Sometimes, when I am picking out books to write about for this series, I decide I’m going to write about books about women on the frontier west, for example, pull out a whole pile of those, stack them on the coffee table next to my writing chair… and then get writer’s block. I think my husband is getting a little tired of the piles of books (women on the frontier west here, sharks there, medieval history on the credenza, Antarctica in front of the TV – my house is starting to look like Billy’s cubicle*).

So I started a pile last week, then watched the final episode of True Detective (Season 4), and reached for Dana Stabenow’s A Fatal Thaw instead.

It’s the end of another winter in Alaska, the first spring day for reluctant detective, Kate Shugak, who sets out for a little spring cleaning in her remote, off the grid cabin. She is interrupted by the arrival of a spree killer who has just killed 11 people, for no reason other than he felt like killing a bunch of people. Or, at least, so they think until the autopsy reveals that one of the victims was pregnant. And that the bullet that killed another came from a different rifle.

After stopping the spree killer armed with nothing but her half-wolf huskie – who takes a short break from pining over a timber wolf who is hanging about, lovesick, to save Kate’s life yet again – Kate is recruited to investigate by her boyfriend (although to call him a boyfriend seems a little… by to call him a lover just sounds…), who needs someone familiar with the local area (he’s from the city) and his local guy was sleeping with the victim.

Kate’s investigation introduces a whole cast of characters, native and newcome to Alaska. You learn about traditions, politics, culture, social issues, and the type of people who seek out Alaska. And, Kate never above stopping to gaze at a beautiful view, you learn about the majesty of the Alaskan scenery.

The Kate Shugak novels never cease to surprise. My husband used to complain that he couldn’t watch X-Files or Buffy in peace, because I always blurted out what the episode would turn out to be about during the teaser. But Kate keeps me guessing. Even re-reading this one, I found myself trying to remember who did it and why, from previous readings – was it the victim’s unlovable older sister, so different and possibly jealous of her beautiful and promiscuous blonde bombshell? Was it one of the women Kate catches celebrating the death of the woman who slept with so many husbands and broke up so many marriages? Or was it related to the pot she was growing in the decrepit greenhouse behind her home? Or perhaps it had something to do with the illegal hunting she was doing, killing bear for their gallbladders and walrus for their ivory for sale to Chinese middlemen?

I love Kate’s toughness – after she almost gets killed by the spree killer, the other killer takes a pot-shot at her and knocks her out with the bullet – her love for life, her amorality. Not afraid of using a little violence to make a point – or to turn a little illegal profit when it comes her way – Kate nonetheless tracks down the killer and earns her fee. She may not have wanted the job, but once she took it, she was going to finish it.

The two lead characters in True Detective have a lot in common with Kate: their toughness, their no-holds barred methods, their cleverness until suddenly it becomes apparent that they had missed something head-slappingly obvious, their ability to bounce back from pain. I wish I was as tough as Kate, in body and in heart. I wish I could survive in an Alaskan cabin all winter, with just the company of my half-wolf huskie. I’m smart enough to realize I wouldn’t like the reality of it; so I’ll stick with New York.

But that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate Kate and her life from a safe distance.

So give Kate a shot. If you like mysteries, Arthur Upshaw, Tony Hillerman, you’ll like Kate Shugak mysteries. This is one of my favorites, but you can start with the first, A Cold Day for Murder, if you want.

And then you can try her Star Svendotter space novels. I’ll share those with you someday.

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^{*(Here I go with the footnotes again; I must be going through a Will Cuppy phase.) Billy and I worked together at Barnes & Noble. I’m not quite sure what his job description said – something to do with writing but who wasn’t doing something with writing of some kind? – but he had worked there since the beginning and his cubicle was stacked with books from floor to top edge of cubicle wall, under and on top of the desk behind and above his computer. It was basically a cube of books containing also a chair and a computer and a tiny space for his legs beneath the computer. If Billy wanted to get up from his desk, he had to roll his chair backwards into the hall and then stand up. I think they made him empty the cubicle from time to time but it always quickly refilled with books again. A lot of people had cubes crowded with books, but Billy’s was the most inspiring.}