Vanishing Edge
For fans of Christine Carbo and Scott Graham, an ex-FBI agent is on a desperate hunt for a party of vanished campers while a killer is on the loose.
The rugged landscape of Sequoia National Park is a challenge on the best of days—but when a park ranger discovers an abandoned exclusive campsite with an empty tent and high-end technical gear scattered on the shores of an alpine lake, the wilderness takes on a sinister new hue.
Thirty-two-year-old Felicity Harland—a former FBI agent who left the service in the wake of a personal tragedy and has taken her skills off the grid—is brought in as chief investigator. As a federal agent with the Investigative Services Bureau, she tackles crimes that occur on National Parks lands: unexplained falls, domestic disputes, and now a possible murder case.
The private company that set up the exclusive camp won’t reveal their client list, leaving Felicity with zero clues. As she struggles to find a lead, she’s also haunted by a painful past that dogs her at every step. But when she meets Ferdinand Huxley, a Navy SEAL turned park ranger, she begins to see the value in not just working with a partner, but trusting one, too.
The investigation takes Felicity and Hux deep into a wilderness that tests their physical limits to the extreme—and to the mean streets of Los Angeles, where they begin to learn the grisly truth behind the campers’ disappearance.
Bad things happen in the wilderness—and sometimes they’re not accidents.
Praise for Vanshing Edge
“A determined professional duo investigates wilderness wannabes: What’s not to like?”
— Kirkus Reviews
“Superbly crafted characters and a strong sense of place, Vanishing Edge is a first-rate mystery!”
— Marc Cameron, New York Times bestselling author of the Jericho Quinn series and Arliss Cutter series
“When wealthy ‘glampers’ go missing deep in Sequoia National Park, bitingly witty repartee between the pair of park-service investigators assigned to the case makes Vanishing Edge a delightful debut. I can’t wait for the next!”
— Scott Graham, National Outdoor Book Award-winning author of Canyonlands Carnage
“In Vanishing Edge, Claire Kells delivers everything an outdoor mystery needs—vivid landscapes, a chilling plot, and engaging characters, both human and canine. An outstanding debut!”
— Margaret Mizushima, author of the award-winning Timber Creek K-9 Mysteries, including Striking Range
“A disturbing crime scene deep in the wilderness, an assortment of peculiar suspects, and a gutsy, determined investigator combine to make this a first-class mystery.”
— Pamela Beason, author of the Sam Westin Mysteries
“Claire Kells delivers a taut mystery set in the rugged backcountry of Sequoia National Park. With its engaging and very likeable main characters and plot with myriad twisting, intriguing clues, this book will hook readers from the start.”
— Alice Henderson, author of A Solitude of Wolverines
“Claire Kells delivers a taut mystery that twists and turns like a trail through the backcountry. It is a mesmerizing journey through the rugged wilderness of Sequoia National Park and a clear-eyed exploration of the impact of commercialization on our fragile wild lands.”
— Todd Robert Petersen, author of Picnic in the Ruins