#12 The Last Ranger by Peter Heller

Peter Heller is a local writer who is only one degree of separation away from me: He apparently knows a guy I kind of dated a long time ago. But this slim brush with celebrity is not why I continue to read his books. I enjoy his writing and like his focus on nature. 

In The Last Ranger (2023), Ren is an enforcement ranger in Yellowstone National Park. He deals with car accidents, campers' disputes, law enforcement, and poaching. He is a haunted man who hasn't really dealt with his past, which includes an alcoholic mother and the early death of his wife. His wife intentionally overdosed after dealing with painful congenital health problems that were only going to get worse. 

Peter lives in the park in a small cabin built for employees. The next closest cabin is inhabited by Hilly, a dedicated wolf researcher, who cares more about her wolves than people. As anyone who has spent much time out West, the conflict between people who want wolves in the wild and those who don't is pretty intense. Even though Yellowstone is protected from hunting, ranchers kill the wolves as soon as they step out of the park. In addition, poachers even come into the park and kill wolves. 

After a wolf is killed in Yellowstone, Ren begins investigating who could have killed it. But then Hilly is badly hurt and almost dies, and Ren bumps up his investigation even more. He desperately wants to find out who is responsible. 

For the most part, I enjoyed reading this book. I think a part of me wished I had become a forest or park ranger. So, being able to read in detail about the life of a park ranger--even an enforcement ranger--was quite interesting. There was also suspense and mystery while Ren tried to tracked down who was killing the wolves and potentially endangering Hilly. 

I was also generally impressed by how Heller addressed the wolf debate. It is a very angry and political topic, but Heller seemed to dive right in with no fear.

***SPOILERS***

My only complaint was the end of the book. It turns out that the guy who is poaching wolves in the park gets paid $1,000 per head. But he wasn't killing wolves because he's a bad guy who hates wolves. It turns out that his wife has cancer, and he's trying to pay for her treatment, which costs $7,000 per month. This felt a little melodramatic and unearned--like I had suddenly tuned into a soap opera. Killing wolves to pay for cancer treatment isn't even a realistic solution. He can't kill enough wolves to keep up with that kind of cost. Maybe he's just desperately making money anyway he can, but this whole plotline felt out of the blue. With the book from Ren's point of view, I felt that it certainly leaned towards the pro-wolf side of the debate. I wonder if this was Heller's attempt at bringing in some sympathy for the other side. Unfortunately, it didn't quite work for me. In a book that feels pretty realistic, the ending was kind of annoying.

***END SPOILERS***

Every Heller book I've read, I've enjoyed and found interesting. However, there's always a little something that doesn't feel quite right or takes me out of the story. Heller sometimes reminds me of Cormac McCarthy, but not quite as good with his characters or as committing to a realistic narrative. However, I enjoy Heller's descriptions, locations, and stories, and I will continue reading his books.