The Big Empty

Praise

Praise for The Big Empty

“Works well on all levels . . . The Big Empty is the most tightly-crafted Nathan Active story yet, and for both longtime fans of the series as well as those unfamiliar with it, it’s a good yarn that will draw readers in and keep them turning pages.”
—The Anchorage Daily News

“Intriguing . . . buttressed by the family melodrama and the authors’ insights into the culture of Alaska’s indigenous peoples.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Jones’s and coauthor Watts’s prose has been called muscular and stark, but it has an inviting, cinematic quality to it as well. A well-constructed mystery recommended for fans of C.J. Box and Craig Johnson.”
—Booklist

“[The Big Empty] does a good job of spinning a mystery in an interesting setting with a understated style that explores but avoids exoticizing the Inupiat community it depicts.”
—Reviewing the Evidence

Praise for the Nathan Active Mysteries
 
“You can’t fake the stuff Stan Jones pulls off . . . A writer of muscular words and stark images, Jones sets up his scenes like film shots.”
—The New York Times Book Review

“Chilling . . . Fascinating.”
—USA Today
 
“Jones delivers a finely laddered plot . . . but the real fun, as always, lies in the dozens of mini-lessons he gives on hardscrabble Alaskan life.”
—Entertainment Weekly
 
“Active is a sturdy, reliable figure, and Jones has a palpable affection for the Alaskan Native culture and his eccentric characters.”
—Seattle Times
 
“We’re in the hands of a skilled mystery/crime writer. Without mincing on tone or texture, Jones’s writing displays a telling tautness, complemented by comic riff nuances of a dry-witted humorist.”
—Anchorage Press
 
“Stellar . . . Jones, who was born in Alaska, uses his intimate knowledge of the state, his fondness for the Inupiat people and their traditions, and his eye for politicians’ excruciatingly funny incongruities to produce a well-rounded and appealing portrait of America’s Last Frontier.”
—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review