A Fatal Thaw by Dana Stabenow

Unabridged Audio Version

Over the course of the past three days, I listened to the unabridged audio version of A Fatal Thaw by Dana Stabenow and narrated by Marguerite Gavin. A Fatal Thaw is the second novel in Kate Shugak Mystery series. Listening to A Fatal Thaw was my first experience with anything written by Dana Stabenow.

I should start my review with the narration/narrator of A Fatal Thaw... I wasn't thrilled with Marguerite Gavin as a narrator. Ms. Gavin started out reading this novel way too fast for the first 20% of this novel. Either I became accustomed to her rapid fire narration that never seemed to cease, slow down, or transition between scenes, etc... Or the her reading speed finally slowed down through the remainder of A Fatal Thaw. Either way, a narrator sets the tone for a novel and the narration for A Fatal Thaw didn't sit well with me for the entire novel. Narrators (and also audio productions) can make or break one's listening experience when it comes to audiobooks.

As far as the story goes for A Fatal Thaw. It was okay. I didn't much like the leading character of Kate Shugak or that of her dog, Mutt. The other characters in this novel were okay, with a few of them coming across as being downright goofy. The killer was easy to identify, so no mystery there as to whodunit.

The ending of A Fatal Thaw, although very descriptive in terms of describing the surrounding nature, was not anything to write home about... In fact, the ending was a let down. I do not plan on reading or listening to another novel by Dana Stabenow.

I am giving A Fatal Thaw by Dana Stabenow a rating of 1 star out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!