Book Review: Midnight Come Again

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Midnight Come Again     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Dana Stabenow
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Woman Main Character   Ethnic
Series: Kate Shugak # 10
St. Martin's, May 2000, $23.95, 295 pp.

No one seems to know where Kate Shigak is. The Aleut private detective owns and normally homesteads one hundred and sixty acres in the Alaska National Forest. However, Kate has disappeared. She still struggles with the loss of her beloved thanks to a maniac's bullet, a situation that has left her feeling empty and barren. Kate has traveled to an isolated fishing village in the Bering Strait under an assumed name. She fills her entire day working double shifts and more handling freight for Baird Airlines.

Her life changes again when her boss hires someone to work the second shift. Kate recognizes the new employee as State Trooper Jim Chopin, who is working undercover for the FBI. He is looking for the plutonium that the Russian Mafia has apparently smuggled into the area. When Jim is hospitalized with a bullet wound, Kate takes over the investigation.

The star of a Kate Shugat novel is usually Alaska, but in MIDNIGHT COME AGAIN the emotionally raw lead protagonist takes center stage. Kate is in transition as she grieves her loss while struggling to learn how to live life without her heart. Dana Stabenow serves up a fascinating and emotionally moving story line that keeps the reader's interest from first page to last. Fans of unpredictable, event-laden tales with plenty of regional color will gain much pleasure from Ms. Stabenow's latest achievement.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner