Play with Fire

... If you enjoy mysteries that have good characters and stories, with some real opinions about the world that they live in, the Travis McGee of John D. MacDonald type books, you will like this book. A strong character can't just avoid thinking.

If you like Stabenow and you like Kate Shugak, don't let the reviews scare you off! Yes -- Stabenow takes on creationism and fanatical christians. Do you really think that an Alaska Native, like Kate, would find such beliefs appealing?The story is interesting and the glimpses into what makes Kate tick will please devoted Stabenow fans.

This is one of the best in Dana Stabenow's Kate Shugak series. The intrepid Aleut detective, while looking for wild mushrooms in a recently burned-out forest, stumbles upon the body of a man who proves to be the son of an ultrafundamentalist preacher whose sect has pretty much taken over an isolated local community. Kate discovers that the dead man, a teacher, had been teaching the schoolchildren about such "evil" subjects as dinosaurs, woolly mammoths and evolution. "Play With Fire" is an engrossing mystery that deals with the perils of fanaticism. It's enlivened by vividly portrayed characters, interesting and thought-provoking dialogue, evocative descriptions of Alaskan landscapes and cultures, and plenty of humor.

Another chilling story of life in a harsh, beautiful environment. The plot is intriguing, but what really beguiles is the gritty, intelligent, wild Kate Shugak and Dana Stabenow's talent in bringing us right into the landscape, letting us all become Alaskans for a time. The writing is visual and clips along, the supporting cast memorable and empathetic. Kate's world stays in my mind long after the book is finished. Stabenow can't write fast enough for me.