Kate Shugak Books In Order

Publication Order of Kate Shugak Books

Kate Shugak, was a detective in Anchorage after growing up in the wilderness of America’s last frontier, but now she’s back at the family homestead in a remote national park in Alaska. She had spent almost six years in Anchorage honing her skills as an investigator for the District Attorney, solving cases and finding justice for the victims’ family and friends. She found robbers and murderers alike and putting each criminal behind bars was her life for those six years and she was very good at what she did. But she needed that quiet life of where she grew up, with nothing but her dog, Mutt, and a few animals for nearby neighbors. Now, once again, she would live off the land instead of in the city. In fact, the only real people around her were far off in the distance and rarely heard from unless she went looking for them. There were always the people visiting the park during tourist season, and park rangers, of course. And typical Alaskan natives like hunters, trappers, and bush pilots. But there was also Niniltna, a small village on the edge of a 600-mile river that wound through the park. It provided food and water to many in the park, human or not.

But she would once again be called upon to use her skills as an investigator to solve crimes, this time in her own backyard in the national park. The first few books in the series sees Kate’s former boss come back into her life eighteen months later, and her old life return to her even when she thought life had just settled down to a quiet, uneventful pace.

#1. A Cold Day for Murder

Kate’s old boss in Anchorage comes by to let her know that the park ranger is missing. No one was bothered by it and thought that they’d find him when the snow and ice disappeared in the Spring thaw and they’d bury him, officially call him deceased, and hire a new park ranger. But then the person that was sent to go on a quick search for him disappeared as well and things got a bit more interesting both for the Anchorage District Attorney and Kate, who was his lead investigator. So much for her quiet life in the woods. Would she find the ranger and his one-person search party? Would it be as simple as a misstep into some deep snow or a run-in with the wrong animal? Or was there foul play on the last fronteir?

#2. A Fatal Thaw

There are hardships when living in Alaska in every season… even Spring, when birds are singing and snow is melting away to make room for plants to grow through the once frozen ground. But you don’t expect a mass murder to be one of those hardships. No one thought it was going to be anything more serious than someone got a case of Cabin Fever and went a little crazy, but one ballistics test later and one of the murders was tied to a very calculated killer… one who might just be hiding in plain sight, right in the national park. The Anchorage District Attorney must turn, once again, to Kate Shugak, to help find this murderer before there are more victims. Were they running out of time?

These first two books will show you how Kate goes about her investigations, and what kind of danger she puts herself in to solve the crime. She doesn’t stop until she knows her friends and family are safe and that those around her can rest easy. Once you read these first two books, you will be hooked on reading the rest of the series.

A couple of the newer books in the series are Restless in the Grave and Bad Blood. These books show the evolution of Kate’s investigative skills as she works side by side with a partner, and then back home where she has to use tact and knowledge of area cultures as well as investigation skills.

#19. Restless in the Grave

Dana Stabenow, in Restless in the Grave, now pairs two of her most popular characters and Alaskan natives in one story – now private investigator Kate Shugak and Alaska state trooper Liam Campbell star in Restless in the Grave. Finn Grant died when the engine of his plane was sabotaged. Many people in the area have motives, and as Liam hires Kate to go undercover to dig deeper, there are more people that have motives than there are people in town. Finn had expanded his flight business exponentially two years prior to his unfortunate death and one sector he had expanded into was freight carrying. But no one knew just what kind of freight he was carrying. Could Kate and Liam get to the bottom of this?

#20. Bad Blood

Nothing says “bad blood” more than a tribal rivalry… unless, of course, it’s murder. The tension between two tribes has been building for a hundred years, and when a body of a boy from one tribe is found wedged in a waterwheel, the sergeant’s suspect is a boy from the other tribe who has already been in trouble for falling in love with a girl from “across the river.” But that boy mysteriously disappears as well and it looks like payback. So the sergeant calls in Kate Shugak, whose ties to the community may be able to help sort this out, and her investigative skills may be able to help solve the death and disappearance. But is Kate already in over her head with this one?

It’s easy to become addicted to this series because Kate Shugak is a deep character that is strong, but also has her flaws. How else could the author, Dana Stabenow, have written twenty books about her in twenty years? If you would like to show off your love for this amazing character and the book series that has revolved around her for two decades, shop the Zazzle store for everything from postage stamps to t-shirts. You will spread the word about Kate, and who knows? Maybe one day there will be am movie… or two… or twenty… made about her.

2 Responses to “Kate Shugak”

1. Judith Fredrich: 3 years ago

   I lived in Alaska for 23 years. Women worked in the fishing industry, logging camps, and in most jobs that men did. After Libby Riddles won the Iditarod, the saying around Alaska was: “where the women were like men, and the men the were like animals”

   Reply
2. linda: 3 years ago

   love the series of Kate and alaska. would like a little bit less language but love Kate Mutt. Midnight come again I cried over and over.
   Shows the ability of the author when they can make you laugh and cry and really associate with a character.

   Reply