Another month and another blog from Judy.  Hm - wonder if John and Toni really exists.

I have just finished two new books, and while both are mysteries, that’s about all they have in common, except that each of the authors ranks high on my list of favorites. I’m not sure if it means I have a split personality, or just good taste and an appreciation of excellent writing. The books are Murder in Four Parts by Bill Crider and Whisper to the Blood by Dana Stabenow. Crider’s Sheriff Dan Rhodes is as different from Stabenow’s Kate Shugak as the Texas setting is from Kate’s Alaska. Sheriff Rhodes is a thinker who likes to get his clues by talking to people, and then putting the pieces together. While he usually manages to become involved in some physical activity, it is not what he wants; though his wife Ivy thinks he is too willing to engage in dangerous confrontations. The Sheriff Rhodes’ books are filled with dry humor, much of which is supplied by the jailers and the characters who are the residents of the small towns of Blacklin County, Texas. This time they include an alligator, lots of chickens, and one of Rhodes’ former teachers.
In contrast, Kate Shugak is very active, going into Alaska’s wild country to hunt down wrongdoers at every opportunity. Just reading about her activity can wear you out, but it makes great reading. While the characters in the Park and the small town of Niniltna, Alaska are as unusual as those in Blacklin County, Texas, they have more of an edge to them, as does the relationship between Kate and Chopper Jim. Sometimes the issues involved are darker or more complicated for Kate, and may include, as they do in this book, environmental issues for the Park and the rest of Alaska. This time it is a proposed gold mine.
That’s not to say there aren’t some similarities, now that I think of it. There are dogs in both books, but very different dogs. Neither Yancy or Speedo would attack anything but a rubber frog, unlike Mutt who will happily attack anything or anyone that threatens Kate. And as I said earlier, both are written by terrific writers. Both are excellent at conveying a sense of place, so the reader feels the cold and isolation of traveling on a frozen winter in Alaska, and the mud and mesquite found behind a rusty barn in Texas. No one is better than these two in portraying characters, either. I feel I would recognize each of the four aunties in Nilitina if I walked into the Roadhouse; and know Bobby’s voice on the radio, and I think of Hack and Lawton as old friends whose routine of letting information out in snippets to Rhodes makes me smile every time.
Anyway, if you want a great read, both books will supply it. Sometimes I think reading about Kate is best during a summer heat wave, but even in February, with some of Ohio’s coldests days of the winter, there is something warming about reading about a place where rivers freeze solidly, and people look on that as a good thing. Makes a paved, plowed street look a lot better, even with snow on the edges. Sheriff Dan makes good reading anytime; some of the books are set in the summer, so can warm up a winter’s evening just thinking about the heat and humidity of Texas, but the humor and wit of the books will make you feel good no matter the weather.
Judy Cross of Foul Play Mystery Bookshop