I enjoyed the story for the most part, however, it was very repetitive. I lost track of how many times we were informed the MC was attracted to one of the characters. I was also rather shocked for a cozy the MC was in bed (no action was mentioned) with the other character before a week was up. I am used to it taking a couple of books before they love interests even become an item. I did like the mystery and it kept me guessing. So, I will be trying the next book in the series.

Stacie Calder, a naturalist, is a new tour guide for ClemTours in Alaska. Her husky, Sasha, accompanies her on her job and loves to interact with the customers. When a passenger goes missing after causing trouble on the tour, the boat is searched, but he is not found. Police are notified and the crew is interviewed by the Initial Response Section of the Alaska State Troopers.
The next day, the entire crew transfers to another ClemTours boat and it’s business as usual. Unfortunately, when the boat reaches one of the inlets, Sasha notices a body in the water and starts barking – it’s the missing passenger.
When it is determined that the man has been murdered, the captain of the boat is a suspect due to the argument he had with he dead man. Stacie believes he is innocent and starts questioning the crew.
I had an issue with the way the investigation was handled by the Alaska State Troopers, their willingness to have a civilian involved and Stacie’s relationship with the investigating trooper.
Thanks to NetGalley for a copy

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the arc. Mixed feelings about this book. Felt like a lot of what was written (a lot of repetition on many things) was just filler to make the book/chapter longer. The characters were okay.

I really enjoyed reading Bear Witness.

No nine-to-five cubicle career will suit Stacie Calder—the naturalist much prefers working in the great outdoors. Specifically, the spacious and spectacular Alaskan wilderness, whose rugged charms she shares with sightseers on the top deck of the tour boat where she works. But one May afternoon, Stacie’s passengers see more than glittering glaciers, frolicking harbor seals, climbing bears and soaring seabirds…they also witness a man lying dead in the frigid Alaskan waters. And it seems likely that someone gave him a fatal push.

Stacie didn’t know the unfortunate victim, but he sure wanted to know a lot about her. He spent most of his final afternoon bombarding her with questions quite awkward to answer. And when he wasn’t in her hair, he was arguing incessantly with the boat’s beleaguered crew. Which makes for a suspect list about as long as the passenger manifest. Furthermore, as police helicopters relentlessly circle her boat in search of any clues, Stacie is shaken to find herself on that suspect list.

Before the tour boat reaches shore Stacie—accompanied by her beautiful blue-eyed husky, Sasha—must deduce just who sent the testy tourist tumbling into the turgid waters and have the authorities take custody. Because if she can’t, then the killer might aim a fatal ice-cold stare at Stacie.

I found this book extremely difficult to get into, which was a disappointment because I had been intrigued by the unique premise of a tour boat guide as the main character.
The book sadly gets mired in far too much, excessive description and repetition of the main character's thought processes. I got through 50% of the book, still did not feel connected to any characters and didn't feel like much had happened at all. I didn't even want to find out who the 'bad guy' was.
Technically speaking, the book is proficiently written. That just isn't enough to keep my attention.

This cozy mystery set on a tour boat in Alaska was a "closed room" mystery: someone died on this boat and someone on this boat had to have done it. The main character, Stacie, is a tour guide. She loves Alaska and the flora and fauna there and loves to show it to her passengers. She has a beautiful husky, Sasha, who accompanies her everywhere. There is a mild love story between Stacie and the investigating police detective. The action was slow. We hear why she felt she had to investigate the case. We hear about taking Sasha out to go potty, numerous times. The mystery was solved, but the story was boring. I did enjoy the descriptions of the whales, seals, birds and other animals. I received this book at no charge from NetGalley and the author, but all opinions are my own.

I thought I would like this book more than I would.
I really loved the setting, a cruise ship in Alaska, and the murder itself was very interesting.

I think I would have liked it more if Sasha the dog had been a bit more rounded out. The dog was pretty much perfect. It really would have been interesting if she was a service dog and would have made the story even more interesting.

This is the debut in a new cozy mystery series. I was drawn to it by the Alaska tour boat setting. The main character is a passionate wildlife lover and works on a tour boat. When one of the passengers is murdered, she helps investigate. I found the mystery to be a little lackluster, and didn’t really care for the romance between the main character and the police officer.

A pleasant cozy mystery. Having been on a cruise along Alaska, the story was quite appealing. It could have been quite a bit shorter had it not been so repetitious. The series has potential. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley.

Wildlife scholar Stacie Calder spends her days as a tour guide on the waterways around Juneau, Alaska. Accompanied by her trusty husky Sasha, she loves interacting with the passengers, pointing out the wildlife and sharing her knowledge of the local flora and fauna. She certainly never expected to have to explain the dead man lying along the shore in the frigid waters.
Stacie recognized the man as the passenger who spent the afternoon the day before antagonizing the crew and bad mouthing them to other passengers. The police suspect he may not have wound up in the water by accident. Suddenly everyone on the crew is a suspect. Stacie knows she's innocent and she's determined to protect her friends by doing a little investigating of her own.
I love books set in Alaska and the wilderness and was anxious to read this book. Unfortunately, it just didn't live up to expectations. The story read more like a description of events you might find in report. What little dialogue there was had no underlying emotion. It all came across flat. The writing was repetitive and uninteresting. I had to push myself to get through to the end, and I only did that to find out who done it. I could say I was surprised, but I think the "hints" toward the end made the discovery of the culprit anti climactic. All in all, I was very disappointed in the story.

Stacie works as a guide on a tour boat in Alaska. She and her husky, Sasha love being out on the water and spotting the wildlife. One of the tourists on the boat goes missing and his body is later found in the water. Stacie works with and develops a relationship with a local law enforcement officer.

I wanted to like this book, but I struggled so much. It took me a really long time to get through and I skimmed through much of it. I try not to leave negative reviews, and if I do, I try to find something positive to say about the book. I enjoyed some of the description of the scenery and wildlife, but otherwise I found it very repetitive and flat. I didn't connect with any of the characters. I was initially interested as I have lived in Alaska and have family there, and love Alaska books, but I just couldn't get in to this one.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I thought this was a nice mystery. I did think the dialogue was stiff and choppy. It didn’t seem to flow good at times. Stacie spent too much time in her head and thinking about her state trooper. Sasha sounded adorable and I found the the wildlife information interesting.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

I was drawn to “Bear Witness” because of the cover, title, and description, and because I love mysteries set in the snow. The fact that the female lead, Stacie Calder, had an Alaskan Husky added to my excitement. Overall, the story had a slower pace than I expected but became more interesting by the end. I would recommend this book for Y/A’s and for those who enjoy cozy mysteries. #NetGalley #BearWitness

This story was slowly and starkly unbelievable at times. There were parts where I kept thinking “this would never happen in real life.” I also felt the book was repetitive in a way that took away from the story. All in all, I wasnt a fan.

Wow, it truly felt at times like I was on an Alaskan boat tour, the descriptions are SO on point and atmospheric. Stacie and Sasha (her dog) are incredibly likable and can’t wait to see where the relationship with Liam goes. The mystery was well-paced with plenty of red herrings. If you’re looking for something new in a Cozy Mystery be sure to pick up this book! This is the debut of the Alaska Untamed Mystery series and I’ll be continuing the series.

Stacie Calder is a guide on a wilderness tour boat based out of Juneau, Alaska. (Don't worry about forgetting the main character's occupation, because you will be reminded of it on almost every single page of the book.) When a passenger goes missing during a tour—and his body is later discovered washed up on shore—Stacie takes it upon herself to investigate her fellow tour boat employees and some of the passengers to see who gave the victim a hand overboard.

I hate leaving negative reviews because I know how demoralizing they can be to the author. That being said, I honestly cannot come up with anything really positive to say about BEAR WITNESS.

Initially, when I requested the book on NetGalley, I was intrigued by the premise. I thought a tour boat guide in Alaska as the amateur sleuth would make for an interesting read. Unfortunately, this book was not for me.

My main issue with the book is the main character. Stacie is childish, condescending, and wishy-washy. She can't make up her mind about anything and goes back-and-forth on her opinion multiple times on the same page. It's pretty bad when, at the end of the book, I was cheering for the murderer to toss Stacie overboard the same way they did to the victim.

And then there's the dog...Stacie takes the Siberian Husky everywhere with her, and it is the most well-behaved dog of all time. (Don't worry, you'll also be reminded of how Sasha is the absolute best dog of all time almost as many times as you'll be reminded of how much Stacie loves her job.) Having spent years living with huskies, I have to say that Sasha is totally unbelievable considering the traits and personality of the breed.

I also had a major issue with the police force and the lead investigator's unprofessional demeanor and almost total lack of investigative skills. Not only does he embark on a personal/sexual relationship with Stacie (despite him considering her a suspect), he basically allows Stacie to conduct the entire investigation for him. Any real life police officer would have arrested her for obstruction of justice and tossed her in jail cell as a way to keep her from meddling in the investigation. Instead, he just lets her do whatever she wants and steps back while she interrogates his suspects. Yes, it's a cozy mystery, and it's up to the amateur sleuth to figure out the culprit before the police. But my suspension of disbelief can only be stretched so far...

As for the writing, it was slow, juvenile, and full of unnecessary and random comments such as "police question suspects, I may be a tour guide but even I know that" and "the tourists were all wearing different colored coats, but that's something you'll see in Alaska." The book is also full or repetition. (We get it. Stacie loves her job, her employers, and her dog.) There was also a lack of depth to the writing and the characters. It read like the first draft of a novice writer opposed to a polished work by an experienced writer.

With An Intriguing Premise..
With an intriguing premise and the wonderful setting of Alaska this promised to be an intriguing, possibly fun, cozy mystery with an interesting cast. Sadly, much repetition along with a slow to not moving storyline and an unrealistic love interest that simply would not work meant that the premise simply did not deliver. This seems to be a debut and is hailed as book one in the series - perhaps the series will pick up from here.

Stacie is a tour guide, introducing people to Alaskan wildlife from a boat. When a man vanishes from the tour, she thinks he's stowed away to cause trouble. But when his body is discovered out amid the ice floes, she realizes that there is something far worse at play.

I really wanted to like this book. The premise sounds so cool and so eerie, the idea of a body bobbing out in the frigid Alaskan waters. Unfortunately the story goes downhill from there.

My main issue was the character of Stacie. She felt rather flat, and it seemed like her only interests were her job and wildlife, and this interest is rather more told than shown to the reader. I also did not like her narrative voice, which was oddly chirpy and hollow. Sasha, her beloved dog, also doesn't make an impact, despite being present in nearly every scene of the story. Apart from barking at crucial moments in the story, she mostly toddles along with Stacie with nary a trace of personality.

The mystery was also very disappointing. In a course of events that beg great suspension of belief, Liam, the detective investigating the case, allows Stacie to help out, excusing it because his is an 'unconventional' office. Stacie mostly does this by badgering her coworkers about their ideas about the crime in a ham-fisted fashion. There was nary a clue to be found in this story until the last thirty pages, and even then the solution to the case is incredibly unsatisfactory.

The less said about the romance, the better. Stacie and Liam develop a relationship, but again the writing was so flat that I did not feel any attraction between them - and I don't understand why Liam would get into a sexual relationship with a potential suspect. It was very frustrating and the story could have done without it.

Do not recommend.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Overall, I enjoyed Bear Witness and I’m happy that I read it. But I do have mixed emotions about it as it was a very slow start, so I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

I picked this book to read because I was really intrigued by the different setting. An Alaskan tour boat with promises of wildlife sounded like something I’d really enjoy. I love cozy mysteries, but sometimes I get a little tired of the same type of small town setting. This was certainly different, which immediately grabbed my attention.

I loved the unique Alaska tour boat setting, the wildlife descriptions, the main character’s dog Sasha, and the love interest. Also, I was stumped until the very end and didn’t figure out “whodunit” until it was revealed.

I disliked how slow this book started. I’d say the first half of the book was slow and I didn’t really start enjoying the story until the second half. I did consider stopping reading it a few times, but I kept pressing on because I just had such high hopes. I am glad I did keep reading, because I really liked the back half of the book. Also, at times I was irritated with Stacie, the main character, at how she inserted herself into the investigation. It was just off-putting and unrealistic at times, even for a cozy. I do also wish there was a lot more information about the wildlife as that could’ve made the story even more interesting and unique.

I am happy that I read Bear Witness even with the slow start. I truly did enjoy that second half and I plan on reading the next book in the series. I want to see how the characters develop, if the love interest continues, and if there are more animals in the next one.

I wish to thank the author, NetGalley, and the publisher, Crooked Lane Books, for the complimentary advanced reader copy of this title. All opinions are honest and my own.

I liked this series, especially as I had a friend who moved to Alaska to be a parks ranger and tour guide! I thoroughly enjoyed Stacies investigation and tour spiels as well as the budding relationship with hunky Liam among the backdrop of a gorgeous Alaskan wilderness. However that said, I did find some parts repetitive at times when Stacie reiterated how much she enjoyed working for ClemTours and how her investigation was going. I also didnt like the occasional 3rd wall breach by the narrator, which seemed to randomly address the reader. But all in all, I look forward to the next installation!