Customer Reviews

Blue Wolf in Green Fire: A Woods Cop Mystery

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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Joseph Heywood's excellent second volume addition to his Woods Cop series! Especially for those who love the outdoors as seen from the sportsman's perspective, police investigation mystery enthusiasts, and most particularly those who have a personal knowledge of various locations and the culture in Michigan's Upper Pennisula (U.P.).

While some readers may find Heywood's character development and geographic references esoteric unless they've read the first Woods Cop series novel "Ice Hunter", this text does stand on its own and offers several exciting plot twists, excellent drama, and is satisfying in that the finish is not predictable.

Using the slant of law enforcement from a conservation officer's (a.k.a. game warden's) perspective makes this book a very unique offering.

This is a nice change of pace for readers of mysteries,
because it is about a Michigan game warden, and he works
in that "far off" world of the Upper Peninsula. This is
a nice introduction to the rather different life of a
game warden, who sometimes has to work like a regular cop,
but who also has to give priority to the well-being of
the wild animals he is to protect.
And how many game wardens, let along cops, get to work on
tracking down poachers whose ranks include professional

killers of protected animals, foreigners, IRA terrorists,
and whose enemies include tight-lipped FBI agents and
Native Americans?
This guy has a maze of enemies whose relationships equal
those of a soap opera, and he has to sort through them like
the best of our detectives.
The story revolves around a mysterious explosion at an
unusual federal animal research lab on the shores of Lake
Superior, where 2 people are shot at close range, but where,
at the same time, 5 timber wolves escape. And when our game
warden arrives, he finds the place guarded by FBI agents,
with help from the Fish & Wildlife Svc and other strange
people. Plus, as he pokes around, he bumps into an Ojibway
game warden, who shouldn't even be there, but our guy, Grady
Service, hears about a very unusual "blue wolf" which is among
those escaping animals.
This is a nice, intricate mystery involving a large number of
people of all kinds, and it all takes place in the beautiful,
and sometimes lonely, U.P. of Michigan about the time deer
hunting season is to begin. It makes for a complex set of
characters, and this hero's march through the wilderness,
both natural and political, makes good reading.

I really enjoyed this series of books very much. The descriptions of the scenery were especially good and you could really get a feel of the atmosphere. The complaint I have with the books is the constant reference to the protagonist by his first and last names, rather than just his first name and I thought this was rather due to poor editing by his publishers.

Joseph Heywood's books grab you right from the beginning to the end. I highly recommend all of Joe's books in this series!

I loved this book and can't wait to read the rest of the Woods Cop Mysteries. The characters are great. Grady is an old school C.O. who is more comfortable alone in the woods than with people. His girlfriend, Maridly, is a real fire cracker. Seldom does a character like Limpy come along too.

This book has really made me appreciate what the conservation officers do.

The Woods cop mystery series is great reading. I can't wait for the 7th book to be released. Joseph Heywood should consider turning his works into a HBO miniseries or for that matter a big screen movie series (aka Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings). I hope he continues with the Woods Cop Mysteries.

There is no reason why this writer isn't on your list. Except for a "too tricky" ending that was seen from afar, this is the real thing.

Reviewed by Sondra Fowler for Reader Views (7/06)

Grady Service, a detective for the Department of Natural Resources in Michigan's Upper-Peninsula, is dependable, daring, creative and a bit of a lone wolf himself yet behaves as a young pup when in the company of his much younger Girlfriend Maridly Nantz. While Maridly is away dealing with her own DNR pursuits Grady is pulled into explosions, wolf killings, commercial poaching and governmental red tape just before hunting season starts. Grady must use all of his resources to bring the killer to justice, make some sense of the bombing at a federal wolf research lab and help save a blue wolf.

There is sex, guns, intrigue and the occasional bear, what more can you want?
I really enjoyed this book. There were many characters and each one was colorful and believable. Heywood created a wonderful natural setting for the story to thrive in. I loved the Amish/ Mennonite skirmish. That and many other events made such a bevy of little emergencies that you could feel harrowed energy in the character of Service. It all goes together seamlessly. I had never read anything that took this path before. It was interesting to see inside the DNR's workings and the lives of Conservation Officers. Living in Indiana near many DNR areas I see many Conservation Officers but never thought about the plights of hunting season or illegal activities in those areas. This book goes beyond hunting and hiking. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good story.

Received book free of charge.