Mara (marasbookbarn) -
Alex Carter is at it again in the third book of the wildlife biologist doing her best to save endangered species.
This time the Selkirk mountains of North-Eastern Washington State is the setting for this fast-moving thriller with townspeople at odds with loggers, activists, and enough angst to keep things moving at a fast pace.
Hired by the Land Trust for Wildlife Conservation to locate a mountain caribou that has possibly wandered in old growth forest (that a logging company wants cut down), Alex is thrust into desperately wanting to save this supposedly extinct animal, and stumbling on a murder in the wild. Which puts her once again alone with a target on her back, and all the thrills and chills.
What I really liked about this series also, is at the end of each book, the author talks about the endangered species of the book, the reality of their survival currently, and what those of us who care can do to help. Plus actually tells exactly what can be done and how.
If you are in a book club, I'd highly recommend this series for discussion. There are 3 books in the series so far, and I hope more to come.
This time the Selkirk mountains of North-Eastern Washington State is the setting for this fast-moving thriller with townspeople at odds with loggers, activists, and enough angst to keep things moving at a fast pace.
Hired by the Land Trust for Wildlife Conservation to locate a mountain caribou that has possibly wandered in old growth forest (that a logging company wants cut down), Alex is thrust into desperately wanting to save this supposedly extinct animal, and stumbling on a murder in the wild. Which puts her once again alone with a target on her back, and all the thrills and chills.
What I really liked about this series also, is at the end of each book, the author talks about the endangered species of the book, the reality of their survival currently, and what those of us who care can do to help. Plus actually tells exactly what can be done and how.
If you are in a book club, I'd highly recommend this series for discussion. There are 3 books in the series so far, and I hope more to come.
Cathy C. (cathyskye) -
Alice Henderson's Alex Carter novels have become my Go-To Reads whenever I need a vicarious adrenaline rush with a one-two punch of wildlife and the great outdoors. A Ghost of Caribou is no exception.
There's always the opportunity to learn with Alex Carter. In this book, it's remote locations, camping, caring for remote cameras, how to collar an animal... and how to avoid getting killed. I enjoyed learning about mountain caribou as well as the Selkirk Mountains and setting up remote cameras, and my craving for an adrenaline rush was certainly fulfilled.
Alex Carter is one of the best female characters in the thriller business. Her father may be a guest artist at a different national park each year (in A Ghost of Caribou, he's at the Grand Canyon), but her mother was a fighter pilot who played survival games with the growing Alex, and-- boy howdy-- does she ever use everything she learned at her mother's knee! (It's also nice to have a main character with two loving and supporting parents.) Alex is well able to take care of herself, and readers won't catch her doing anything stupid.
But there's more to this series than a kick-ass main character, thrilling action scenes (how about that ultra-scary "UFO"!), and wildlife. There's Sheriff Maggie Taggert, a capable, take-charge woman who works well with Alex. There are the unexpected laughs amid all that tension ("If she kept taking these gigs, she'd have to invest in a satellite phone"-- something that I'd been thinking), and the chilling hunt for a killer targeting older women. There's also the fact that Alex learns more about herself each time she takes one of these assignments, so she's not the typical "action figure" who never changes.
If you're in the mood for fast-paced excitement in the great outdoors with a strong, capable female lead character, head straight for Alice Henderson's Alex Carter books. They're fantastic.
There's always the opportunity to learn with Alex Carter. In this book, it's remote locations, camping, caring for remote cameras, how to collar an animal... and how to avoid getting killed. I enjoyed learning about mountain caribou as well as the Selkirk Mountains and setting up remote cameras, and my craving for an adrenaline rush was certainly fulfilled.
Alex Carter is one of the best female characters in the thriller business. Her father may be a guest artist at a different national park each year (in A Ghost of Caribou, he's at the Grand Canyon), but her mother was a fighter pilot who played survival games with the growing Alex, and-- boy howdy-- does she ever use everything she learned at her mother's knee! (It's also nice to have a main character with two loving and supporting parents.) Alex is well able to take care of herself, and readers won't catch her doing anything stupid.
But there's more to this series than a kick-ass main character, thrilling action scenes (how about that ultra-scary "UFO"!), and wildlife. There's Sheriff Maggie Taggert, a capable, take-charge woman who works well with Alex. There are the unexpected laughs amid all that tension ("If she kept taking these gigs, she'd have to invest in a satellite phone"-- something that I'd been thinking), and the chilling hunt for a killer targeting older women. There's also the fact that Alex learns more about herself each time she takes one of these assignments, so she's not the typical "action figure" who never changes.
If you're in the mood for fast-paced excitement in the great outdoors with a strong, capable female lead character, head straight for Alice Henderson's Alex Carter books. They're fantastic.
