Hunter's Moon by Dana Stabenow

I should have known that drastic change was in store when Kate agreed to allow Jack and his son, Johnny, move in with her. I just didn't expect it to quite so drastic. I have already gotten the next one because I need to know if Mutt made it.

Stabenow polished off several running characters in this one. And again evil with greed as its core has brought about a truly hideous sequence of events. The body count in this book was the highest yet. The best was when Kate leads her pursuer into the waiting arms of a six-hundred pound grizzly. The worst - I don't even want to think about it.

The plot itself is fairly simple. A corporate retreat with an agenda of take-over by murder with the Alaskan Bush framed for the crimes. The result is a bit excessive. Really, not enough story and too much shooting and killing in general.

A writer of series fiction has to be aware of the fact that readers get involved with the background story which continues from novel to novel. This makes it risky to make the changes to radical. Having taken unthinkable steps, she must then be prepared to take action to re-engage the reader. At least I can read the next book immediately, unlike those who discovered this series as it was coming out and had to wait a full year to see what happens next.