Alaska Gray

New York: St. Martin's Press, 1994. First Edition [Stated], First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. Very good/Good. Eric Belson (Author Photograph) and Janet Atkinson. [12], 260 pages. DJ has some wear and soiling. Autographed copy sticker is on the front of the DJ. Signed by the author on the title page. Includes Acknowledgments, Prologue, 33 chapters, and an Epilogue. Jane McBride is starting over. Leaving bad memories in Boston, she has come to the Alaskan Island of Sitka to take a job as finance director for the Native-controlled Kamale Shee corporation, only to find that the position no longer exists and that she is expected to leave. The harsh, magnificent land is compelling, however, and Jane is is determined to make a success of her new life. Ignoring the somewhat sinister incidents occurring around her, Jane finds work teaching two business courses at the local college and befriends some of the townspeople, including psychiatrist Michael Benoit, reporter Bob Denson, her landlady Francesca LaQuestion, and Francesca's troubled son Bojack. Ignoring the somewhat sinister incidents occurring around her, Jane finds work teaching two business courses at the local college and befriends some of the townspeople, including psychiatrist Michael Benoit, reporter Bob Denson, her landlady Francesca LaQuestion, and Francesca's troubled son Bojack. Then a young woman is killed and Jane lands in the middle of a dangerous situation--with no one to trust but herself. A former resident of Sitka, first-time novelist Susan Froetschel has used her insight to produce an atmospheric, suspenseful mystery with authenticity and flare. Susan Froetschel was a reporter for five years with The Daily Sentinel in Sitka, Alaska and has written for many publications. She was a writing instructor for a program at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. She is the author of five novels, including Alaska Gray and the award-winning Fear of Beauty set in Afghanistan. Derived from a Kirkus review: Her new job as director of finance for Sitka's Katmai Shee Inc. canceled before she even has a chance to show up for work, Jane McBride, already smitten with the Alaskan town and resolved not to go back to Boston and the unspeakable secret she left behind there, lands a lesser job teaching economics at Holmes Barrett College and stays on with native Katmai Shee director/TV news reporter Francesca LaQuestion while she cultivates friendships with brotherly Daily Record reporter Bob Denson, psychiatrist Michael Benoit, and Holmes Barrett museum curator Daniel Greer. But somebody's already bent on driving her out of town with threatening phone messages, break-ins, and blackmail attempts—even before the murder of gifted, retarded art student Nancy Nelson. Can Jane put together the pieces of the puzzle—telltale clan marks on several of the museum's artifacts, the school's determination to keep an assault off the police blotter, Katmai Shee's internal battles over whether to develop a ski resort, and the whispering campaign against Jane—in time to avenge Nancy before the killer strikes again? Newcomer Froetschel's obvious love for the Alaskan landscape and its people stakes out a wide range of issues.