THE LAST WOMAN IN THE FOREST

4 stars out of 5

In the end, I very much enjoyed this book; in the beginning, I wasn't so sure. The "thrilling" action really didn't pick up until the last quarter or so; after that, my eyes were glued to the Kindle pages and I didn't put it down till I'd reached the last page.

The story centers on Marian Engstrom, who, after college graduation, applied for and landed a job working with dogs as part of a study on the impact of oil exploration on the caribou, moose and wolf populations in Canada. There, she meets and falls in love with the more experienced Tate, her supervisor of sorts. He's exciting, intriguing and helps her learn the ropes. But happiness over their professional and personal coupling is short-lived; when Tate sets off to help with another project, he doesn't return. She's devastated to learn that his mangled body - the damage apparently done by a bear attack - has been found in the deep woods

Marian is devastated, but at one point before he left, she learned about four women who were murdered over a period of six years and mentioned this to Tate. Surprisingly, he claims to been the person who found one of the bodies. As she deals with Tate's death, Marian begins to recall inconsistencies in what Tate told her about his earlier life and finding that body in particular. When she learns that some of that information wasn't the truth, she begins to wonder if Tate had another, more sinister, connection to those murders. Finding the name of a retired forensic profiler (Nick Shepherd) who worked on the cases, she contacts him. He, too, remains haunted by the still-unsolved murders, and the two begin to share information and dig for clues.

It takes quite a while for their findings come together in a meaningful way - chapters switch to before Tate's death to present happenings - but eventually a more complete picture of who Tate really was begins to form. And at that point, the picture also reveals that Marian may have taken her doubts too seriously and learned far more than someone wants her to know. That, in turn, puts her own life in danger - and brings the whole thing together with a bang-up ending.

So what got in the way of a perfect rating? It's abundantly clear that the author did far more than her fair share of research on everything from the history of animal scat to bear attacks to surviving in the wild. That's commendable (as well as absolutely necessary). But to me, research is like an iceberg; most of it can and should remain out of sight. There's just too much of it here, and it tends to bog down the flow of the story. Besides that, by the author's own admission (based on her own life experiences), the story is intended to empower and embolden women who might be dealing with similar experiences. That, too, is commendable, but some portions seemed a bit too "preachy" as a result.

Overall, though, the writing is outstanding and the story both solid and unique. I'm very glad I read it, and I heartily thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read an advance review copy.

The Last Woman in the Forest by Diane Les Becquets (Berkley, March 2019); 352 pp.