A Fine and Bitter Snow

Change never comes easy, so when the news breaks that the new administration might be drilling for oil in a wildlife preserve in southeastern Alaska, home to P.I. Kate Shugak, battle lines are quickly drawn across the community. But for Kate, who hasn't been able to get back into her daily life ever since her lover's violent death a few months ago, it's a welcome reprieve from doing nothing.

Tensions run high when Kate's friend and chief park ranger, Dan O'Brien, is deemed "too green" by management and asked to take early retirement. Kate rallies the troops to fight for his job, but before she can really start throwing her weight around, a long-time resident is found brutally murdered. Alaska State Trooper Jim Chopin enlists Kate in the investigation, and it isn't long before she discovers that when it comes to the beauty and danger of living and dying in Alaska, nothing is as simple as it seems . . .

"Stabenow uses the merciless magnificence of her state to create a stunning backdrop for her intense and intelligent mysteries." — St. Petersburg Times

"Among the series' best." — Booklist

"[A] series that truly evolves . . . Rich with details about life in this snowbound culture, the story moves at a steady pace to a classic ending." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)