Cougar Claw

In this outdoors mystery, special agent Sam Rivers investigates the unexplained—and very unlikely—cougar attack that killed a wealthy business owner.


The sighting of a cougar in the Minnesota River Valley, outside the Twin Cities, is incredibly rare. A deadly cougar attack on a human in this area is about as likely as getting struck by lightning—twice. Yet when wealthy business owner Jack McGregor is found dead, the physical evidence seems incontrovertible.


Sheriff Rusty Benson brings in Sam Rivers, a US Fish & Wildlife (USFW) special agent and a wildlife biologist, to examine the scene and sign off on his conclusions. But Sam’s experiences have given him a penchant for understanding predators, and he has more questions than answers.


Details begin to surface that challenge law enforcement’s open-and-shut case. To find justice, Sam must take matters into his own hands. He enlists the help of reporter Diane Talbott and his wolf-dog, Gray, who’s in training to become a working dog for the USFW. Gray’s nose leads the investigation in unexpected directions. The more rocks Sam turns over, the more motives for murdering McGregor seem to slither out.


With no help or support from local law enforcement, Sam and his team are all that stand between justice and those who might otherwise get away with murder. Sam’s knowledge of backcountry, cougars, and the criminal mind will be put to the test, as he tries to solve the case—and stay alive.


In Cougar Claw, natural history writer Cary J. Griffith brings back Sam Rivers, the predator’s predator, and pens a puzzling mystery filled with suspense and intrigue.