Native raised by whites is stationed in his birth village. Doubts 2 suicides and reveals plot involving multinational mining company.

Pretty decent, will read more. Boy, christmastime is the best time for snowy murder mysteries. ( )

The first book in Stan Jones's Nathan Active series has the task of painting a picture of who Nathan Active is. The character development is slow in regards to Active's personality. Jones spends a lot of time building the backstory of Active's adoption after his fifteen year old Inupiat mother gave him up. He was raised by a white couple in Anchorage and grew up to be a state trooper. Here's the rub: he has been posted back in his little birth village of Chukchi where he feels torn between the cultures of his upbringing and the traditions in his blood. He's an obvious outsider, being raised in the big city. But when atypical suicides start happening one right after the other Active decides to listen to his ancestral roots and dig in. ( )

The best thing about this novel was the Alaskan setting, the ways in which people go about their lives in this remote location, and the destabilising effect that the arrival of alcohol has had on the native population. The police investigation provided a bit of diversion but ultimately I found it hard to follow or get worked up about. ( )

White Sky, Black Ice by Stan Jones is a mystery set in a small rural town, Chukchi, in northwest Alaska. Getting around often involves using a "snowgo" (snowmobile to me) or light airplane. Alaskan state trooper Nathan Active is a native Inupiat whose young mother gave him up for adoption by white teachers. Now he's back in Chukchi by assignment. The opening of the nearby Gray Wolf mine has caused unemployment to drop, and over-drinking and domestic violence to diminish. Then two men turn up dead, apparently by self-inflicted gunshot wounds. Given the prevalence of suicide in the area and a local curse, their suicides are quickly accepted by everyone but Nathan. Some of the circumstances don't make sense to him, and as he presses the questioning, connections start being made. Meanwhile, he's an eligible bachelor whose status the town women seek to change. He finds himself attracted to one in particular, and fights to keep from being distracted from solving what puzzles him about the deaths.

This was a fun read set in a well-rendered and unusual location. Nathan is a straight-shooter well-equipped to handle larger forces at work. I've already picked up the second Nathan Active mystery. Many thanks to LTer Mamie, who recommended this one a little while ago. ( )