An Unforgiving Place: A National Parks Mystery, Book 2 (audiobook) by Claire Kells








Published by Dreamscape Media in 2022.
Read by Cady Zuckerman.
Duration: 9 hours, 18 minutes.
Unabridged.

Edgar Award nominee.

Synopsis:

An Unforgiving Place is the second book featuring Felicity Harland of the Investigative Services Branch. If you are not familiar with the ISB, join the club - I had no idea that it was the "FBI" of the National Parks Service. If the local park can't deal with it, they call in the ISB. That always include murders.

Harland is partners with a park ranger nicknamed Hux. He is a big, strong guy. Harland is a short (but very tough and determined) lady. There is always of undercurrent of romantic attraction between the two, but it is never acted upon for fear of messing up their friendship and working relationship. Her dog rounds out the trio.

In this series, the ISB moves the agents around from park to park. I have no idea if that is what happens in real life but it does let the reader get a feel for a new park in every book.

An Unforgiving Place is set in Alaska at Gates of the Arctic National Park - a park that is literally in the middle of nowhere. You have to fly in on a bush plane or a float plane to visit big chunks of the park. Harland and Hux get called on because two missing hikers have shown up dead along a river in an isolated place.

After some detailed internet research, it is determined that the two hikers are a couple from New Jersey who came to Alaska in search of a man who offered to cure their infertility troubles with native cures.

They are flown in and almost immediately encounter a group camping nearby. Things get tense when they decide to pass themselves as a adventure hiking couple and join the campers for a few nights...

My Review:

In my mind, the author makes a mistake by letting the readers in on who the victims are and why they are going to Alaska. The reader doesn't experience the mystery likes the investigators and I think that takes some of the steam out of the story.

I gave the first book in this series a rating of 4 out of 5 stars. I liked it well enough that I bought this audiobook (usually I am an avid library patron but they didn't have this audiobook.) However, I am rating this book 3 stars out of 5. It's not a bad book at all, but the mystery was diluted by the issue noted in the previous paragraph. I will continue on the the third book.

This book is available on Amazon.com here: An Unforgiving Place: A National Parks Mystery, Book 2 by Claire Kells.

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