Restless in the Grave

Finn Grant’s death in the crash of his small plane in an apparent act of sabotage raises the question: who would want the self-made billionaire dead? About half the population of southwest Alaska, as Kate Shugak discovers when she goes undercover as a barmaid in bestseller Stabenow’s entertaining 19th novel featuring the brash, fearless PI (after 2011’s Though Not Dead). Kate’s shrewd and ceaseless prying reveals that the unsavory Grant was involved in blackmail, mail fraud, and embezzlement, all connected to Alaska’s many small airlines. Kate has a casual approach to evidence gathering, and her skill at breaking and entering finds her eventually thrown into a chest freezer, tossed into a Dumpster, and locked inside a freight container while her stalwart and highly intelligent companion, Mutt, who’s half-wolf, half-husky, provides assistance. Readers new to the series may be mystified by the many references to past episodes. Yet the book sparkles with energy and wit, and packs an unexpected punch. 100,000 first printing; author tour. Agent: Danny Baror. (Feb.)