Kate is still mourning the loss of Old Sam, when state trooper Liam Campbell enlists her help to determine whether a suspicious death of a pilot was murder, with the primary suspect being his wife. Kate works undercover as a bargirl in a small town, and quickly discover that the dead man seems to have built his business by blackmailing numerous people. Kate and Mutt get themselves into several near death situations (again) and eventually uncover a major federal crime, along with the assistance of a movie star, who reminds Kate of her long-lost love, Jack. ( )

3.5 not my favorite Kate novel. Kate took a licking again, this time out of town with no human support just her and Mutt. Kate is asked to dig into a case for a friend of Jim's and she find so much more than anyone was expecting. There were three really good looking men, one of them was a movie star. His part in this story and her reaction was different from previous books. Kate felt different, perhaps her reaction to these men ? or the way she put herself and Mutt in danger again after the last few books. I felt a shift in her and I'm not sure I like it.

Despite the gloomy title, Kate is having fun in “Restless In The Grave”, even if she is constantly being beaten up and locked into confined spaces. Having freed herself from her duties as Chair of the board of the Niniltna Native Association, Kate grabs the chance to head out of town to carryout an undercover investigation of a possible murder at Newenham, Trooper Liam Campbell’s domain.

For those of us who have read the Liam Campbell books, “Fire And Ice”, “So Sure Of Death”, “Nothing Gold Can Stay” and “Better To Rest”, much fun is had from seeing Liam’s world through Kate’s eyes. I was a bit surprised to find how much Kate enjoyed the sight of Liam in uniform. I figured that she and Wy Chouinard would work something out and I expected (and got) fireworks when Kate and Moses met.

Kate’s investigation uncovers something much larger and more sinister than she had expected and gets her involved with all kinds of Federal agencies. The plot twisted are nicely timed, the story is both plausible and cautionary with respect to security in Alaska.

Meanwhile, back in Niniltna, Jim Chopin finally acknowledges to himself that Kate’s house is now his home and that it is empty without her. He also discovers that Kate’s nemesis has been release from jail and has become a shareholder in the gold mine.

Although Kate has a good time in this book, there is a sense that her freedom, and perhaps her happiness, will be short-lived. It seems that “Restless In The Grave” refers to the spirit of Old Sam and that his legacy to Kate has still fully to unfold.

In bringing Kate’s and Liam’s worlds together Dana Stabenow again demonstrates her ability to bring characters to life with relatively few words and to maintain an ensemble cast without letting them slip into plot devices. This crossover also made me aware of what a good job Marguerite Gavin, the narrator of the Liam Campbell series and the Kate Shugak series, does in creating and maintaining distinctive voices for this wide range of characters. ( )

Kate has reluctantly, once again taken on an undercover job. This is a crossover between Kate Shugak and Liam Campbell series; it will help the reader to have knowledge of both. I really had a hard time differentiating between Liam Campbell and "Chopper" Jim--both are Alaska State Troopers and act similarly. But, Kate pines for "Chopper" Jim. The plot unfolds nicely and in the end, what's good is tainted. On to the next in Shugak's series. ( )

Pretty disappointed with this Shugak mystery. The crossover with Liam Campbell is slight -- very slight, he's barely in the book. Kate does some good PI work and the reveal at the end is good, but I almost would have preferred more scenes in Niniltna rather than so many missed opportunities for Liam and Kate to work together. ( )