Whisper to the Blood

Starred review from December 1, 2008
In Edgar-winner Stabenow's excellent 16th Kate Shugak novel (after 2007's A Deeper Sleep
), feisty, independent Kate faces challenges on various fronts, starting at home with her 16-year-old foster son, Johnny Morgan, and her Alaska state trooper boyfriend, Jim Chopin. In a national park known as “the Park,” whose “backbone, its moral center, its royalty” are “the four aunties” (all widows), a Canadian mining firm, Global Harvest Resources Inc., is planning a massive operation that will affect every park resident. Meanwhile, a lot of folks are taking the law into their own hands; a series of brutal snow machine robberies raises the stakes. No one writes more vividly about the hardships and rewards of living in the unforgiving Alaskan wilderness and the hardy but frequently flawed characters who choose to call it home. This is a richly rewarding regional series that continues to grow in power as it grows in length. Author tour.

March 30, 2009
Former New York Times
journalist Beauchamp offers a fascinating inside look at the reign of moviemaking king Joseph P. Kennedy, who held sway over the industry from 1926 to 1930. Kennedy was responsible for creating some of the most renowned movies; he plucked iconic stars from obscurity and transformed the business forever. Pam Ward delivers a solid performance, presenting Beauchamp's findings with a straightforward, journalistic tone. Neither over the top nor monotonous, Ward relates the material with an ear for old Hollywood-speak without sounding forced or mechanical. The result is an entertaining and incredibly informative listening experience. A Knopf hardcover (Reviews, Dec. 1).