After visiting Alaska last summer, I wanted to find a book written by an Alaskan, set in Alaska, describing Alaska well, that was also quick and easy to read. White Sky, Black Ice by Stan Jones fit this bill and was an enjoyable mystery.

White Sky, Black Ice's protagonist, the Alaskan half-Inupiat state trooper Nathan Active, is investigating two suicides occurring days from each other in a remote tiny Alaskan Inupiat village. The plot is decent, straightforward, and easy to follow but, in all honesty, not the highlight of the book. Instead, Jones's talent is his ability to create an atmosphere so vivid and realistic that I felt the cold landscape any time I opened the book. Jones also succeeds in illustrating Inupiat life with a nuanced and worthy introduction to those unfamiliar with the culture. The protagonist, Nathan Active, is also written with enough subtlety that I'm interested in reading further in the series to see where Active's story goes. Unfortunately, this book does suffer from some poorly written female characters that, at times, border on offensive. Since White Sky, Black Ice came out in the 1990s, I was able to look past this drawback, and I hope further in the series, women characters are not as ridiculous.

If you're looking for a quick and very atmospheric mystery, White Sky, Black Ice is a capable choice.