Review: Blue Wolf in Green Fire

This is the second of what Heywood calls his "Woods Cop" mysteries - a reference to the regional nickname given to Conservation Officers in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. I hope this series continues!

Grady Service has recently been promoted to detective in the Department of Natural Resources, requiring him to leave behind much of the field work he enjoyed and was familiar with as a conservation officer. He is uncertain of the motives of his new superior, learning one incident at a time how to read the reactions of the shrewd but rather aloof lawman.

As in the first book in this series (Ice Hunter) Service deals with a variety of issues, for the most part conservation, wilderness preservation, environment, and habitat protection. He encounters beaurocratic regulations; impatient, shortsighted outdoor enthusiasts; poachers; animal rights activists; and the rather formidable presence of mother nature herself. This book takes place in the weeks immediately following 9/11/01, with all Michigan & federal law enforcement agencies on edge and ready for anything.

A poaching ring may have invaded upper Michigan, a federal laboratory supposedly preparing wolves for release into the wild is fire bombed, and two human bodies found in the wreckage of the building. A wolf with a dark blue gray coat - from a genetic mutation - is now in the wild and Service participates in an attempt to place a radio collar on the animal. The "green fire" of the title refers to the havoc created by protests and actions of environmental and animal rights activists.

Heywood's books are rich with the slang and vernacular of the Northern tier of the United States. I experienced a delightful rush of nostalgia reading the uniquely accented phrasing and slang of the area, since I have family members who "live in those parts."

In the earlier volume, Service was fearful of dogs. Here he is learning to value the companionship of one particular dog - a nice little idiosyncracy you don't often encounter in mystery fiction.

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Woodstock - RAM

Book Review: Blue Wolf in Green Fire