|
[ Home ]
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
Her daughter finds the body of a feisty old lady who had, the day before, cracked a prospective car thief on the head with a bottle of sun dried tomatoes. Liam Campbell, who liked Lydia Tompkins very much, now must investigate her death. At the same time some of the local "bad boys" had been prowling around a glacier when they found a desiccated arm still clutching a gold coin. The plane was the cargo version of the DC-3 used during World War II for Lend Lease among other things. And, to distract Liam and provide frustration in his personal life, he has been promoted and invited to take his old job in Anchorage again. Wy Chouinard is afraid he will take it and even more afraid that he will leave her. And opening each chapter is a segment from a diary written by someone stationed in Alaska at one of the air bases in the days right after Pearl Harbor. Somehow all of these strands come together in a riveting and compelling story. It seems to me that Dana Stabenow can write no other kind. As always the characters are memorable, well-drawn, colorful, and authentic. Some date back to the earlier days when Alaska was still a territory and some only know the modern state. Every one, even the smallest of minor characters, is clearly and patently a bundle of strengths and weaknesses, good and evil, and every one is empathic and intriguing. Even the villain, when we finally discover the identity, is sympathetic and we care what happened to him and why. Also as always with a Stabenow book, Alaska itself is one of the main characters. The land shapes the people and provides a backdrop against which their story plays out. The character traits of those who live surrounded by such magnificence and such loneliness and individualism are clearly demonstrated. It is magnificent, beautiful, and dangerous. If you have never been to Alaska, you will very much want to go after reading any of Stabenow's stories. She is an outstanding story teller, the kind who used to sit with the tribes people around the fire and spin tales of adventure, love, excitement, and pain. She does the same with the written word and I cannot imagine anyone not getting caught up in this story. The plot is many-faceted and elaborate, not something which will be easily solved. But it rewards the reader with an intriguing denouement and a climax which, while not solving every problem, ties up most of the loose ends while leaving the reader to draw some of her own conclusions. I especially enjoy stories with roots in the past and this one grew out of World War II and the fear, perhaps even the certainty, that in the days and early weeks after Pearl Harbor the Japanese would be invading somewhere along the Pacific Coast. And what land was closer than Alaska? It may be hard for us to recall that fear, although this past year has provided us with terrors of our own, but Stabenow does a masterful job of tying past and present together.
Reviewed by Sally A. Fellows, September 2002
This book has more than one review. Click here to show all.
[ Top ]
QUICK SEARCH:
Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
[ Home ]
| 
