For a change of pace, Heywood sets his fourth Woods Cop mystery (after 2003's Chasing a Blond Moon
) in the mid '70s, to show the formative early experiences of his series hero, dedicated conservation officer Grady Service. Recently returned from fighting an unwinnable war against insurgents in Southeast Asia, Service finds himself in a depressingly similar situation stateside. The portion of Michigan's Upper Peninsula known as the Garden is the setting for another type of guerrilla war—one that sets Service and his comrades against lawless, violent natives who flaunt fish and game regulations that seek to balance the needs of those who make their living from the abundant wildlife with the needs of the environment. To break the impasse, Service participates in a clandestine counterinsurgency campaign (its particulars are kept a closely guarded secret because of a suspected mole), which supplants the mystery solving for long stretches. As a result, the eventual identification of the assailant who stabbed a simpleminded local comes as an anticlimax. Outdoors types will especially appreciate the involved battles over commercial fishing limits and poaching. Agent, Betsy Nolan. (June 1)
