This tale of a hard drinking P.I. in Alaska is very much in the noir tradition. Oftentimes the plot of the book becomes entirely secondary to the atmosphere, which is made up both of flawed characters and a very distinctive sense of place. In this book the place in question is Alaska ,and the contrast between natural beauty and stark poverty is used to good effect . Some Tlingit characters and folklore give this a flavor of its own, even though the “mystery” or at least it’s resolution was only so-so, will definitely try more of the series. ( )

The prose is lovely. The setting is immersive, and the lead character is troubled and persistent. Characters are all well and sympathetically drawn and I loved the intertwine of myth and present reality. Straley evokes Alaska with love and a headshake for all its peccadilloes. Recommended. ( )

A little bit mystery and a little bit native mysticism, this novel has charming damaged man characters and was thoroughly enjoyable. ( )

An unreformed alcoholic gumshoe mess of a man rummages thru one beautiful, wet, cold state. The author loves Alaska and he rubs your thoughts in its natural beauty and its thrown-together (except for Juneau) cities and towns. He values the Tlingit peoples, much more than he does the latest hip whites. He tells a Tlingit story—the woman who married a bear. Our detective spends more time with these people than with the rest of the community. He is a failure in much in life (as any good detective should be) but is curious and dogged. He also has trouble staying away from the bottle. Bottles seem to be everywhere in this book. The plot is not as important as the location and the characters. But that’s fine with me. One more thing: the author studied poetry and writing and it shows. ( )

While it was an interesting book, I don't know if I can read much more of the series unless Cecil starts to deal with his issues of being the son of a respected Judge.
PI Cecil Younger has serious issues with accepting life and hides in drink as much as possible. Yet he's also enamoured by eastern mysticism of living in the moment. The book is written that way: our focus is always caught by what's happening outside, birds, people walking by, reminders of an ex-lover. The mystery is solved almost by accident, since the detective never seems to know what he is doing.
Straley's writing is full of imagery, comparisons that I wouldn't have thought of. "Sometimes I think rain is like grief that I have to endure." (p.114). "Suicide, murder. It can be impulsive...the surprise ending in the story you tell about your life...The narrative of your life doesn't take you there bu the content of the story does" (p 119-120).
I like the way some chapters will open with musing on a topic and close with that same topic. It rounds out the chapter, makes it seem complete and unique in itself. e.g. Chapter 9 begins with "There are some questions so graceful that they should only be asked...", goes on to consider one question about Alaska, get entwined in action and finding some answers, and ends with "There are questions that should not be answered but I never know which questions those are." In most novels I don't pay any attention to how chapters are divided and, except for indicating a break in action, I'm not sure most authors do either.
I read a version of the tale with the same name retold by Elizabeth James, (merging of several Native West Coast tales) before reading this mystery and was completely confused about how they fit together. Finally a friend tells Cecil the story, and that version (in which the women has her half-bear children eat the father) makes sense. The version I read emphasized the arrogance of the woman before she married, how she learned love and respect for her bear husband, and how that attitude was passed on to the Tlingit people. ( )