The Wild Inside
By: Christine Carbo
Narrated by: R.C. Bray
Series: Glacier Mysteries, Book 1
Length: 13 hrs and 1 min
Unabridged Audiobook
Release date: 06-16-15
Language: English
Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Book Blurb
For fans of Louise Penny, C. J. Box, and Nevada Barr comes a haunting crime novel set in Glacier National Park, where one man finds himself on a collision course with the dark heart of the wild and the even darker heart of human nature.
It was a clear, starry night in Glacier National Park. Fourteen-year-old Ted Systead and his father were camping peacefully beneath the rugged peaks and sweeping sky when the unimaginable happened: Ted’s father was mauled by a grizzly bear and dragged to his death.
Now, 20 years later, as a special agent for the Department of the Interior, Ted is called back to investigate a crime that echoes the horror of that night. Only this time the victim was tied to a tree before the animal’s attack. Ted teams up with one of the park officers – a man named Monty, whose pleasant exterior masks an all-too-vivid knowledge of the area. Residents of the nearby community are less than forthcoming. Suspicious of outsiders and intimately connected to the wilderness that surrounds them, they confront their fellow man and nature with equal measures of reverence and brutality. As the days pass with no clear answers, not only is human life at stake but so too is that of a majestic creature who carries with it valuable evidence. Ted’s search for truth takes him far into the wilderness, on the trail of a killer, and eventually to a shocking and unexpectedly personal conclusion.
Rich in atmosphere and evocative, lush descriptions, The Wild Inside is a gripping debut novel about the wondrously perilous intersection between man and nature.
My Review
This was such a riveting novel! I devoured it & jumped right into the next book. The whole atmosphere of the book really grabbed me. Of course, there’s the odd and grisly murder of Victor Lance. Then there’s the FBI agent Ted Systead, who has a very dark & violent event from his teen years that overshadows his personality. Toss in the wild and dangerous setting, Glacier National Park in Montana.
I was mostly fascinated by Ted. I have to admit I jumped into this book without reading the book blurb. It was the cover art and the audiobook narrator (RC Bray) that made me choose this book. So I didn’t know going into it that Ted’s dad was attacked by a grizzly bear when Ted was a teen (as described in the book blurb). I have to say that made the reveal super intense. As an adult, Ted seems to be a fully functioning adult. Yet the bear attack event left him a bit scarred. He’s emotionally distant from people, always in control. Yet this case will get under his skin. It riled up all sorts of emotions in me to see him process his past as well as certain aspects of this case.
While I did guess the whodunnit part about half way through, I still wanted to know how and the details of why. Victor Lance was not a good soul. There were plenty of people with solid reasons for wanting him dead. Yet Ted and his local park police contact, Monty, have to hold up the law. There is no grey area for them. Vigilante justice is not justice at all. And I loved that part too because once you know who and why, vigilante justice doesn’t look so bad. More mixed feelings!
All around, it was just a delicious suspense with plenty of insight into the nature of being human. Also, I feel like I learned a bit about how National Forests are policed and about bears getting ready for hibernation. 5/5 stars.
The Narration: R. C. Bray was the perfect pick for this story. I’m used to his voice for more fast-paced scifi stories, but here he shows his skill at building suspense and mastering the slow burn reveal of a great murder mystery. His voice for Ted was perfect, being jaded. He also had a great voice for Monty, the younger, chipper sidekick. Bray’s female character voices were feminine and all characters had a unique voice. There were no tech issues with the recording. 5/5 stars.