Rating: 
Summary: If you loved the series up to now...
Review: I'm writing this review because of all the people who have said they will stop reading the series because of this book.
If you have read the other reviews, you know that a Very Bad Thing happens in this book -- many of the reviews have said exactly what that Very Bad Thing is.
I had a similar reaction. But I already had the next book in hand, and wanted -- needed -- to see what happened after. So I read it, and the next one, and the one after that, and the one after _that_ (and I'll be reading the most recently released as soon as I get my hands on it).
They are worth reading, just as much as the ones before. Yes, a Very Bad Thing happens in this book. Senseless, unforeseen, and devastating. But such things happen in real life too. And people go on, much as this series goes on.
So if you liked the series up to this point, read Hunter's Moon, react, and then keep reading the series. I don't think you'll regret it.
Rating: 
Summary: Where's the Mystery?
Review: I avoided reading this novel for a long time because I accidently found out the ending in a review. I was quite disapointed in the stunt ending and the lack of any real mystery. I read to be entertained, to learn someting new, not to be annoyed at the end because there was very little value in what I had paid for. The German hunting party for the most part was a sampling of every cartoon character that portrays bad guy, killing off a main characther because there was no effort to write a better solution to ending a romantic dilemma, and the "Outside" bashing. This series has probably come to and end for me as I'm finding the writing formulaistic and am not as entertained as I once was when the plots were more cunning and the charaters more believable.
Rating: 
Summary: Read it - you won't be disappointed!
Review: I had read most of this series but didn't read this one because of the reviews. But last week while on a business trip I found myself out of reading material and picked up this book. I couldn't put it down and found myself in tears at the end. It isn't an English garden type mystery! It is however, full of characterization. Wonderful characterization! By the time the climax of the story takes place we find ourselves so happy for Jack and Kate. I personally have been rooting for them for the last several novels and now in this one they are finally going to be together. When you root for two fictional people and find yourself crying when something happens to them, it's a great story. Read it - you won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Tear jerker
Review: I started reading this series with 'A Fine and Bitter Snow' and have made my way, increasingly faster, through the earlier books. Having read references to the tragedy that befell Jack, I knew of the premise before I started the book. However that didn't soften the blow. I too found myself with tears, greatly caring about these 2 fictional characters (and Mutt too!).
Reading later books in the series first, I didn't initially warm to Kate's character who I felt was somewhat cold and detached. Now I completely understand that part of her character, a result of the loss she experienced. It has been enjoyable to read the earlier books which she shared with Jack, and I'm enjoying reading later books where there is a glimmer of happiness in her future.
Dana has made me a fan of mysteries and added to my love of all things Alaskan!
Rating:
Summary: Best of the series
Review: I was born in Alaska and lived there 23 years. I enjoy these books because it reminds me of home. Some are better than others. This book was great! Well written, exciting. Interesting. I've actually never liked Kate and Jack that much. Their characters seemed a bit hollow. But I did like the action in this one - it held my attention and I held my breath when Jack was killed. I applaud Ms. Stabenow's skill in writing that scene!
A must read.
Rating:
Summary: Best of the series
Review: I was born in Alaska and lived there 23 years. I enjoy these books because it reminds me of home. Some are better than others. This book was great! Well written, exciting. Interesting. I've actually never liked Kate and Jack that much. Their characters seemed a bit hollow. But I did like the action in this one - it held my attention and I held my breath when Jack was killed. I applaud Ms. Stabenow's skill in writing that scene!
A must read.
Rating:
Summary: A Horrible Mistake
Review: I've read all of the Kate Shugat books but may stop with this one. Some mystery writers have feel that to develop their stories, they must use the same character for everything. This has been a problem for Danna Stabenow and Nevada Barr. Both authors developed strong characters in their first few books then have spent several books tearing these characters apart. Stabenow has been destroying Kate's natural setting book by book for awhile now. After killing off her Grandmother, the Native Alaskan element dropped by the wayside. After killing off her lover in this book, while not bothering with plot, characters or believable events, how much less Kate Shugat can we take? A good mystery needs to be believable. Do you really believe that someone could run for miles cross-country after being disemboweled? Danna Stabenow has been a good writer in the past. The question is, can she be one again in the future?
Rating:
Summary: A sad slip-up for an excellent author
Review: My wife and I have enjoyed the Kate Shugak series ever since we were introduced a couple of years ago. However, I found that this book left me uneasy and disappointed. Not only was it somewhat stilted and out of character for Stabenow, but I have never understood the need to kill of Jack. Surely there must have been other plot devices that would allow further growth of Kate but this one seemed extreme. Not my favorite.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely the Best So Far
Review: Thanks to a number of reviewers who took it upon themselves to reveal the last 50 pages of this book in spoiler upon spoiler, I already knew that a great tragedy was to come upon Kate Shugak somewhere along in Hunter's Moon. But even knowing that, I was totally unprepared for the grief that overtook me as a reader; the sobs that tore me apart. For those of us who have followed Kate from the very first book, this story is almost unbearable in its suspense, its heart-pounding intensity, and its gut-wrenching ending. It brings the series to a whole new level, and if I never read another one in the series, I will always remember this book. The story starts out simply enough: Kate and her lover Jack Morgan, along with Kate's trusty half-wolf, half-husky Mutt, join feisty Old Sam and others as hired guides to a party of largely tenderfoot hunters. They've done work like this before, and they know all the pitfalls of such an escorted hunting trip, but this group of paid participants is more obnoxious than the average amateur: The entire group is from a multinational computer software company headquartered in Germany, and each of the teutonic wilderness wannabees is more obnoxious than the next. Before the first shot moose is cold, there has been an accidental shooting of a human being. And that's only the beginning. It becomes clear in very short order that a mass murderer has signed along for the trip, and that nobody is safe. As Kate and Jack rely on their wits and their wildnerness savvy to figure out who is doing the killing, the reader is increasingly afraid for their very existence. This is an amazingly powerful book. I'm glad I read it, but I'm still crying as I write this review. Whew!
Rating:
Summary: Best of the series
Review: This book, without question, is the best of the Kate Shugach series. It is, however, the one most likely to upset devotees. I was lucky enough to be in a small town in south central Alaska last year when Stabenow was appearing at a library fundraiser. Time and time again, she was asked why she did it (read the book to find out to what I'm referring, no spoilers here), why she wrote it that way. Stabenow answered that she didn't set out for it to happen, the plot just naturally flowed in that direction. She's absolutely right. It's what the series needed and served to advance the primary character. This book is a solid mystery, set in an exceptionally interesting setting, and populated by characters that kept my attention. I highly recommend it.
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