A ghost of caribou : a novel of suspense

Title:

A ghost of caribou : a novel of suspense

Author:

Henderson, Alice

ISBN:

9780063223004

Physical Description:

309 pages : map ; 24 cm.

Series:

Alex Carter ; third

Alex Carter series ; 3.

Summary:

Alex Carter heads to northeastern Washington State to investigate a possible sighting of a mountain caribou--an animal that became extinct in the contiguous U.S. years ago--and becomes embroiled in a clash between loggers and activists and the murder of a local forest ranger.

Genre:

Thrillers (Fiction)

Subject:

Women biologists -- Fiction.

Wildlife refuges -- Fiction.

Caribou -- Fiction.

Murder -- Investigation -- Fiction.

Washington (State) -- Fiction.

Thrillers (Fiction)

Available:*

Library	Collection	Material Type	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
Searching... Cobourg Branch	Searching... Unknown	Adult Fiction	F Hen	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Building upon the highly acclaimed debut of Alice Henderson's A Solitude of Wolverines and its follow-up thriller A Blizzard of Polar Bears comes the eagerly anticipated and electrifying third installment A Ghost of Caribou, in which wildlife biologist Alex Carter encounters an unsolved murder and a town in turmoil while in search of this majestic, all-but-vanished animal.

When a remote camera on a large, rugged expanse held by the Land Trust for Wildlife Conservation picks up a blurry image of what could be a mountain caribou, they contact Alex Carter to investigate. After all, mountain caribou went extinct in the contiguous U.S. years ago, and if one has wandered down from Canada, it's monumental.

But when Alex arrives on scene in the Selkirk mountains of northeastern Washington state, she quickly learns that her only challenge isn't finding an elusive caribou on a massive piece of land. The nearby townspeople are agitated; loggers and activists clash over a swath of old growth forest marked for clearcutting. The murdered body of a forest ranger is found strung up in the town's park, and Alex learns of a backcountry hiker who went missing in the same area the year before.

As she ventures into the forest in search of the endangered animal, she quickly finds herself in a fight for her life, caught between factions warring for the future of the forest and a murderer stalking the dense groves of ancient trees.

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

In Henderson's evocative third wilderness thriller (after 2021's A Blizzard of Polar Bears), the Land Trust for Wildlife Conservation sends wildlife biologist Alex Carter to Bellamy, Wash., to determine whether the mountain caribou, extinct in the contiguous U.S. for years, has migrated down from Canada to the Selkirk Mountains in northeastern Washington. The day Alex arrives, the body of a forest ranger is found in the town park, and the sheriff asks her to be on the lookout for any remains of a hiker who vanished a year earlier. Meanwhile, residents of Bellamy Falls and activists are at odds with loggers and developers who want to clear a swath of old growth forest. Henderson neatly integrates a master class on forests, caribou, and other endangered animals into Alex's suspenseful search for caribou--and for a killer. The eventual sighting of the elusive caribou, "the gray ghosts of the forest," is indeed an exciting moment. Alex, who thrives on the outdoors and solitude, makes a formidable heroine, while the breathtaking scenery illustrates why a person would want to be one with nature. Environmental crime fiction doesn't get much better than this. (Nov.)

Booklist Review

In the third Alex Carter novel (following A Blizzard of Polar Bears, 2021), the wildlife biologist's search to prove the existence of a rare mountain caribou in Washington State leads her into a life-and-death situation. A forest ranger in a small town has been murdered and before long Alex realizes that she, too, could be in jeopardy. But why? Could one of the residents of the town be a killer? Readers who enjoy a well-paced, suspenseful thriller will give this book a thumbs up, but A Ghost of Caribou is more than that. Like C. J. Box's Joe Pickett novels and Paul Doiron's Mike Bowditch thrillers, the Alex Carter novels tackle real issues of environmentalism and wildlife conservation. The theme isn't just window dressing but rather is fundamental to the story. As much as we care about Alex's fate at the hands of a killer, we also care about the animal that brought her to the mountains in the first place. There's real passion here, and that gives the novel added substance.