A Grave Denied by Dana Stabenow

In this 13^th Kate Shugak novel, we finally see Kate coming all the way out of her lethargy that she suffered when she lost her long time lover Jack, to the murderers in “Hunter’s Moon”.  She is taking more of an interest in things and the people around her and she is finally coming to terms that her and Jim may just have something worth exploring.

We open the novel with Johnny, Jacks son is on a field trip with his school and he and his friend Vanessa come across a corpse.  A dead body that is sitting right In front of a glacier.

 This is certainly nota book that uses the deus ex machine that some have mentioned since it was fairly simple to figure out who- dun- it right from the start.  Ms Stabenow certainly writes ever book wit a bit of surprise but I can’t for the life of me feel that this was contrived and the murder only thrown in in this manner because the author couldn’t figure out any other way to end it.

I love how Kate is changing, sometimes not for the better, but she is always evolving, learning to face the changes around her and finally accept help when she needs it. I see that Kate is changing with the times, learning different speech patterns and becoming a little more tech savvy.  She really is rolling with the punches. 

As it is stated in the synopsis – these novels “turns out to be as much about living as it is about dying” and I must agree with this statement.

*MILD SPOILER AHEAD*------------------------------à

 Go Kate --- Bravo for finally facing Jane and figuratively kicking her ass!

 Rarely do I cry when reading mysteries.  You don’t really expect that kind of reaction, especially during mysteries. But I dare any one not to cry during” Hunter’s Moon” or in this book during the reconstruction scene when the town pitches in.