Liam is called to investigate a boat fire on the Marybethia, a fishing boat owned by one of the area’s more prosperous fishermen, David Malone. As he steps aboard the vessel, it is obvious from the smell that it contains the bodies of several dead people. Further investigation reveals the bodies of seven people, Malone, his wife, two children, his brother, and two deck hands. It is also apparent that these people did not die as a result of the fire, but, in fact, had been shot.

Minding the office while Liam is dealing with the boat disaster is his newly arrived assistant, Diana Prince. Wy Chouinard arrives expecting to find Liam, and is surprised to meet Prince. She relays the news that in delivering visiting archaeologist Desmond McLynn to the site he is excavating, she and McLynn have discovered the body of Don Nelson, McLynn’s assistant on the dig. Nelson has apparently died as a result of a knife wound , not self inflicted.

Adding to the problems of dealing with multiple murders at diverse locations, Liam receives word that his father, Colonel Charles Bradley Campbell, with whom Liam’s relations are, at best, strained, will be arriving at nearby Chinook Air Force Base shortly. Trying to restore some sort of order to the various parts of his life is proving to be a challenge for the younger Campbell.

In So Sure of Death Dana Stabenow clearly demonstrates her diverse skills as an author, the second of her books to feature Alaskan state trooper Liam Campbell. She excels at describing the vast, underdeveloped land inhabited chiefly by the indigenous people, the Yupik. The isolation of each settlement, the great distances between inhabited areas, and the beauty of the land are so vividly painted it is easy to imagine it. Each of Ms. Stabenow’s characters is a distinct person with a well defined personality so the reader can easily remember the cast of characters. The main protagonists, Liam and Wy wrestle with some weighty moral issues that are worthy of reflection.

The plot of the story is probably secondary to character portrayal in terms of strength of the novel, but is sufficiently unique to attract interest. The resolution of the crimes, while not surprising, is based on the correct interpretation of the given facts. The reader is presented with enough information to allow him to solve the mystery himself, but it is not so obvious that his intelligence was insulted.

Ms. Stabenow has a subtle sense of humor that she uses to great effect to relieve some of the heavier passages in the book. She describes a man who had lived in the same house with several dead bodies as “olfactorily challenged”. One character’s description of Alaska is particularly appealing. “ Gays can’t marry, and you have to speak English, but you can legally smoke pot and embezzlers never go hungry. Gotta love it”. If Ms. Stabenow doesn’t make you love Alaska she will, almost certainly, pique your interest in it.

--Andy Plonka