George Perry owns a hunting lodge 125 miles northeast of Anchorage, Alaska. In addition to his job as the owner and operator of an air taxi service, George leads big game hunting expeditions for those interested in enjoying an "Alaskan wilderness experience." When a group of German businessmen (and one woman) contract with George to go hunting for moose and bear, he hires Kate Shugak, Demetri Totemoff, Jack Morgan and Old Sam Dementieff to act as guides for the group.

The hunters are divided up – two to each guide – for safety. Hopefully, they won't get lost in the wilds of Alaska or accidentally shoot another hunter. Kate sets out with her two charges and they are fortunate in locating a moose. The hunter gets his trophy, albeit somewhat ineptly.

While they are arguing over the transportation of the moose back to camp, they hear shots fired in a sequence that indicates trouble. They soon discover that one of the hunters has been killed by another, presumably by accident, but Kate and her fellow guides are not so sure. Kate and Jack take it upon themselves to investigate not only to uphold the good name of the expedition, but also for their own safety.

Ms. Stabenow does a commendable job of describing the Alaskan wilderness. She presents dramatic visual images of what surely must be spectacular scenery, in addition to demonstrating the necessity of co-existing with many other species of animals. She is obviously quite familiar with how to get along with bear, moose, and other large beasts without resorting to the use of firearms.

The regular series characters are well drawn, though the reader would probably understand them even better if he had read the eight previous books. But as a first time Stabenow reader, I felt I knew them well, although the characters unique to Hunter's Moon are numerous and, initially, it is difficult to keep them all straight.

By putting her characters in the wilderness setting, the author has set up a rather unusual locked room type mystery. But the mystery itself cannot be solved by the reader because not enough information is given. The author does play fair in that Kate and Jack have the same problem. They cannot find enough information to figure out what is going on either. This makes for an interesting situation because the reader feels the same frustrations that Kate and Jack do. Ms. Stabenow comes closer to portraying real life when clues don't conveniently appear to help the heroine out.

Interesting bits of information about Alaska and its flora and fauna also abound. Kate carefully explains the practical use of several herbs. She also gives useful tips on hunting big game, if you are so inclined : "Shoot your moose on dry land rather than in a swamp. It will be easier to get to him to cut him up in manageable pieces for transportation."

--Andy Plonka