The Wild Inside

Publisher's Summary

For fans of Louise Penny, C. J. Box, and Nevada Barr comes a haunting crime novel set in Glacier National Park, where one man finds himself on a collision course with the dark heart of the wild and the even darker heart of human nature.

It was a clear, starry night in Glacier National Park. Fourteen-year-old Ted Systead and his father were camping peacefully beneath the rugged peaks and sweeping sky when the unimaginable happened: Ted's father was mauled by a grizzly bear and dragged to his death.

Now, 20 years later, as a special agent for the Department of the Interior, Ted is called back to investigate a crime that echoes the horror of that night. Only this time the victim was tied to a tree before the animal's attack. Ted teams up with one of the park officers - a man named Monty, whose pleasant exterior masks an all-too-vivid knowledge of the area. Residents of the nearby community are less than forthcoming. Suspicious of outsiders and intimately connected to the wilderness that surrounds them, they confront their fellow man and nature with equal measures of reverence and brutality. As the days pass with no clear answers, not only is human life at stake but so too is that of a majestic creature who carries with it valuable evidence. Ted's search for truth takes him far into the wilderness, on the trail of a killer, and eventually to a shocking and unexpectedly personal conclusion.

Rich in atmosphere and evocative, lush descriptions, The Wild Inside is a gripping debut novel about the wondrously perilous intersection between man and nature.

©2015 Christine Carbo (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Mystery, Thriller, Suspense & The Great Outdoors

This is a book that grabs you by the throat from the opening paragraph and doesn't let go until the last word. Narrated in a macho tough guy voice which I actually enjoyed once I got over the semi surprise of it all. Really engaging reading with perfect timing.

The story is multi dimensional, hits all the current social issues and deftly instructs the listener in an insiders view of the National Parks system and the Department of the Interior.
I love the National Parks as a visitor--but I don't know enough about the inner workings to know if the info presented here is accurate. While listening I wondered about that for about a minute and then put it out of my mind because the story was too good to waste time fussing about facts. I will say it all felt very real and believable.

I loved the sense of place the author captures in the way she presents Glacier National Park and Montana. Brutal, intense, fascinating and gruesome all wrapped up into one wild ride of a book. I join other reviewers here in saying that I hope this might end up as a new series. It was that good.

91 of 100 people found this review helpful

Suspenseful Listen, Very Enjoyable

Was tentative about starting this audiobook as the back-story on Special Agent Systed would be hard to listen. That sad story was well handled by the author, Christine Carbo, and narrated with real warmth and empathy by Bray.

This was actually a very suspenseful, interesting audiobook from the beginning to the end. I enjoyed how the clues and leads were followed-up logically and thoroughly. I thought I had it all figured out, but then found out I was wrong. Love it when I don't see the twist coming -- and it still makes sense.

I enjoyed the descriptions of Montana and Glacier National Park. I have added it to my "Must Travel" list.

I will be spending my valuable credit on the new book by Carbo. She is on my "Definite Author List" for up-coming books.

NOTE: There is a scene involving a veterinarian and abuse of a family animal that I did not listen for 5 minutes as it was too much for me. I was still able to keep up with the story.

23 of 25 people found this review helpful

I really hope this is the first in a series!

Along with the Grand Tetons, Glacier National Park is one of my favorite places. Reading The Wild Inside, it's clear that Christine Carbo also has a great and genuine appreciation for Montana, all of its beauty, and its inherent dangers and brutality. I don't read many mysteries, but this one stands out with an interesting, very human main character, Ted Systead, Special Agent for the Department of the Interior, some excellent, evocative writing, and a compelling plot. There were a few instances where the writing may have been a bit emotionally overwrought, but to be fair, it is an emotional story.

I read the book with a bit of trepidation, as my husband and youngest son will be hunting in Montana this fall and have been seriously assessing their threat from bears. Carbo writes about the grizzly in this story in a realistic (grisly, but not gratuitous) way, reminding us that Glacier is not Disney World with cute wild animal characters. I sincerely hope that Carbo intends this to be the debut in a series, as I would love to read more about Ted Systead and his life and work in the West.

47 of 53 people found this review helpful

Montana Wilderness Thriller

If you like author CJ Box, you are more than likely going to like Christine Carbo. I am an avid wilderness lover, so the location tempted me to choose this listen. But I continued listening because I couldn't put it down.

Glacier National Park in Montana is the setting for this mystery/thriller. A man is found dead and tied to a tree in the park, and had been attached by a grizzly. It is unknown whether he died before or after the grizzly encounter.

Suspense builds as an interior investigator, who as a boy watched a grizzly drag his father away from a campsite, is emotionally and physically challenged to solve the mystery.

The story is believable, and the accurate descriptions of the National Park add additional credibility as the story escalates. JC Bray was the perfect choice for narration.

This deal of the day was just that.

21 of 24 people found this review helpful

1 of the best, if not the best I've read this yr!

Humans can be as wild & violent as animals; & we are supposed to be civilized. Do we all maybe have that dark & wild side if pushed beyond our limits or is it a conscious choice for some. Set in the wild and beautiful Glacier National Park, an area that many S Albertans are quite familiar with, we follow a suspenseful investigation into a bizarre apparent murder. The victim, who was tied to a tree with duct tape, may or may not have been dead already when the grizzly attacked. And the investigator brought in has his own demons regarding grizzlies, having witnessed the death of his father by a grizzly 20 yr's before in the park

8 of 9 people found this review helpful

Not for dog lovers...beware!

I'm so tired of writers using the abuse and killing of dogs to show how bad their villains are. Stop already! I would have liked this book except that it includes three separate episodes of dog besting and killing, and then keeps dredging up these horrific scenes. Don't read or listen to this book if you have a soft spot for our canine companions. Or bears! It also includes the tormenting of a bear. None of this was necessary for the plot.

19 of 23 people found this review helpful

A novel not only of "Suspense" but also poetry!

This was a superb story and performance. After listening to the book I was not at all surprised to find out that the author lives in the area where the action takes place. Only someone with a deep emotional attachment to the setting could have written this book. The story was both literally and figuratively a breath of fresh air. It never takes the cheap shot of winding the listener up for some predictable ending or confrontation. The narration was perfect for the book. RC Bray did a remarkable job of blending machismo and vulnerability in the same character. Bray was so good that I am going to seek out books that he has narrated.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

A compelling 5 star listening experience!

This was a book I couldn't put down. I stayed up late at night listening because I was too drawn in to stop - and it kept me awake with the haunting intensity of the story and the voice of the narrator. Although other reviews compare this book to Mysteries by C.J. Box and Nevada Barr I would say it's better. I hope there will be more to follow - a great character has been introduced in this book. Highly recommended!

26 of 33 people found this review helpful

The Wild Inside

Any additional comments?

Narrated by R. C. Bray and thirteen hours of listening. A victim of childhood trauma, a Department of the Interior investigator, is summoned to Glacier National Park to investigate a grizzly murder. Take grizzly both ways … a morbidly grizzly attack by… you guessed it … a grizzly bear. The investigator’s father was killed by a grizzly bear attack twenty years ago when father and son were on a camping trip. But, this time it’s no accident. The victim has been tied to a tree. What a way to go! Ugh!

I’ve only one complaint, and that is the paranoia of the lead character is a bit overdone. After twenty years he should be over it … especially since his career choice brings him back to woods and the flora and fauna within. He’s even spooked by campfires and breaks into sweats, near passes out, etc., in the park settings. Too much.

The descriptions of the park and the beauty of Glacier National Park is well done, poetic at times. I’ve been there and the awesome beauty is astounding and pretty much beyond description in the written word. Ya simply gotta see it :-).

The story is a good one, well narrated. A pleasant listen.

Enjoy!

9 of 11 people found this review helpful

Very good

Christine Carbo is a new author for me. I am now looking for more. This story was written very well, and narrated by R. C. Bray very well, too. The story keeps you listening even when you should stop and sleep or something. Hard to shut this one off. Excellent narration. Great combination, these two!

19 of 25 people found this review helpful

The Wild Inside - an unexpected gem of a read

The Wild Inside - an unexpected gem of a read
Don't expect to enjoy this book as much as I did, really enjoyable.
Suspense book that had me fooled until the very end,
with a great taste of the great outdoors of Montana.
R C Bray a great narrator will definitely being looking out for more
books narrated by him & written by Christine Carbo

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Something Refreshingly Different

Having read a lot of detective thrillers over the years I can say that this one offers something just a little different. the key difference of course is the setting which is brought to life well in Carbo's text. The juxtaposition of modern humanity with the wilderness of Glacier Park offers many interesting scenarios. Issues around tourism and ecological sustainability are in a delicate balance and are highlighted well in the text.

It brings a new life to cliched scenes from the genre such as the grisly autopsy . . . and their will be few more grisly than the one in this! When scene of crime examinations have to take into account things like the shape of bear footprints it certainly adds a little something.

Carbo has imagined an interesting lead for her stories. Ted Systead has a great backstory and his character and the others are sympathetically developed. RC Bray, perhaps showing a slightly softer side than his usual delivers the top-notch quality that I've now come to take for granted of him.

Overall though, it's not hugely fast-paced and I didn't feel a great sense of suspense. The key reason to invest in this series is that the setting and characters are just a bit different and they do add considerable interest.

7 of 10 people found this review helpful

quite simply the worst audio book I have ever...

...listened to. I've probably listened to some 700. I can't believe this one got published. the premise is very good and that's where it ends. the story is so slow, meandering, going nowhere for 9/10s of the book, then he finds the murderer...just like that. sycophantic and truly awful, never ever again

0 of 2 people found this review helpful