Thank you Jessica of Cedarbirch Musings for this book review.
Title: Where the Fire Falls – Vintage National Park Series
Author: Karen Barnett
Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Romance
Summary / Plot: Cascading spectacular firefall in a breathtaking nightview. Did you know that they used to have a traditional fire fall in Yosemite National Park? In Where the Fire Falls, Olivia is a hard working artist in the 1920’s responsible for her two younger sisters. Having cultivated a false persona of privilege and ease, her life was filled with art exhibits and shows for her agent. A firefall was not in her mind’s eye in a million years.
Until one day she is sent to paint travel art for a magazine spread of the very place she has avoided her entire life. Yosemite National Park, the scene of her dad’s escape from charges of murder and ultimate demise, is the last place she wants to be connected to. Will her carefully planned life crash down if she is discovered to be related to the infamous man? Is the debonnaire jet setter and his beautiful trophy wife who accompany her really friends or do they have ulterior motives? Who is the mysterious and handsome backcountry guide named Clark assigned to lead her through the park and why is she so drawn to him?
As she forces herself to see past her hidden secrets and capture the stunning beauty of Yosemite, she learns the hard way that not everyone is what they seem. Being swindled and maneuvered like a chess piece, she is confronted with the ultimate enemy blinded by greed. Finding herself deep in the forest as the hostage of a traitor, she must use her wits and hope that the quiet and strong backcountry guide can use ranger tracking skills and get to her in time before it’s too late.
Opinion: Throughout this series, Karen Barnett is a master at capturing the beauty and landscape of our national parks. As a former ranger, she describes the trails, lodges, and people of that world to draw you into the natural wonders that are right in our backyards. I had no idea that Yosemite had a beautiful firefall in the past history of the park. The skillful weaving of people and landscape is very well done and I appreciate the character, bravery, and honor of her protagonists. Mixing the park history with great plot lines of mystery and just the right amount of romance, I am a big fan of her Vintage National Parks series and highly recommend this series.
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