Crime Writer Margot Kinberg

As this is posted, it’s 157 years since the US purchased Alaska from the Russian Empire. In 1959, Alaska became the 49^th US state. Alaska’s a very different state to the contiguous US. For instance, travel by road isn’t possible in some places, so people use bush planes, Sno Cats, and other different kinds of transportation. Alaska has a very short growing season, so most agricultural and other farm products need to be shipped in. It can be a very harsh environment, but it can also be an exciting place for outdoor adventure. It can also be a place for crime – fictional crime, anyway.

For instance, Stan Jones’ Nathan Active is a member of the Alaska State Police. He is also indigenous, although he doesn’t keep all of the traditions. As the series begins (with White Sky, Black Ice), Active has recently moved from Anchorage to the small Far North town of Chukchi. Usually, crime in the area is handled by the Chukchi Police, but one day, Active happens to be on hand when the body of George Clinton is discovered. Active takes an interest in the case, but it’s put down to suicide. Then, there’s another death, this time the husband of someone Active’s mother Martha knows. That, too, is put down to suicide, but Active is beginning to believe there’s more to it than that. As he investigates, readers get a sense of contemporary northern Alaska, and the lives of the indigenous people who live there. Throughout the series, Jones shows how people have adapted to the extreme temperatures, hostile terrain, and so on.

Dana Stabenow has created two Alaska-based series. One features Kate Shugak. She’s a member of the Aleut Nation and grew up in a remote part of Alaska. Then, she spent several years in Anchorage as an investigator for the District Attorney’s office. Now, she’s back in her hometown, working as a private investigator. Not only does she have to go up against the harsh climate, but she also learns quickly that crime – sometimes brutal crime – is not limited to the big city. Stabenow also has a series featuring Alaska State Trooper Liam Campbell. At the beginning of the series, he’s just been demoted and exiled to the small town of Newenham. Just as he’s getting off the small bush plane, there’s a murder. And the most likely killer, who’s standing right with the body, is Campbell’s ex-lover Wyanet ‘Wy’ Chouinard. Right away, Campbell is plunged into the local network of relationships, resentments, and so on, as well as the delicate matter of police politics.

In John Straley’s The Woman Who Married a Bear, we meet Sitka-based Cecil Younger. He’s a private investigator, but he hasn’t been very successful at it. Then, he gets a new case. Big game guide Louis Victor was killed by a high-powered rifle, shot by a man who’s believed to be insane. The killer was convicted and is now behind bars. But Victor’s mother doesn’t believe it’s that simple. She knows the facts of the case, but she wants to know why it happened. Who is responsible for the murder? Younger takes the case (a fee is a fee) and begins to look into the matter. He soon finds that things are not as simple as they seem. His search for answers takes him to different parts of Alaska, and readers learn some things about Tlingit beliefs, too.

Donna Kolling Lear’s Crimson Gold takes place in 1939. Harmon Johnson and his wife Zelda have been murdered in Alaska’s Dutch Hills. At the time, mining is a major industry in Alaska, and Harmon Johnson has made a fortune from it. His brother Ron wants that money, and his other brother George travels to Alaska to prevent that. Ron has a police record and George doesn’t believe he can be trusted. Until the murders are solved, nobody’s going to get anything, so George and Ron Johnson are going to have to work together with the FBI and a US commissioner if they’re going to find out who’s behind the killings. There’s a lot at stake, too, as there could be thousands of dollars of gold buried on the Johnson property.

There’s also Paige Shelton’s Thin Ice. Beth Rivers is a very successful author who writes under the name Elizabeth Fairchild. When a crazed fan abducted her, Beth escaped, but was severely injured. Now, she’s moved to the small town of Benedict, Alaska, to start life over in a safe place. She’s settling in when the body of Linda Rafferty is discovered. At first, it looks like a case of suicide, and that’s the official explanation. But most people don’t believe that’s what happened. Beth is working on giving new life to the local newspaper, so she gets interested in the Linda Rafferty case. She gets even more involved when some of the gossip starts linking her to the murder. Among other things, this is a look at a small Alaskan town.

There’s a lot to like about Alaska. There’s breathtaking scenery, a unique lifestyle, and a rich history and culture. Just…do be careful if you go…

ps. Thanks to TravelAlaska.Com for the great photo!

*NOTE: The title of this post is a line from John Denver’s Alaska and Me.