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A Novel
by James A. McLaughlin
Book Reviewed by:The thrilling follow-up to the Edgar Award–winning Bearskin, about two siblings on the verge of inheriting millions but who discover dark secrets in their family's past.
Siblings Bowman and Summer were raised by their father and two uncles on a remote Colorado ranch. They react differently to his radical teachings and the confusions of adolescence. As young adults, they become estranged but are brought back together in their thirties by the prospect of an illegal and potentially dangerous inheritance from their grandfather. They must ultimately reconcile with each other and their past in order to defeat ruthless criminal forces trying to extort the inheritance.
Set in the rugged American West and populated by drug cartels, shadowy domestic terrorists, and nefarious business interests, Panther Gap shows James McLaughlin's talents on full display: gorgeous environmental writing, a white-knuckle thriller plot, and characters dealing with legacy, identity, and their own place in the world.
This is one of those books that defies genres: it's a thriller, an environmental diatribe, a saga of two siblings, and an exploration of mystical relations between human and animals (Julie P). The book is a skillful blend of mysticism, mystery, international drug dealing, family and survivalism, and McLaughlin pulls it all together so well, with compelling characters (Patricia G)...continued
Full Review
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(Reviewed by First Impressions Reviewers).
James McLaughlin's Panther Gap includes beautiful descriptions of the nature surrounding the novel's titular location in remote Colorado. Our First Impressions reviewers were taken with these landscape depictions, prompting some to imagine being or going there themselves. Luckily, this is possible…sort of.
In a recent interview with The Big Thrill, McLaughlin explains that the setting of the book is fictional, but based on real elements, notably the San Juan Mountains: "Panther Gap, the place, is basically a high-elevation valley transplanted from the San Juan mountains sixty miles southwest to the arid corner of Colorado. I also populate the valley with a fanciful complement of charismatic megafauna."
The San Juan ...
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With nods to William Faulkner and Cormac McCarthy, Panther Gap is that rare combination of heart-pumping action and raw beauty, a vividly rendered story of inheritance―in all its forms―set in the stunning American West. The twists arrive like switchbacks on a mountain pass, and I found myself ripping through the final pages, beholding new revelations at every turn.
