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A review by apechild
Dead in the Water by Dana Stabenow
5.0
Possibly the best yet in the series (and for once I am actually reading a series in order!). This is more Kate Shugak marvellousness out in Alaska. In this book she is away from home and her wolf-dog Mutt (who is briefly referenced as just having had pups!) and she is working undercover in the Alaskan fishing industry. A lot of this book is set upon the fishing trawler the Avlida, and my god, it sounds like a tough life. As someone who gets sea sick on a calm sea, some of this did sound like my worst nightmares. From reading the little bio on Dana Stabenow, I understand she was actually raised in this industry, so I can only assume that this is all very life like. There's one awful bit where the sea is rough, water is going everywhere, but because it's so cold it's freezing all over the ship. So they have to spend the night hammering the ice off as quickly as it forms so that the weight of the ice doesn't take them down.
The fishing routes go around the Aleutian islands, so we get to hear a little more about the native life up there, or at least the historical life; as Kate's ancestors come from one of these islands. She also meets an older lady who is from the islands who does this dried basket weaving. I'd never heard of it before so I had to google it when I'd finished the book. If you're curious as I am, here's a link: http://www.support-native-american-art.com/aleut-baskets.html
The mystery itself surrounds the crew of the Avlida. Six months ago two of its crew members disappeared - apparently having to land on one of the islands for water and never to be seen again. The remaining crew are all sticking to the story although the authorities are far from convinced. So Kate has to go in as a new crew member to try and figure out what really happened. The other crew member is a rather naive Californian hippy type stereotype, who did grow on me as the book went through. At times he may sound like a bit of a cliche, but I think it's probably a portrayal of a new age type who hasn't thought everything through (and I'm not saying that all people into those things HAVENT thought everything through). What I struggled with was the fact that he was a veggie, had a go at Kate when she was eating bacon, was talking about animals souls etc... I'm sorry Andy, what is your current job? You're working on a fishing boat catching thousands of crabs and fish?... I don't suppose the fishing industry catches that much for rehoming ;)
The fishing routes go around the Aleutian islands, so we get to hear a little more about the native life up there, or at least the historical life; as Kate's ancestors come from one of these islands. She also meets an older lady who is from the islands who does this dried basket weaving. I'd never heard of it before so I had to google it when I'd finished the book. If you're curious as I am, here's a link: http://www.support-native-american-art.com/aleut-baskets.html
The mystery itself surrounds the crew of the Avlida. Six months ago two of its crew members disappeared - apparently having to land on one of the islands for water and never to be seen again. The remaining crew are all sticking to the story although the authorities are far from convinced. So Kate has to go in as a new crew member to try and figure out what really happened. The other crew member is a rather naive Californian hippy type stereotype, who did grow on me as the book went through. At times he may sound like a bit of a cliche, but I think it's probably a portrayal of a new age type who hasn't thought everything through (and I'm not saying that all people into those things HAVENT thought everything through). What I struggled with was the fact that he was a veggie, had a go at Kate when she was eating bacon, was talking about animals souls etc... I'm sorry Andy, what is your current job? You're working on a fishing boat catching thousands of crabs and fish?... I don't suppose the fishing industry catches that much for rehoming ;)