Dead Stick had an interesting plot premise. The descriptions of the air ambulance service and the Alaskan setting were especially intriguing. Megan Rust presents her home state as a true Last Frontier, and the trip is fascinating.

What wasn't so fascinating, however, were the somewhat weak characterizations. Taylor often speaks in dialog more appropriate for a teenager than a grown woman (she thinks things are "neat" a lot) and some of the law enforcement officials apparently wouldn't know a clue if it bit them on the backside. The result is that the mystery is solved not so much by what Taylor does, but rather by what the other characters don't do. Add to this a rather flat storytelling style, with a lot of telling and not enough showing, and you have a book whose main attraction is the setting and extraneous plot.

This is not to say that the author isn't promising. For a debut novel Dead Stick is a worthy effort and a decent opening to a fresh new mystery series. Armchair travelers especially will want to have a look. Alaska beckons, and the allure is strong.

--Cathy Sova