Straley, John

This book could serve as a stand-alone novel, but readers who enjoyed the first three novels in the series will like catching up with Ellie, Slip, and the other unusual characters in Cold Storage.

The nature of small-town life is perfectly rendered here, as are the wonders of coastal Alaska. Not quite as madcap as Carl Hiassen (although there is the occasional talking animal) and not quite as hard-boiled as Michael Connelly or Elmore Leonard, Straley's (Cold Water Burning; The Woman Who Married a Bear) latest adventure in America's last frontier should appeal to those authors' fans as well as those who appreciate an unusual location and set of characters in their mysteries.