The Wolf Path

This book contains one of my favorite quotes - a commentary on female sleuths. "Jayne runs every morning," Juan said, shaking his head in a mixture of admiration and disbelief. "Care to join me Neil?" she asked, bending over and looking up at me through her hair while her palm lay flat on the floor. "No thanks." I was already pondering my next cigarette. "I thought women lawyers ran," Jayne said, standing up, flinging her hair over her shoulders and bending backwards. "That's women detectives," I said. "Women lawyers drink." FYI Judith also has a series featuring Claire Reynier and has started her own publishing company ABQ Press. For more of my comments see [...]

Judith Van Gieson is a multi-faceted personality, having started her own publishing company; authored a children's book; a collection of poetry and short stories; and thirteen mysteries. Her first series of eight mysteries features Neil Hamel, an Albuquerque lawyer, and the second series centers around Claire Reynier, an archivist and librarian at the University of Mexico. Van Gieson's mysteries revolve around environmental issues and artifacts. Her books have garnered high praise and awards, including the Zia Award for Best Work of Fiction by a New Mexico woman. THE WOLF PATH, published in 2006, is the fourth Neil Hamel mystery. As the name implies, it centers on the plight of the Mexican gray wolf. As usual, man is its worst predator, and ranchers in particular want this beautiful creature banished from their lands because it feeds on cattle. Neil is entrusted with a legal case by a friend. An ex-con with bad judgment and a gullible heart is taking his gray wolf around to communities in an effort to educate a skeptical public. He isn't welcome, and every attempt is made to stymie his efforts, including falsely accusing him of a murder. Neil sees no alternative but to swing into action to save her client from an unforgiving New Mexican culture: "There are some pervasive fantasies in this country. One, that wars win something. Two, that guns don't kill people. Three, that everyone deserves his or her day in court and when that day comes the case will be presented by a brilliant, committed lawyer, that a lifetime of wrongs will be vindicated by a wise judge and a sympathetic jury. The truth is litigation is largely a boring, time-consuming, expensive crapshoot. Juan had been through the process and had already lost once. What made him think he would win this time? The quality of his legal representation? His belief in his innocence? Ego? Romance?" Van Gieson scores another hit with this psychological and poetic mystery. Not only does she manage to educate the masses regarding the possible extinction of the Mexican gray wolf, but she creates the beautiful New Mexican landscape in every page. Neil Hamel is at her most heroic and intelligent, and the plot completely satisfies. Shelley Glodowski Senior Reviewer

This is a fascinating book written in Van Gieson's unique and poetic style. Like a number of books in the Neil Hamel series it deals with an environmental issue - in this case the attempt to reintroduce the Mexican gray wolf to the Southwest. Since the book was first published wolves have been reintroduced with mixed results. This edition has an update on the reintroduction effort by wolf activist Bobbie Holaday who founded PAWS (Preserve Arizona's Wolves) and was instrumental in bringing wolves back. The striking cover illustration is by the Navajo activist Ernie Franklin. Highly recommended.

It is a shame this book is out of print. This is by far Van Gieson's best novel featuring her magnetic lawyer-sleuth, Neil Hamel. Whereas the earlier books had not yet developed Hamel's character into full bloom, and the most recent one is a bit contrived, this volume is like a comfortable old sweater. If you can get your hands on a copy, relish it!