I have recently discovered a new (to me) flavour of mystery: the wilderness mystery, usually investigated by a young woman in the ranger service or a wildlife biologist. I'm thinking of Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon, Claire Kells' National Parks Mysteries, Sarah Yarwood-Lovett’s Nell Ward, even Anne Frasier's Inland Empire series or Annelise Ryan's Monster Hunter Mysteries. Add to the list Pamela Beason and her Sam Westin.
All of these feature intelligent, capable women doing their best in challenging situations. I wouldn't trade places with any of them, but I enjoy reading their exploits. At first, I was worried that Summer (Sam) Westin would follow in the footsteps of Alex Carter in A Solitude of Wolverines, which wasn't my cup of tea at all. Sam's struggle to prevent the hunting of mountain lions verged on the obsessive, like Alex, and there were “evil hunters" involved, but she never became the rather Terminator-like character that Alex was. And the challenges Sam faces were realistic-ish. I did think that Beason put her main character through a physical torture test (rather similar to Barr's writing about Anna Pigeon).
Sam is discovering that her journalist maybe-boyfriend is an opportunistic jerk, who is willing to “report” anything to get ahead. She is definitely feeling used, but there is an attractive FBI agent to distract Summer from this situation. I couldn't help liking Agent Chase Perez, who also seems to have a bit of a thing for Sam.
I'm sold. I need to read book two. My library doesn't have it but a neighboring city's does. Interlibrary loan for the win.
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