Death Canyon
A Jake Trent Novel
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
The debut novel—“a true thrill ride” (Suspense magazine)—in the series featuring prosecutor-turned-Wyoming-fishing-guide Jake Trent: “a twisting, turning, murderous tale that thriller readers will love” (New York Times bestselling author Michael McGarrity).
It’s early summer in Jackson, Wyoming, where former prosecutor Jake Trent has left the law behind to pursue his dream: becoming a fishing guide and opening a small bed-and-breakfast in the West. Now three seemingly unrelated deaths have occurred in one day—unheard of in the scenic valley of Jackson Hole—disrupting Jake’s idyllic new life.
A skier perishes in a freak late-season avalanche. A French couple is discovered mutilated on a remote trail—presumably by a bear. And on the Snake River, Jake stumbles across the body of an expensively attired fisherman. Meanwhile, a series of small earthquakes—not to mention a bitter dispute between land developers and environmentalists—has left the townspeople uneasy.
Before long, the plausible explanations for each death dissolve. Could there be a sinister connection among them? When fresh evidence points to Jake as a suspect, he goes on the defensive. Is someone out to frame him? Jake teams up with beautiful park ranger Noelle Klimpton to get to the bottom of this series of disturbing events. The trail leads right to the region’s crown-jewel attraction: Yellowstone. With “all the elements of a successful thriller” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette), Death Canyon features “evocative Rocky Mountain themes, a spot-on sense of place, brilliant fly-fishing scenes and characters you just want to root for” (New York Times bestselling author C.J. Box).
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bertsch tries to do too much in his workmanlike debut, which introduces Jake Trent, who, like his creator, is a former lawyer turned fly-fishing guide in Jackson, Wyo. On a solo fishing trip on the Snake River, Trent discovers a body caught in a deadfall, retrieves it, and takes it to the Jackson police chief. But he ends up a suspect when an autopsy suggests foul play. A tourist's death from a putative bear attack and another in a freak avalanche lead Trent to muse: "Three people, three violent deaths, two days, one small town." Trent, who teams with Park Ranger Noelle Klimpton, the obligatory romantic interest, realizes much more is at stake than his safety, as discord over a proposed 220-lot housing development and the actions of an over-the-top villain called the Shaman threaten a major disaster. Ominous seismic events add to the sense of peril. Bertsch clearly knows the environmental issues involving the Wyoming wilderness, but he needs to sharpen his focus if he's to rival Craig Johnson or C.J. Box.
