Play With Fire

The fifth mystery in the Edgar Award-winning Kate Shugak series set in Alaska, by Dana Stabenow. A young boy hires Kate to find his father... at the same time as she investigates the discovery of a corpse after a forest fire.

The Edgar Award-winning, New York Times-bestselling series by Dana Stabenow set in Alaska. Kate Shugak investigates into a mysterious death in a dysfunctional family in Play With Fire.

Alaska's worst fire in decades left behind 125,000 acres of razed forest, three feet of ash... and one unburnt corpse.

A ten-year-old boy has hired Kate Shugak to find his father. Daniel Seabolt has been missing since the summer, but his disappearance has never been reported. The boy's grandfather, the Right Reverend Pastor Simon Seabolt, has forbidden the tight-knit community even to speak Daniel's name.

Unfortunately for the boy, Kate is already investigating the body of a man found buried under the ash of last year's forest fire. At first she thinks this man was caught out in the blaze, but the coroner returns cause of death as anaphylactic shock. And although the body is missing clothes and shoes, it is untouched by the fire...

Reviewers on Dana Stabenow's Kate Shugak series:

'An antidote to sugary female sleuths: Kate Shugak, the Aleut private investigator.' New York Times

'Crime fiction doesn't get much better than this.' Booklist

'If you are looking for something unique in the field of crime fiction, Kate Shugak is the answer.' Michael Connelly

'An outstanding series.' Washington Post

'One of the strongest voices in crime fiction.' Seattle Times