Skeleton Lake

Mike Doogan is fantastic. Seems like he takes you right there. Too bad he is so busy keeping S.P. in line. He should devote more time to writing. (not that the prevoius job doesn't need doing.)

This is the third book in the Nik Kane/Alaska series and I was not disappointed. Nik is not your stereotypical private eye - he is often hard to like and his relationships with his wife and children are complex and interesting. The depiction of life as a police officer and the impact that has on a marriage rings very true (personal experience speaking here). If you are a 'Spencer' fan then I think this series will appeal to you. Would recommend that you start with the first book 'Lost Angel'. WARNING: This book jumps around quite a bit from Nick's childhood to present day to his early days as a police detective. I thought the author did a good job of keeping the reader from being confused, but I know some people absolutely hate when a story skips back and forth in time.

Nik Kane was an Anchorage police detective until he was convicted of a crime and spent seven years in prison. When he was exonerated he took a job as a security firm investigator. On his latest case, he was shot and almost died; his son, who was pursuing the same murderer, did die. Nik's wife wants nothing to do with him; so his sister the nun allows him to stay with her while he recuperates. While healing, Nik flashes back to his youth. In 1967 his father walked out and never came back; his mother never told him why. He thinks of 1985 when he was a rookie and someone assassinated tough police officer Danny Shirtleff with two bullets to his head near Skeleton Lake. Nik and his partner Jackie Dee never learned why Danny was uncover by a make out place; the case went cold without the slightest suspect surfacing. To pass time while recovering, Nik goes over the files he has from the Shirtleff murder. The story line skips around between the three dates with each representing something critical that happened to Nik; these actually represent three storylines that merge brilliantly though it is somewhat confusing into a strong character driven tale. Readers will learn more about Nik's past that motivates him in the present as Mike Doogan provides a strong shrewd tale that his fans will appreciate. Harriet Klausner