A Fatal Thaw — Dana Stabenow

She's a savvy investigator with the cool toughness of Sam Spade --and a smile that could melt a block of ice. Once the star of the Anchorage D.A.'s office, she's gone back to her roots in the far Alaska north. But Kate's taken her talent for detection along... and trouble knows where to find her.

On the first day of spring a man went berserk, killing eight of his neighbors. Only there were nine bodies lying in the snow. The last victim was a golden blonde with a tarnished past--and her killer was still at large. It's up to Kate Shugak and her husky, Mutt, to track down the suspects--before the murderer melts back into the snowscape. But the guilty party could be anyone, because in the Alaskan spring, old hatreds warm up quickly....