Winning the Earthquake by Lorissa Rinehart

WINNING THE EARTHQUAKE by Lorissa Rinehart is about “How Jeannette Rankin Defied All Odds to Become the First Woman in Congress.” Rinehart, described as a women’s historian, author, speaker and regular Substack contributor, is clearly enthusiastic about Rankin and her accomplishments. The text presents Rankin in a very favorable light while providing details about her 1880’s childhood in rural Montana and her subsequent work with the poor in New York and San Francisco. Rinehart makes a convincing argument that Rankin’s “formative years in Montana taught her that society functioned best when men and women participated equally. Her work in San Francisco proved that women led the way when it came to grassroots enactment of Progressive reform. [And] Her education … underscored the necessity of government regulation in bringing about holistic change on a large scale.” I already knew that Rankin was a pacifist and had served in Congress, but I did not realize that she was first elected to Congress in 1916, four years before the right to vote was granted to women nationwide. I also did not realize that she had voted against US involvement in both World Wars (believing that “you can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake”) and that she was active (while in her nineties) in protesting the Vietnam War. This is a very accessible text brimming with details; with roughly a fourth of the book devoted to Notes. WINNING THE EARTHQUAKE received a starred review from Library Journal which said, “This superb biography of the first woman elected to Congress deserves a place on every public and academic library bookshelf.”

North of Nowhere by Allison Brennan

The beautiful cover is what drew me initially to NORTH OF NOWHERE by New York Times bestselling author Allison Brennan, but this sensational standalone thriller did not disappoint. Brennan centers the story on two young people: 16-year-old Kristen and her 10-year-old deaf brother Ryan. On the run for the last five years, they have been living with Tony Reed near a ranch in Montana and the suspense-filled adventures largely take place in the wilderness area near Lost Lake as a storm approaches. The siblings are being hunted by their biological father, Boyd McIntyre; he's deeply involved in organized crime so he is joined by several of his henchmen and a local guide while searching the woods. And that group is being trailed by Tony’s employer, Nick Lorenzo, a local rancher concerned about the kids. Nick has alerted their ex-Army aunt named Ruby and she runs into a cop who has been on Tony’s trail for years. Yes, it’s complicated, full of twists and fatal encounters, but also very exhilarating as the tension mounts and characters, particularly Kristen, draw on inner resources to avoid being captured. Family dynamics are key to this fast-paced mystery which will keep readers up at night. Enjoy!

The Last Ranger by Peter Heller

THE LAST RANGER is another mystery adventure story set near Yellowstone National Park written by Peter Heller (The River, Celine, and other best-sellers). It honestly took a little while to get into this story, but Heller’s writing is so descriptive and enjoyable that readers will ultimately feel as though the characters have become friends. In some ways that parallels the learning about the “lone wolf” and the sense of community which develops in packs. Hilly is a biologist who studies the local wolves, numbering rather than naming them, but still becoming attached and indirectly educating readers about their habits. Les Ingraham is a sometimes violent tracker with a checkered past and who, along with suspected terrorists, projects a threatening presence. Ren Hopper is the ranger, an arbitrator who investigates disturbances over campsites, handles traffic snarls, and rescue tourists from too close encounters with wild animals; “it was utterly draining, keeping the peace in one remote valley.” Despite beautiful, awe-inspiring nature, Ren often experiences anger or loneliness and muses about life (“Is this what happened as life went on? You got less sure about everything?”). THE LAST RANGER is a book to savor, just like the toasts Heller shares with his readers: from Hilly: “To life. … One part wonder, three parts pain.” Or from Ren and his friend Ray who “raised his cup: ‘Love, money, and the time to enjoy them.’”

Treasure State by C.J. Box

TREASURE STATE is a mystery story by C.J. Box involving female private investigator Cassie Dewell. The setting is modern day Montana, specifically a small former mining town named Anaconda. Cassie is working simultaneously on two cases – one involves fraud and a slick operator who has stolen significant funds from her client, an older woman named Candyce Fly. The other involves a fortune that treasure seekers are competing to find. The founder of that hunt hires Cassie to see if see can find him – it is his contention that being hidden will make for a fairer contest. C.J. Box is a well-regarded author (Joe Pickett is another of his characters) and it should be no surprise that TREASURE STATE received starred reviews from Booklist and Publishers Weekly. I greatly enjoyed the audio version read by Christina Delaine. The story is intricately plotted and while there are references to previous Cassie Dewell adventures (this is number six in the series), this Montana mystery is full of its own twists and turns and works as a stand-alone.