Book Description
The stunning true story of a double homicide in the vibrant native Alaskan Iñupiat community at the arctic edge of the United States—written by the public defender at its center
Rebecca Wright is a defense attorney living in the Lower 48 when she suddenly finds herself a widow and an empty nester. In need of a radical change, she accepts a public defender position in Utqiagvik on Alaska’s North Slope, an oil-rich area the size of Wyoming where the Iñupiat community holds great cultural, political, and economic power. Though she’ll always be a tanik—an outsider—she works hard to gain the trust and friendship of the folks who call this singular place home.
When two well-known sisters, Bernice and Wanda Ipalook, are found murdered, Wright is tasked with representing Amos Lane, a drifter on the short-list of murder suspects. Criminal charges are looming. But this is summer in northern Alaska, the season of the midnight sun, when twenty-four-hour sunlight makes it difficult for witnesses to confirm the time—or even the day—they last saw the sisters, Amos, or anyone else. Wright must navigate an unreliable client, a prosecution willing to entrap her to get a conviction, a budding romance, and a community that believes Amos might deserve a different form of justice from what the tanik legal system can provide.
Weaving a detailed portrait of Utqiagvik alongside Wright’s complex self-portrait of an outsider in an isolated community, Sisters of the Midnight Sun is a riveting true account that brings to vivid life a land at the edge of the habitable world.
Praise For This Book
A New York Times Book Review Most Anticipated Book of SummerOprah Daily, A Best Book of the Summer
Debutiful, A Most Anticipated Book of the Year
"Written with curiosity, empathy, and humility, this is true crime, second-act reinvention, and extreme-landscape immersion in one crystalline package." —Charley Burlock, Oprah Daily
"A true crime novel worth your time . . . An engrossing read that that blends memoir and cultural criticism." —Adam Vitcavage, Debutiful
“[A]n engrossing blend of memoir, travelogue, and courtroom drama about a double murder in the wilds of Alaska . . . The account culminates with courtroom fireworks, but it works equally well as a more modest fish out of water narrative. Readers will be rapt.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“The heady mix of true crime and clashing cultures makes for a thrilling, thought-provoking read . . . [Stevens's] talents as a writer shine through in scene after memorable scene that evoke Scandinavian noir. Potent, morally complex storytelling that gets under the skin.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Stevens skillfully sets the scene, detailing the claustrophobia of a town where everyone is a witness and no one is a stranger. The writing is gripping as she describes the procedural hurdles specific to the region: having to take prop planes to inaccessible areas, the importance of oral testimony, and the gut-wrenching stakes for a community trying to get justice for people they had known their entire lives, slain and accused alike . . . Sisters of the Midnight Sun is for readers who grew up on the razor-sharp courtroom dramas of Scott Turow or the high-stakes atmospheric tension of John Grisham, delivering an extra bite that feels like a bracing breath of sub-zero air. It provides the satisfaction of a legal thriller while serving as an insightful investigation into a territory those in the Lower 48 rarely see clearly. This is a haunting, expertly crafted reminder that the law is only as strong as the people who uphold it.” —Elizabeth DeNoma, Shelf Awareness
“Sisters of the Midnight Sun is a marvelous offering to true crime fans everywhere, set in a complex native Alaskan community, with a compelling protagonist in Rebecca Wright Stevens, a Public Defender obsessed with justice for two sisters murdered during the long months of endless sun." —James Dalessandro, author of 1906: A Novel and Citizen Jane
“We see many books involving interesting crimes and trials, but Sisters of the Midnight Sun stands by itself. Ms. Wright Stevens is an experienced public defender who finds herself representing a man for murder in an Alaskan Inupiat community. She develops ethical issues when she comes to doubt her client’s innocence. As an outsider, Ms. Wright Stevens skillfully and with great sensitivity explores the character of the community and how its culture and traditions might affect her perception and handling of the case. The ending is a satisfying conclusion to this compelling and beautifuly told story.” —Harry MacLean, author of Starkweather
"A harrowing literary journey into a stark, unforgiving, and breathtaking land on the edge of the Arctic frontier—where women and girls are murdered with alarming frequency and little notice. A gorgeously crafted fusion of true crime, murder mystery, legal thriller, and one woman’s passage from personal devastation to hard-won triumph. This will remind you why there is still nothing better than a great book." —Peter Houlahan, author of Reap the Whirlwind
"The question of who killed the Ipalook sisters serves as a jumping off point for a fascinating exploration of a community, the limits of justice, the capacity for forgiveness, and one extraordinary public defender's sojourn beneath the midnight sun." —Robert Dugoni, New York Times bestselling author
"Ms. Stevens shows the behind-the-scenes of criminal defense. Whether in the South Carolina Lowcountry, or 4,000 miles away in Arctic Alaska, it requires painstaking effort, courage, and a commitment to Constitutional fair play. And it is essential to American justice." —Dick Harpootlian, Lead Counsel for Alex Murdaugh and author of Dig Me a Grave
