Good writing, fascinating new culture (to those of us in the lower 48).

Pretty decent, will read more. Boy, christmastime is the best time for snowy murder mysteries.

There were a lot of distracting grammatical errors in this book. The characters were thin, the plot wasn't very exciting, and it all felt underdeveloped in the end.

Nathan Active is an Alaskan state trooper. He was born to an Inupiat girl and a white father, but raised by a white couple, so he knows almost nothing about his native heritage. Now he's been assigned to a tiny village in the middle of nowhere. He'd love to get back to Anchorage, but until then, he's got a series of strange suicides on his hands. Everyone else is happy to write them off as alcohol, as a curse, as whatever. But Nathan not so sure that they are suicides at all. And what does the local oil company have to do with this?

I have mixed feelings on this one. I liked the setting a lot, and I was involved in the mystery. But Nathan is a funny sort of character. He is a good cop, but just randomly jumps into bed with a coworker without a second thought. He's all conflicted about it and it causes complications at his job, but then he does it again as soon as he get the chance. That makes me wonder just how smart he really is. I did like the ending, but I'm not sure I'll read another by this author.

I liked this. It was a decent mystery in an interesting locale. My one beef would really be when the author briefly switches narrative voices. This is mostly done so we can see/hear how our main character is perceived by a woman. It felt extremely insincere and was mostly unnecessary. Every time it happened I felt like throwing the book at someone, probably the author or his editor. That aside, it's a good book. The arctic is a landscape ripe for literary purposes and has mostly been ignored by mainstream literature. So books like this are nice to see. Plus, what a beautiful title!

First in a series of Alaskan mysteries. The main character is an Inuit adopted by a white couple, now posted back in the small town of his birth mother. I didn't love it as much as I do the Kate Shugak books, but then those are about a strong woman :) Still, good characters, interesting story; I'll probably try the next one.

first book I have read by this author. the setting was nice but the characters needed a little more development

Engrossing police procedural. Nathan Active is an Alaska State trooper assigned back to the town where he was born, an Eskimo village (? - hard to tell just how big it is). One Eskimo family has been plagued by suicides of the sons, ostensibly inflicted on the family through a curse. Active has his doubts. I found the detail of modern Inuit life both interesting and saddening, a clash of cultures. Lots of Inuipiaq words; the glossary helps. Excellent read.

Here's a quote from a review on Amazon that appears to lend credibility to the book's authenticity: "I was a Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal in Alaska during its final territorial and early statehood years. What impressed me most about this book was its absolute authenticity. The natives, the way they live, their unique speech patterns, the land they live in, and the climate they endure are all true to life. Just as realistic are the problems facing a police officer in the rural areas of Alaska." James Chenoweth.