In the wilderness of Alaska where surviving often means
relying on the help of neighbors, two villages have managed
to hold onto a grudge that goes back a hundred years.
Kuskulana and Kusktaka are separated by more than a river;
they're separated by the BAD BLOOD that lingers as one
village thrives and the other withers to the point of dying
out. All it would take is one incident to ignite the feud
between these communities. That incident comes with the
death of Tyler Mack, a Kusktaka boy, who would do whatever
it took to break free of Kusktaka. Another body is found,
this time a Kuskulana man, and it's up to Sergeant Jim
Chopin and PI Kate Shugak to find the murderer or murderers
quickly before the bitter feud leads to more death.
BAD BLOOD by Dana Stabenow is the twentieth book in the
Kate Shugak series. This is the first Kate
Shugak novel I've read, and I'm prepared to go out and
find the first nineteen because Kate's world is fascinating;
it's rich in setting and detail, with complex characters,
and an intricate storyline where past events have serious
repercussions for the present. BAD BLOOD can be read as a
stand-alone novel. I had no trouble following the
investigation or the character arc and enjoying the
interplay between Kate and Jim, but I get the feeling if I'd
read previous novels in the Kate Shugak series, BAD
BLOOD's very shocking ending would have more impact. Don't
get me wrong, I was still shocked, but fans of this series
will be up-in-arms.
I love how the setting in BAD BLOOD is a character all of
its own, and author Dana Stabenow describes Alaska and the
people who live there with perfect detail and love. The land
is majestic, harsh, beautiful, and untamed. The characters
are connected to the land and there's a constant
watchfulness as people react to the changing conditions. The
weather, migratory patterns, changing seasons are always at
the edges of every residents mind. These details build an
authentic voice for the characters of this series.
BAD BLOOD is a tense, winding mystery as a hundred years of
unspoken animosity between two villages come to a head. The
lingering hatred and bitterness for past injustices is
reflected in an unexpected and shocking ending. BAD BLOOD is
a tightly written mystery, set in the beautifully captured
Alaska. The main protagonists Kate Shugak and Jim Chopin are
complex and interesting. I can't wait to find the previous
novels in the Kate Shugak series by Dana Stabenow and
I'm anxious to see where this series can go after BAD
BLOOD's unexpected conclusion.
The Alaskan villages of Kushtaka and Kuskulana sit across
the river from each other, but Kuskulana’s always thrived
while Kushtaka is slowly dying out. One hundred years of bad
blood between the communities threaten to come to a boil
when the body of a young Kushtaka ne’er-do-well is found
dead—and questions of love, loyalty, and revenge rise to the
surface. Could this one, unexplained death ignite an all-out
war? When a second murder that looks suspiciously like
payback occurs, the escalating enmity can no longer be
ignored. Now it’s up to private investigator Kate Shugak,
along with Sergeant Jim Chopin, to find the truth about what
happened…while a killer remains at large. And is on their
trail…
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