Alex Carter returns in the thriller series about endangered species and what a wildlife biologist does for a living. THE VANISHING KIND is probably more over the top than most field workers ever need to cope with. Archaeological digs lure the greedy as well.
The jaguar once roamed much of North America, and now only a few cross from Central America. They adapt to the countryside, appearing in a sanctuary managed by Ben Hathaway in New Mexico. Ben hopes Alex can work her usual magic and provide DNA and camera footage of the endangered big cats. The Mogollon Wildlife Sanctuary only provides a simple cabin, but Alex is used to roughing it alone. The nearest town, Azulejo, is good for groceries on her day off from placing trail cameras. But a rowdy bunch of masked thugs terrorise an art festival.
On a reclusive millionaire’s land, an excited archaeological team led by Dr. Enrique Espinoza has discovered artifacts while excavating. The finds don’t look all that valuable, but someone will be driven to murder, perhaps for the items or because of wildlife poaching. Yes, they are next to a federal wildlife preserve. The poachers don’t care.
The high, spiky desert is a major character in this novel, as Alex makes her way around on foot, as per usual. We meet some of the characters of the area and hear their points of view. I did find some of the people became caricatures – they had one viewpoint and were solidly cast as good or bad. For instance, vigilantes are oppressing anyone trying to cross the Mexican border, and they have a slew of hateful ideas. But locals in favour of helping anyone have to be all for good. Maybe some people would help immigrants, but still want to kill anything that might prey on livestock. We don’t meet them.
By this stage in the Alex Carter series, the fourth book in a sequence which began with the solid thriller A Solitude Of Wolverines, the formula is well established, so readers know what they are going to get. If you are new to the tale, that might actually be a great way to read this one, as it won’t feel too formulaic. Alice Henderson does carry out a lot of the biologist work described, though hopefully with a lot fewer unexplained deaths, so her research methods, gear and landscape detail all feel extremely real. THE VANISHING KIND, for once, doesn’t have the jaguar in the title, but then, these cats are highly elusive. Catch it if you can.
When wildlife biologist Alex Carter is tasked with locating jaguars on a vast desert preserve in New Mexico, she is ecstatic. While jaguars once roamed throughout the Southwest, they are now endangered, with only a handful remaining, and Alex hopes some of the sleek and elusive creatures have found their way to the protected sanctuary.
Meanwhile, an archaeological team is excavating the gravesite of a sixteenth-century Spanish conquistador on a neighboring piece of land. Curious about the dig, Alex meets the team and, while learning about their discoveries, she encounters a dangerous group of anti-immigrant vigilantes roaming the area, threatening the archaeology team, demanding they leave. And when the militants learn of Alex’s mission, they become bent on stopping her. Because jaguars are federally endangered, the vigilantes worry that if Alex finds them, concessions will be made so that wildlife can cross the border wall. And they want no one crossing it…
As tensions mount, Alex soon finds herself in a fight for her life against those who would prevent her from restoring jaguars to their historical habitat.
No excerpt available.
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