an odd assortment of belongings, including a remote old cabin and a cryptic message, “Find My Father.” With her boyfriend in California on his own family-linked quest, the 5-foot Aleut powerhouse and her wolf-dog companion have time to indulge their curiosity about Sam, who had plenty to say about others in the Park but spoke very little about himself. As Kate delves into the old man’s life, she unearths a morass of confusing and surprising bits of fact, including Sam’s abiding love for one of the Park’s aunties, his connection to a vanished Russian icon, and his association with the famous writer Dashiell Hammett, whom he apparently met in the Aleutians during WWII. The only clear thing in the mix is that someone else is also interested in the artifacts of Sam’s past, and he seems to have no compunction about putting Kate permanently out of the picture to get what he wants. A stand-out entry in a consistently good series, though best appreciated by readers who have met Shugak already.— Stephanie Zvirin

Booklist, as some of you already know, is an arm of the American Library Association. Praise from librarians is praise indeed. Thank you!

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Click here to read the Kirkus review.
Click here to read the Publisher’s Weekly review.