Reviews

The Woman Who Married a Bear by John Straley

railyuhreads's review against another edition

4.0

A fast-paced gritty crime novel with a fantastic sense of place. As someone who has lived most of my life in southeast Alaska and been to most of the places in the novel, he definitely captures my world in an authentic way. It’s not surprising since he’s lived and traveled here too, of course. But it is a rare thing to read a novel set in southeast Alaska, let alone one so rich with the details of this place.

aemulatio's review

adventurous dark funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

msteinhaus's review against another edition

3.0

Borrowed this from the library on a cruise through the Inside Passage. Found the best part to be the relationship to the environment I was experiencing in Southeast Alaska. Otherwise a fairly standard (though I think well-written) mystery with what I felt was a pretty transparent plot.

fallchicken's review against another edition

3.0

3.5 even.
A enjoyable mystery, well-written. Good sense of place. The author is clearly a bird person and aware of the natural world. A pause on the way to the denouement to watch humpback whales, how nice. A shame our hero investigator feels the need to spend most of his time drunk.

beasusan's review against another edition

I couldn’t get through an entire chapter talking about how the protagonist is sitting in a bar. I was intrigued by the cover since it’s really nicely illustrated but the story just didn’t catch my interest enough sadly.

asuitcasefullofbooks's review against another edition

4.0

This was a better book than Michael Chabon’s Yiddish Policemen’s Union in that this author actually lives in Alaska and describes the seedier side of the small towns accurately.

However, the author often uses poetic descriptions and the character gets lost on long rambling memories that don’t move the story forward.

It was an entertaining listen by audible with a good narrator.

littlemainelibrarian's review against another edition

1.0

This is by far the book I have most wanted to put down and not finished, but I did read it! I don't want to say it's poorly written, because who am I to judge? I do want to say it was difficult to read and I wanted to throw it against a wall after only a chapter or two!
The main character is a drunk, and this book reads like you're trying to get the story from a drunk man! Ugh! It was just terribly annoying and disinteresting!
I'll pass on reading anymore of this series.

beasley's review

4.0

Excellent read. One of the best on drinking and bars. Not a bad mystery, either. Great descriptions of both people and places throughout.

audreylee's review

3.0

If you are tired of the troubled, alcoholic PI, this book isn't for you. This is a dark, disturbing mystery with resolution of only a few of the questions raised during the course of the novel.

athenalindia's review

3.0

Yet another review where I keep opening the file, sit staring at it for a while, then close it down, because I am just not sure what to write. It's another dreaded "well, it was fine" type of thing. As a mystery, it's...perfectly acceptable. It was an easy read. But I won't be rushing out to get the next in the series.

Note: The rest of this review has been withdrawn due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.

In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook