Author: Mark Stevens
ISBN: 13: 978-0-9774188-1-7:
10: 0-9774188-1-2
If you thought that the Colorado Flat Tops wilderness didn’t possess sufficient fodder for murder and mystery, you may have to reconsider after you read Antler Dust.
With Antler Dust, former newspaper reporter and television news producer, Mark Stevens, has built an ambitious debut novel from two separate plot threads that eventually tie up.
Our principal protagonist, outfitter and guide Allison Coil, who as Stevens remarks, is something of a rarity in the macho land of the Rocky Mountains, finds herself caught up in something she spotted one evening when she heard a gun shot and a minute later someone dragging a large object. As she recounts her sighting to her boyfriend and forest ranger David Slater, it seems that whomever she had seen was in a great big hurry to remove a large object from the site. When she tracks down the location where she believed her sighting occurred, all she finds is a dead elk that apparently hadn’t been shot, as there were no wounds. Slater listens attentively to Coil however he doesn’t seem to be convinced that anything unlawful had occurred.
Coil does not realize that her sighting would eventually entangle her in the accidental death of an animal rights protester, Ray Stern, and the disappearance of a legendary guide and skilled hunter, Rocky Carnivitas. The latter was employed by an outfitting company owned by the boorish and nasty George Grumley who thinks very little of carrying on some prohibited business activities in order to safeguard his guide service interests that caters to some very wealthy clients. Carnivitas is aware of these activities and tries his hand at a little extortion with the support of Grumley’s wife Trudy, with whom he is having an affair. Apparently, Trudy is in need of expensive medical care to take care of seizures she has been experiencing and Grumley refuses to permit her to receive the care she requires.
One of the participants in Grumley’s Hunting parties, Dean Applegate, believes he accidentally killed our animal rights protester, Ray Stern. It turns out that Applegate has a “sudden case of conscience" and decides that he is finished with hunting and will now join the ranks of animal protesters who, incidentally, have set up tents in the Rocky Mountains under the leadership of Dawn Ellenberg who welcomes him with open arms, knowing full well that this is a terrific public relations coup.
Coil is afraid that the authorities will put little effort into finding the cause of death of Stern or the disappearance of Carnivitas, whose disappearance she learns about when she meets up with and befriends Trudy Grumley. Trudy decides to contact Coil as she is concerned with the disappearance of her lover. Moreover, it seems that none of her husband’s employees are able to help her track him down. All of this leads to Coil’s tenacious desire to find out what actually happened to Stern and Carnivitas which no doubt rattles Grumley, who fears that the truth may eventually come out pertaining to his illicit activities, ultimately leading to dire consequences.
Antler Dust is an easy read and has all the elements of a good novel with its opening hook and inventive plot. I even found Stevens’ surprising ending to be quite a bold stroke. However, I felt that the tension in this novel would have been more effectively sustained had Stevens used more show than tell. Nonetheless, Antler Dust is a solid effort and I look forward to reading more from Mark Stevens.
The above review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN: Retired Title Attorney: Editor & Publisher of Bookpleasures. Here are Norm Goldman's Reviews
To read Norm's Interview with Mark Stevens CLICK HERE |
