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, twenty years later, as 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, 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.
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“With precision and authority, R. C. Bray narrates this intense, haunting story…Carbo describes the great beauty of Glacier in such detail that listeners will smell and feel the crisp mountain air and visualize the power and brutality of nature…Bray maintains a consistent pace and fluid expressiveness with the fast-moving plot and well-crafted characters.”
— AudioFile
“Prepare to run the gamut of emotions with this fine treat of a story. Then, in the years ahead, be on the lookout for more from this fresh new voice in the thriller genre.”
— Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author“An intense and thoroughly enjoyable thrill ride…a tour de force of suspense.”
— Linda Castillo, New York Times bestselling author“[A] tense, atmospheric thriller with its majestic Glacier National Park setting…a stunning debut!”
— Deborah Crombie, New York Times bestselling author“If the key to a mystery’s success is keeping the reader guessing, The Wild Inside is a fine example of the genre.”
— Billings Gazette (Montana)“Carbo’s provocative debut…paints a moving picture of complex, flawed people fighting to make their way in a wilderness where little is black or white, except the smoky chiaroscuro of the sweeping Montana sky.”
— Publishers Weekly“Sharp, introspective Systead is a strong series lead…in this dark foray into the wilderness subgenre.”
— BooklistChristine Carbo grew up in Gainesville, Florida, until she moved to Kalispell, Montana, when she was twelve. After earning a pilot’s license, pursuing various adventures in Norway, and a brief stint as a flight attendant, she got an MA in English and linguistics and taught writing, linguistics, and literature courses at a community college. She still teaches, in a vastly different realm, as the owner of a Pilates studio. She and her husband live in Whitefish, Montana, with their three kids, one incredibly silly dog, and one very self-possessed cat.
R. C. Bray is an award-winning audiobook narrator with over 180 titles to his credit. Besides winning five AudioFile Earphones Awards, he won the prestigious Audie Award in 2015 for Best Science Fiction Narration and has been an Audie Award finalist seven times. He has been a finalist for the Voice Arts Award, and in 2014, his narration earned a Publishers Weekly Listen-Up Award. He is also an accomplished producer and voice-over artist, and his voice can be heard in countless TV and radio commercials.