Review by Kirkus Book Review
A wildlife expert takes a winter job that puts her in mortal jeopardy. Stacie Calder, a part-time volunteer at Juneau Wildlife World, is thrilled to be starting a paid job at the sanctuary. Over the summer, she and her husky, Sasha, have guided visitors on the ClemElk tour boat, and now director Wayne Deerfield is letting the well-behaved Sasha join her in many parts of the sanctuary where she wouldn't come into contact with the animals. Just before joining the staff, Stacie has a run-in with new manager Oliver Brownling, who wants to throw her and Sasha out, but Wayne takes her side, freeing her to enjoy the biggest part of her job: taking long hikes around the property to check on the animals, who are kept in large, fenced areas for their safety, since some have been injured in the past. But Oliver continues to harass her about Sasha, even after she and another worker notice a wounded wolf and bring it in for veterinary care. When Oliver is found dead, it looks as if he's been attacked by wolves until the medical examiner determines that some type of weapon caused his wounds. As the person who recently had words with Oliver, Stacie is high on the list of suspects, and Liam Amaruq, the Alaska State Trooper she's been dating, has to recuse himself and can't give her much information. So she'll have to prove her own innocence even though her inquiries among the staff put her in danger. Plenty of suspects and wildlife lore are undercut by boring, one-dimensional characters. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
