Death Canyon — David Riley Bertsch

The gripping debut thriller featuring attorney-turnedfishing- guide Jake Trent, whose idyllic life is upended by a series of grisly killings.

Early summer in Jackson, Wyoming, finds former East Coast prosecutor Jake Trent wading through a swift current of local politics, introspection, and tragedy.

After leaving law behind, Jake escaped big-city life to pursue his dream: setting up as a fishing guide and opening a small bed-and-breakfast in the West. Now three seemingly unrelated deaths have occurred in one day -- unheard of in the scenic valley of Jackson Hole -- disrupting Jake's contented new life.

A skier perishes in a freak late-season avalanche. A French couple is discovered mutilated -- presumably by a bear -- on a remote trail in Grand Teton National Park. On the Snake River, Jake himself finds the body of an expensively attired tourist fisherman. Meanwhile, a series of small earthquakes -- not to mention a bitter dispute between land developers and a cultlike group of environmentalists -- has left the townspeople uneasy.

Before long, the plausible explanations for each death dissolve. Could there be a sinister connection among them? When fresh evidence points to him as a suspect, Jake Trent is put on the defensive. Is someone out to frame him? Can Jake keep the demons from his past at bay while he tries to discover the truth behind the mysterious deaths?

Defying the police, Jake teams up with beautiful park ranger Noelle Klimpton to get to the bottom of this series of disturbing events. The trail leads right to the region's crown-jewel attraction: Yellowstone. What they discover will put both their lives at risk. . . .