If you enjoy locked room or country house mysteries, here is a new twist. Someone vanishes on a tour boat off the Alaskan coast, meaning that if they didn’t leave the boat voluntarily, one of the passengers or crew must have been responsible. Stacie Calder is the puzzled tour guide, left to BEAR WITNESS to police in Juneau about the day’s events.

Alaska has a stunning amount of wildlife, from seals and seabirds to wolves and bears. Stacie, a former zookeeper, loves her job and normally copes just fine with the tourists. She gets on well with Captain Palmer Clementos and crew in a business run by a family. She joined ClemTours the previous year. We learn lots about the tours. Stacie’s husky, Sasha, is a loyal and friendly dog that’s allowed to accompany her on the boats. Behind the scenes, though, rivalries and antagonisms sour the local atmosphere.

Another character likely to reappear in this new Alaska Untamed cozy mystery series is Liam Amaruq, an Alaska State Trooper. He seems pleasant and competent, surely essential given his job dealing with a wide spread of the population in town and out in the woods and mountains. He’s somewhat of a stock character, because almost every amateur sleuth who lacks a man in her life seems to meet a handsome tall detective who fortunately happens to be unattached and reciprocates her interest. The budding romance is overdone, I thought, given a trooper would be clearly in the wrong to involve himself with a witness.  But with a surname like that, Liam must be related to Alaskan Native families, which is a fine indicator of respect for local people.

For me, the most puzzling part is that the tourists are not asked to post their photos and videos on social media like Instagram later and tag the boat cruise firm. Free marketing and something most travelers would consider doing anyway. The business just seems out of touch.

Lark O. Jensen is a pen name for prolific mystery author and former lawyer Linda O. Johnston, so if you have read any of the Pet Rescue series or other stories of sleuthing, you’ll probably be keen to pick up a story set in a scenic location. I’d like to learn more backstory about our new friends in BEAR WITNESS. As for the guided tours of glaciers, inlets, and wildlife, sign me up!