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The Last Ranger is only the second book I’ve read by Peter Heller. The first, The River, was one of the best books I read in 2020…

So I was looking forward to reading The Last Ranger. I must admit that I found it a little slow going in the beginning and and actually set it aside and started reading James Grippando’s latest Goodbye Girl.

However, I went back to it as the library due date for the book approached, uh it’s today! Anyway, I’m glad I returned.

About the Last Ranger

The setting of The Last Ranger is Yellowstone Park. The main character Ren Hopper is a Park Ranger or an Enforcement Agent assigned to act like the police within the Park. As an Enforcement Agent his duties range from breaking up fights at campgrounds to saving tourists from moose attacks.

He also works to keep the peace between the vacationers,who tromp around with cameras and the locals who want to carve out a meaningful living in the lands beyond the park boundaries,.

The book takes off when Ren finds his friend Hilly, a biologist and wolf expert, nearly dead in the steel jaws of a wolf trap. He hopes it’s just an accident.

However, a small red ribbon tied to the stake makes him fairly certain that it wasn’t. The first and best suspect is a known poacher, who has an ongoing feud with Hilly.

Aside from this investigation Ren soon finds that someone is also out to get him. The best suspect is a member of a local group of ranchers

\.These ranchers have formed an alliance at odds with both the park and with Ren’s responsibility to protect it. Is the poacher a member, too?

From Goodreads

Rife with surprising humor, populated by a cast of extraordinary characters, each drawn to Yellowstone for their own reasons, Peter Heller once again mines the rich vein where our very human impulses play out against the stunning beauty of the natural world.

More at Goodreads

My Thoughts about The Last Ranger.

The setting is one of the aspects like the most about The Last Ranger. I have only visited Yellowstone Park and surrounding area via the books of C.J. Box. And both authors have left me feeling that I’ve been there and wishing that I could be there. I get the same feeling from the William Kent Krueger’s Cork O’Conner books.

Needless to say, the characters are the other aspect of the book I love. Major and minor characters are real life folks with real life problems. And the reader gets to know and care for them all. Even if you are rooting against some of them you still understand their behavior.

Speaking of behavior, I also like books that teach me something. The Last Ranger does just that discussing both behavior of the wolves of Yellowstone, as well as, their impact on the environment.

The bottom line is I highly recommend this book. So check it out. As for me, I will be on the lookout for books from Heller’s back catalog! I will also be getting back to Grippando’s Goodbye Girl.

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About Peter Heller

If You Enjoyed The Last Ranger Here’s Where My Reading Went (and Where It’s Going)…

This one sent me down a bit of a wilderness/conservation rabbit hole…

• Nora Kelly (Preston & Child) — archaeological thrillers I’m planning to dive into, a natural. It’s also set in the rugged moutnains of the American west.
• Breaking Wild — Diane Les Becquets — a gripping wilderness survival story that I couldn’t put down (see my original post)
• Alice Henderson — Alex Carter series — where I’m heading next with environmental thrillers

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