Fatal Descent

April 8, 2013
The tension runs high in Groundwater’s absorbing third RM Outdoor Adventures mystery (after 2012’s Wicked Eddies), in which river guide Mandy Tanner and her fiancé, Rob Juarez, take their outfitter company to Utah for an off-season combined rafting-and-climbing trip. The 17 clients and guides who set out down the Colorado River also include, among others, climbing guide Tom “Cool” O’Day, who’s more than a bit sleazy, and three ladies on an annual girls’ outing, who are likable and enthusiastic. The trip starts out well, but when one of the travelers is found dead, Mandy begins to think that the whitewater downstream is not the only danger they face. The stakes get much higher when a climbing harness snaps with nearly fatal results. Mandy and Rob have to ferret out a killer before he—or she—tries again. Scenic descriptions and folklore add atmosphere to a suspenseful tale.

May 1, 2013
A late-season rafting trip spells trouble for a river ranger doubling as an adventure tour guide. Mandy Tanner (Wicked Eddies, 2012, etc.) still spends her summers patrolling the Arkansas River in her home state of Colorado. But she and fiance Rob Juarez want so much to build up the client base of their fledgling RM Outdoor Adventures that they take a group on an October rafting/mountaineering trip down the Colorado River, which happens to be in Utah. To accommodate the climbers, they add Tom "Cool" O'Day to RM regulars Gonzo and Kendra. This late in the season, the placid waters of Lake Powell and the whitewater of Cataract Canyon will be so deserted that Mandy hopes the dozen hardy souls signed up for the tour get along. They don't. West Coast multicultural gal pals Betsy, Mo and Viv are fine. They spend most of their time in their tent drinking box wine. Tina Norton, however, had the bright idea of inviting both of her divorced parents on the trip, and geology professor Elsa can't help sniping mercilessly at her wimpy ex, Paul. The Andersons may be even worse. Out-of-shape parents Hal and Diana expect an outdoor Ritz Carlton, complete with valet service. Adult children Alice, Amy and Alex squabble. Amy's husband, Les Williams, is a braggart and a bully. When Alex is mauled to death by a marauding bear, the trip swiftly spirals out of control. With their radio busted and no one on the trails to call for help, the RM crew has no choice other than to continue until they reach their designated take-out point at the end of Cataract. But naturalist Mo's observation that the claw marks found on Alex aren't the ones you'd expect from the canyon's native black bears set Mandy on edge with fears of still more destruction ahead. Figuring out which river is in which state is just the beginning of readers' frustration, as Groundwater squanders her opportunities for complex interactions among interesting characters, focusing instead on how her heroine's virtue shines imperishably through.

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June 1, 2013

Mandy Tanner and her fiance, Rob Juarez, think one late-season whitewater river outing can help put their Colorado-based expedition company on the tourist map. But the compatibility necessary for a tour group is missing because they have not one but two feuding families. One has siblings sniping at each other and the other a daughter trying to reunite her estranged parents. Then, devastatingly, a member of one of the families is killed, seemingly by a bear attack. Then a climbing accident endangers a woman from the other family, and the paranoia factor quickly ratchets up. Just as the river becomes more dangerous owing to rapids, the intensity of the violence escalates as well. Mandy and Rob must maneuver smartly if they want to paddle their group safely out of this death trap. VERDICT Groundwater's third entry (after the Left Coast Crime Rocky Award finalist Wicked Eddies) is marked by an outdoorsy intensity and authentic sports chatter sure to resonate with Nevada Barr readers. Her methodical, gentle buildup mirrors the river's course so that when the characters hit the rapids, life jackets are a must.

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