Whisper to the Blood

I've enjoyed Stabenow's work since her first novel, Second Star, and I request every new book at the library as soon as it hits their computer system. I'm glad I read this one, but it really took patience to get to the “good stuff.” For some reason, the first half of the book moves very, very slowly. It does wrap up a loose end from the previous Shugak tale, but one of the book's two murders is solved in such a way that it seems an afterthought, right at the end.

Still, Johnny Morgan, now 16, gets more “face time” in this book than in any of the earlier ones. The Aunties (Vi, Edna, Joy, and Balasha) all get some time, and we get more of their background than we've had in the past.

I definitely recommend the book for confirmed fans of the Shugak series, but it wouldn't be the best place for a reader new to the author to start.