THOUGH NOT DEAD

Marguerite Gavin’s performance will make instant fans of those new to the Kate Shugak series. Gavin gives Alaskan Kate the perfect no-nonsense attitude as she and her half-wolf sidekick, Mutt, butt heads with her newest mystery. After Kate’s surrogate father, Old Sam, dies, she finds herself enmeshed in a puzzle beginning in his colorful past, including a missing tribal icon, an unpublished Dashiell Hammett manuscript, and Sam’s last cryptic request to her: “Find my father.” Gavin’s Native accents and characters are dignified and truthful. Pronunciations of names like Suulutaq, Niniltna, and Kanuyaq roll trippingly off her tongue. In this 18th Shugak episode, listeners get substantial chunks of Alaskan history while Kate deals with murder, personal attacks, and unsettling revelations. Gavin turns it all into compelling listening. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2011]