Description
"A gripping plot, replete with memorable surrounds and spiky characters, makes this second in the series (after Ice Hunter) an excellent choice for most collections. A good pick also for readers who enjoy outdoor mysteries by such authors as Nevada Barr or Dana Stabenow." --Library Journal "This second Woods Cop procedural is well written, suspenseful, and bleakly humorous while moving as quickly as a wolf cutting through winter woods. In addition to strong characters and a compelling romance, Heywood provides vivid, detailed descriptions of the wilderness and the various procedures and techniques of conservation officers and poachers. The tricky, evasive behavior of federal officials recalls the atmosphere of The X-Files, while the police procedure and banter evoke K.C. Constantine’s Mario Balzic series. Highly recommended." --Booklist "Compelling ideas and taut suspense distinguish the second in Heywood's series...When the action takes over, Heywood is incomparable. One hopes Heywood has a long writing career ahead of him." --Publishers Weekly Joseph Heywood is the author of running Dark, The Berkut, Taxi Dancer, The Domino Conspiracy, The Snowfly, and Ice Hunter . He lives and writes in Portage, Michigan, and frequents the wilds of the Upper Peninsula. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Excerpt from pgs. 104-105: Talking to Tree always made him feel better, but it didn't seem to change the fact that he was in a screwy situation--and this business with SuRo seemed ludicrous. He hoped she wouldn't try to chuck him out when he began asking questions. Seeing her was a waste of time, his gut told him. He had too many other questions he'd rather pursue. What was the exact security setup at Vermillion, and if there were tapes and the feds had them, when were they going to share? And what exactly was a blue wolf? For that he would have to drive all the way to Crystal Falls and see Yogi Zambonet, the biologist who headed the state's wolf recovery program. Yogi had been born in Chassell, had gotten his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota, and worked in Alaska and Idaho before returning home to Michigan, where he had developed into one of the most respected wolf biologists in the country. Within the DNR Yogi was affectionately called Wolf Daddy. A tall gaunt man with a shaggy beard and long hair tied in a ponytail, the biologist tended to spend a lot of time alone in the field observing and tracking his animals, and catching up to him might prove difficult. Service radioed the district office in Crystal Falls, asked for the biologist, and was told he was not due in until the next morning. Service left a message that he needed to see him. He left his number for a call-back, and tried to shift his thoughts to Pidge Carmody and poachers. But he was in no mood to think about work. Just outside St. Ignace he called Nantz's hotel and was put through to her room. "I'm sorry I had to bail out so fast, honey," he said. "I'm glad you called, Grady. I've been worried. What happened at Vermillion?" "There was an explosion," he said. "But people were killed. Is this related to the stuff at Tech?" "We don't know," he said. "You should see the vultures gathering: feds, state, county, everybody seems to be looking for a piece of the action." Read more
Features & Highlights
- Upper Michigan Conservation Officer Grady Service has a case on his hands that doesn’t make sense. A series of protests and bombs planted by a group of animal-rights activists appears to have culminated in a double murder at a wolf lab, which releases into the wild an extraordinarily rare animal: a blue wolf. To the Ojibwa a blue wolf represents good luck--unless it is captured or killed, and then it is an omen of Armageddon. Service suspects that the murders aren’t what they seem to be when the FBI takes over the investigation and reaches far beyond its jurisdiction. Meanwhile, an elusive poaching ring that has been systematicallykilling trophy deer sets its sights on wolves, of which there is a growing wild population in the Upper Peninsula. Once again, Service must defend his hallowed Mosquito Wilderness in a race against time when it becomes clear that the poachers’ final target is the blue wolf. The novel’s brilliant finale will cement Heywood’s reputation as one of today’s great mystery writers, and the Wood Cops series as the most exciting to come along in years. Full of memorable characters and steeped in the lives of the Woods Cops,
- Blue Wolf in Green Fire
- is also a masterpiece of suspense. This second book in the Woods Cop series is a fully satisfying journey into the natural world and beyond, into the terrifying extremes of human nature.
