Allan Carstairs is the animal control officer in wintry Conard County, Wyoming. His colleague Kelly Noveno and her Belgian Malinois are the K9 police team called upon when three young women go missing from a car that skidded off the road. Did they take a ride with a stranger? Did they walk and come to grief? All anyone knows is that overnight they went MISSING IN CONARD COUNTY.

The three missing ladies are high school seniors. Jane Beauvoir, Chantal Reston, and Mary Lou Ostend were out socialising at New Year's, but the bar owner swears they weren't drinking. I picked up the urgency and worry from the characters as a search got under way. Soon I was concerned about the students too, and I was hoping Kelly's dog Bugle would get their scent. Allan seemed like such a nice guy as he stood guarding the crashed car. His own work has been dropped to give the missing person case priority. People around here know everyone; they look out for folks. As a snowstorm descends, the cold makes everyone hungry and tired. Over a late meal, Kelly and Allan chat and swap background stories.

This tale is so realistic. I found it very easy to read and became absorbed in the hunt. As time passes, the searchers realise that the girls must be indoors - or dead from exposure. Kelly finds thoughts of them haunting her. Allan meanwhile is recovering from a spell of military service, and prefers animals to people. Though he'll make an honest exception for the brave cop in her layers of winter clothing, with her smart, protective dog.

The adventure becomes gripping as clues are scarce, and the weather is even more extreme in the days to come, hitting thirty or forty below zero. One point well made is that men are in the majority out here, as women tend to prefer a larger town and some comforts. So the number of suspects is large. At this point, a truant dog Allan is chasing provides him with a human bone.

Rachel Lee is a highly talented author, and she provides us with detailed search techniques, strongly drawn characters, plus emotion-grabbing scenes. That's a killer combination. MISSING IN CONARD COUNTY will make you feel bitter cold, enraged and determined. Quite a lot more than the average romance.