Forgotten Trail

National Parks Mystery, Book 3

De: Claire Kells

Narrado por: Cady Zuckerman

When a guest turns up dead at the newly opened Pinnacles Grand Hotel, ISB agent Felicity Harland finds herself summoned to a peculiar scene. A gentle breeze blows in from the balcony window, belying the violence of a man stabbed to death in his hotel room. It’s clear to Harland that this murder was personal, especially when the victim’s wife admits that she wanted him dead.

But Harland isn’t so sure that this was a domestic dispute gone bad. When she hears about the Park Service searching for a missing person out on the trails, she sets out with her partner, Ferdinand “Hux” Huxley, to see if the two cases are connected.

As Harland and Hux take on the rocky, exposed terrain of California’s ancient volcanic wonderland, they soon realize that the mystery at the Pinnacles Grand is not at all what it seems—and that a predator may be closing in.

©2023 Claire Kells (P)2023 Dreamscape Media

Kept me guessing

I love stories that take place in nature and the challenges along with that. I enjoyed the characters and relationships between them. Kells is great at adding twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. It was an exciting, fun read and I look forward to the next book!

String female lead with well written plot

I got into this series after becoming enthralled by the mysterious 411. I’m still curious, what happened to Kevin?

Beautiful park represented fairly well

It’s always great when your hometown is represented in a book. But, the author misrepresented the path to Pinnacles on the East side, so don’t get lost! It is a beautiful, quaint National Park located off Hwy 25 on the East side and 146 on the West. There is NO East entrance off Hwy 146. Hwy 25 is a beautiful, rambling 2 lane road, that runs through the town of Hollister to King City (Steinbeck Country) and if you’re not paying attention, you’ll drive right by the East entrance. There are bat caves, and there are condors, but the condors stay on the West side more than the East. If you plan to look for condors, go to the West side and get one of the guides to lead your hike. And, just in case it’s not obvious, the hotel is fictional. There is NO hotel in the park. There is camping available, but it is VERY hot during the summer. Also, any local law enforcement called out to the Park would be San Benito County Sheriffs on the East side and Monterey County Sheriffs on the West side. Hollister PD is City and the park is in the County. Still, it is a great place to visit and hike and I enjoyed the story overall, and thank the author for recognizing this great park. We often take visitors for short day hikes to the reservoir and to see the Pinnacles. If you go, be sure to stop into the 19th Hole on Hwy 25 in Tres Pinos (northeast of the park)it’s still the same cowboy bar it’s been for 150 years, and has great food.

disappointing follow-up to book two

While the mystery was engaging, the lack of character development is disappointing. The ending of book two hinted at possibilities that weren't explored, leaving this reader feeling frustrated.