Alpha Female [Mass Market Paperback]

April Christofferson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 30, 2009

Justice in Yellowstone National Park comes in two forms: Annie Peacock, a beautiful young judge who is the head of the park's judicial system, and Will McCarroll, long-time backcountry ranger who is obsessed with stopping poachers. Will's willingness to break every rule in the book has earned him a formidable reputation—and Annie's disdain.

Then Annie's mother is kidnapped. When Will tries to help find her,  a shocking attraction between Annie and Will starts to sizzle—and then burn.

But when Will learns of a plan for trophy hunters to shoot the park's cherished alpha female wolf, he disappears into the back country to stop them. And it's there, in the wilderness of Yellowstone, that Will discovers the true extent of the danger to Annie's mother and to Yellowstone itself.

All is not as it seems in Yellowstone country—where people are far wilder than the park's animals, danger lurks around every bend of the trail, and passions between Annie and Will climb as high as the snow-capped peaks.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Christofferson (Buffalo Medicine) expounds on the glories of Yellowstone National Park in this uneven mystery. A judge freshly escaped from a bad marriage in Seattle, Annie Peacock is fighting a painful withdrawal from anti-depressants and has a tendency to play by the book. Her clashes with park ranger Will McCarroll over protection of bison have turned initial hostility into active dislike and distrust, but they reluctantly combine forces against poachers who are shooting wolves in defiance of federal law. When Annie's elderly mother is kidnapped, ostensibly to intimidate Annie into backing away from tough sentencing of poachers, she turns to the weather-beaten ranger as the one person she can trust. Christofferson's love of the wild shines through, but the heartstring-tugging moments come at the expense of plot and pace. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

“A powerful, multilayered story.”—Stella Cameron, New York Times bestselling author of Cyprus Nights on Alpha Female

“Christofferson is a great storyteller! Alpha Female is breathtaking, a roller coaster ride through the darkest forest. Don’t miss it!”— Joan Johnston, New York Times bestselling author of A Stranger’s Game

“Set against the beauty of Yellowstone National Park, this exciting romantic eco-thriller pits the love of animals and justice—and the love between man and woman—against true evil. It’s a powerful, multilayered story.”—Stella Cameron, New York Times bestselling author of Cyprus Nights on Alpha Female

“Taking the readers deep into the ecosystem, politics, and wilds of Yellowstone National Park, Christofferson weaves an engrossing romantic thriller that grabs your heartstrings and clutches your throat. A terrific read!”—Daniel Kalla, author of Cold Plague on Alpha Female

“In Alpha Female, April Christofferson has penned a shrewd, sensitive and cautionary tale about the environment and our place within it. Seldom has any writer handled the mix of information and story with such skill and aplomb, effortlessly managing the delicate blend of romance and suspense. Compulsively readable and impossible to put down, Alpha Female is destined to dominate its terrain.”—Jon Land, author of The Seven Sins

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1 Original edition (June 30, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765344203
• ISBN-13: 978-0765344205
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #40,721 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars engaging contemporary Yellowstone tale, July 1, 2009

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Alpha Female (Mass Market Paperback)

In Yellowstone National Park, Annie Peacock is chief justice of the judicial system. She is considered a rule book judge as she opposes judicial activism. Currently Annie has moved on with a divorce but struggles with anti-depressant usage.

Park ranger Will McCarroll feels strongly that the natural habitat and its residents deserve full protection and goes out of way to do so even when judges like Annie try to restrain him. They are squabbling over his protection of bison that she feels is way beyond the requirement. However, the judge and the ranger team up stop sportsmen and poachers from breaking federal law protecting wolves. Instead the outlaws target the ALPHA FEMALE wolf leading her pack and to insure Annie cooperates, they kidnap her mother.

The insight into Yellowstone, especially the superb refreshing look at park politics that emphasizes Tip O'Neill's theory that "all politics is local" and the super romantic subplot, is terrific. However, the thriller elements never gel as they seem to remain in the background even when Will and Annie team up to prevent illegal hunting and to rescue her mom. Still this is an engaging contemporary Yellowstone tale starring two strong, obstinate heroes going from enemies to beloved enemies while uniting in a common cause.

Harriet Klausner

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Supsenseful and Inspiring Read-Can't put it down..., March 8, 2011

By 

Michael Raven Turner "tetonjhwyo11" (Durango, Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alpha Female (Mass Market Paperback)

Being a resident of Montana and a long-time advocate for Yellowstone, I first discovered Christofferson years ago with her book Clinical Trial set in Northwest Montana. This inspired me to read her powerful novel focused on the plight of the Yellowstone bison, Buffalo Medicine. With Alpha Female Christofferson takes her talents for plot, character development and suspense to a new level entirely. Anyone who loves Yellowstone must read this book. Alpha Female is authentic and clearly demonstrates Christofferson's understanding and firsthand knowledge of Yellowstone National Park and the surrounding landscape.

Reading Alpha Female in the middle of winter while the Montana landscape is blanketed under a thick layer of snow vividly transported me to a summer Yellowstone. Christofferson describes the enigmatic Yellowstone landscape in amazing detail and transports the reader to a wilderness wonderland.

With the current state of anti-wolf hysteria bellowing out of Montana's state capitol during the current legislative session, threatening to dismantle the tremendous success story that is the Yellowstone wolf recovery, this novel represents more than a can't put down thriller, but more importantly, a body of work that can hopefully inspire a greater tolerance for a majestic symbol of wildness.

Alpha Female is a beautiful and inspiring novel worthy of the Yellowstone landscape. One cannot help but fall in love with the rugged individual that is ranger Will McCarroll. And Annie is a character that anyone who has struggled will immediately connect with. Love, biology, landscape, suspense and of course, Yellowstone make this a memorable read that will stay with the read long after the book is finished.

On a side note, I recently had the great pleasure of listening to Ms. Christofferson speak and to meet one of my favorite Montana novelists. She is a remarkable woman who has a passion for her craft and the topics that she so brilliantly writes about.

Alpha Female is an important book that is hard to put down with countless twists and turns to keep the reader on edge and engaged in their own personal Yellowstone adventure. Can't wait for Christofferson's next environmental thriller...