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jessvm's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
luciearan's review against another edition
4.0
Oproti předchozímu dílu, byla tato kniha možná maličko slabší. Ale hlavně byla jiná. Byla více o střetu kultur, náboženství, fanatismu a hlavně... o houbách. I tento příběh se četl dobře a bylo na něm mnoho věcí k zamyšlení. Škoda jen toho neurčitého konce. I tak, už se ale, nemůžu dočkat, dalších dílů.
lisawreading's review
4.0
Another excellent volume in the Kate Shugak mystery series. The audiobook narrator is terrific, and the stories themselves are compelling. With each book in the series, we get to know the recurring characters even more, and Kate herself continues to be an outstanding, complex hero. Can't wait for the next book!
abibliofob's review against another edition
4.0
Play With Fire is another great Alaskan mystery involving religion and mushrooms? Dana Stabenow is a pleasant surprise for me and I will continue following the adventures of Kate Shugak.
terrik_409's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Although written years ago the events in the book are timely given the rise in Christian fundamentalism. This book also doesn't have a neat ending.
Although Mutt doesn't die she does get injured and there is another dog death.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death
katkinney's review against another edition
3.0
This is the fifth book in the Kate Shugak series. Kate, a former investigator for the Anchorage DA’s office, is picking mushrooms in an area of the forest formerly devastated by forest fire, when she discovers a body. She is then hired by a local kid to find his missing dad and it doesn’t take long to put the pieces together that the missing body is his dad. I am enjoying this series for the in-depth descriptions of life in Alaska and way the author brings the setting (different in each book) to life. This was not probably my favorite book in the series. Religious fundamentalist cultists take up most of the narrative, which quickly grew tiresome. 3/5 stars.
marilynsaul's review against another edition
4.0
May not be everyone's cup of tea as Stabenow lets loose on Evangelical religion, but I enjoyed it :-)
rclz's review against another edition
4.0
It was Kate so I liked it as always but it also didn't end in a way that I liked. It made sense and all the lose ends were tied up but......
Marguerite Gavin did her usual wonderful job narrating.
I do wish these were coming out quicker. The last one was last August and now this one in March. Hope we get another in August.
Marguerite Gavin did her usual wonderful job narrating.
I do wish these were coming out quicker. The last one was last August and now this one in March. Hope we get another in August.
nikchick's review against another edition
4.0
I almost skipped this book because of the negative reviews I skimmed on Goodreads. I am glad I didn't. Each book in the series reveals more of Kate's past, fleshes out the secondary characters in the book and builds on the happenings in previous stories and this novel was no different. Most of the negative reviews, it turns out, are from people made uncomfortable by the casting of a reclusive community of fundamentalist evolution-denying book burners in a villainous light, or the characters' meditations on how the Christian religion affected native populations (through boarding schools, through missionaries insisting cultural iconography equaled blasphemy and idolatry) and the book's secondary cast members. For some reason the previous books focusing on corrupt environmental practices or Kate's prolonged musings about the seduction of working the oil fields never caused a spate of reviews asking why the author has such an axe to grind, but make a fringe religious group the baddies and readers suddenly get the vapors. Well, I had no such reaction and look forward to more Kate Shugak in my future.