To me, this book perfectly captures what a Canadian wilderness mystery setting is all about - park rangers, police, and animals in danger. Love this series!

For those who like mystery novels with a strong outdoor component and a setting in national parks, the Jenny Willson series by Dave Butler will seem like a Canadian version of Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon series. The first in the series, FULL CURL, introduced us to the Banff National Park ranger and won the Arthur Ellis award for Best First Crime Novel in 2018. This second Jenny Willson mystery has her posted to Yoho National Park to work below the radar to find out what's going on with an attempt to build a ski resort within the boundary of the Park and therefore in the prime breeding grounds for the endangered wolverine. As she arrives, she is considering a short-term international posting to Namibia, which makes her efforts in this endeavor time-limited.

The story line pits a possibly crooked developer against a definitely committed environmentalist, with Jenny determined to figure out what is going on. Major players, beyond the developer and the environmentalist, include a variety of governmental hacks, an investigative journalist, parks employees, an accountant, and Jenny's mother. Jenny has felt responsible for her mother ever since her father died in a tragic railway accident, and her short-term posting to Yoho NP allows her to have some time with her mom.

As Jenny hones in on the developer, investigating a murder and a shooting that seem connected to the ski resort project, violence escalates and both Jenny and her mother are threatened. Politics play an important role in both the development of the mystery and in its resolution. The threats against Jenny's mother turn into reality in an unexpected way. In the end, enough holes have been filled to provide a sense of closure, while enough loose ends remain to provide for the next book. Butler may have expanded his range beyond the approximately fifty national parks and reserves in Canada (vs. about 400 in the US (Anna Pigeon's possible range)) with the potential of a posting to Namibia. We will have to see where he takes Willson in book number three in the series.

The beauty of the Canadian wilderness shines throughout the book, so that the reader is naturally sympathetic toward the environmental perspective. Jenny is a well-developed character, with both virtues and shortcomings apparent. Some of the other characters are not quite as well developed, and some of the history between Jenny and other characters would be lost to those who did not read book #1 in the series. As the series progresses and we get to know the secondary characters better, I look forward to the greater depth this will bring to the Butler's plotting.

No Place For Wolverines by Dave Butler

5 Stars

The survival of wolverines is under threat in Canada

Banff Chief Park Warden Frank Speer invites Park Warden Jenny Willson to his office to discuss the plans Stafford Austin, an American Developer from Idaho and his business partner, Hank Myers, has submitted a joint proposal to Parks Canada and the Government to develop a ski resort in Collie Creek, on the boundary of Yoho National Park.

Neither Frank Speer nor Jenny can understand why this development is even under consideration as the area is home to wolverines, a protected species in Canada. They can only assume without undercover investigation that this development has been given the go-ahead thanks to bribery or corruption.

Jenny is transferred to Yoho National Park and park accommodation in Golden, the town where she grew up, supposedly to be closer to her mother.

Dave Butler has managed to squeeze everything into this book. Corruption at the highest level. Undercover operations. Conservation of endangered species and much more.

I LOVED this book. The characters, especially Jenny Willson are beautifully drawn. The writing style is easy to read, yet the plot is involved, and believable. I can’t wait for the next book in this series.

Treebeard

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

This is the second Jenny Willson book that I have read, and I loved it just as much as the first. The integrity of the Yoho National Park is threatened by the proposed building of a luxury (“Top of the World”) ski resort, that may or may not be linked to the construction of highway and oil pipeline through the centre of the Park. The more money minded politicians and park authorities seem to be in favour – and it is up to Jenny (with the explicit encouragement of her current Parks boss) and other people committed to preserving the Park as a truly wild area, where the elusive and endangered wolverines can thrive. Jenny is seconded to Yoho National Park, and returns to her hometown adjacent to the Park to start her investigation into the proposal and its proponents.
I could really sympathise with Jenny and the anti-ski-resort people. I come from New Zealand, and love the National Parks there. I would be outraged if someone planned to build a new ski resort in, or a highway through, one of the Parks – especially Fiordland. My sympathy for Jenny’s cause was furthered by my growing dislike for Stafford Austin, the obnoxious man proposing the ski resort.
Jenny is never one to back down from an investigation, and luckily has the equally committed Ben Fortier of the RCMP, journalist Mike Berland and Wolverine expert Albin Stoffel to help her.
On the personal side, Jenny has her very depressed and emotionally fragile mother to care for. She finds two of her co-workers attractive, but circumstances conspire against her interest becoming more than fantasy.
As the investigation(s) continue, more and more reasons to oppose the ski resort (and particularly to oppose Stafford Austin) become clear (at least to Jenny’s eyes), but will any of them be persuasive enough to stop the project, which appears to have government backing? There is a death, shots fired, a kidnaping, and arson attacks. But can any of these crimes be linked directly to Austin and his fixer, Myers? Not everything is as straightforward as it initially appears.
There are subplots involving mental illness, the consequences of fraud and official machinations. The pace is relentless rather than fast, but your interest never falters. Each stage follows credible from the previous one. Each of the main characters is fully developed and believable, with their own flaws. No-one is irredeemably evil, and I even felt a smidgeon of sympathy (eventually) for Austin. Throughout it all, the beauty and fragility of the National Park and its denizens shines through – as does Jenny’s unwavering love for it.
I can unreservedly recommend this book (and its prequel) to anyone who loves a good mystery and who appreciates the Earth’s few remaining wild places, and their protectors.
I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

No Place for Wolverines is definitely a book I read because of the cover. I love ferrets, weasels, wolverines, and fervently believe that members of the mustelidae family are terribly underrepresented in fiction and literature. So when a book comes out where they are in the title and on an adorable cover? You bet I'm reading it. Based on the book's description I knew from that my darling wolverines were not destined to play a major role in the plot, but I figured there would be at least one devoted wolverine researcher involved and we'd get to read a few impassioned speeches about how awesome they are and how important they are.

There is one devoted wolverine researcher- Albin Stoeffel- who gets a few pages of attention and comes across as either highly devoted to his cause or completely nuts, depending on your point of view. Sadly, he doesn't get much time to lecture us on the glory and importance of wolverines. The wolverines are a symbol of the wilderness being threatened, but get no more than a passing glance themselves. This was also pretty much how it seemed all the actual characters came across. Even the main character, Park Warden Jenny Willson, gets very little in the way of genuine character development or depth. Occasionally there are glimpses of a person, but she seems to be mostly a roughly sketched anti-government government employee. Stubborn, tenacious, and kick-ass are all words used to describe Jenny (making her rather a human wolverine) but stubborn is the only quality that really comes through most of the book. It's possible she got more character development in the first book of the series (Full Curl) but I haven't read that one to know.

On the one hand, I enjoyed the setting for this book and the descriptions of the wilderness of Yoho. The mysterious death of researcher Sue Webb and the violence connected to the ski resort were a good story, and the 'bad guys' are sufficiently slimy and threatening that you believe completely they will do whatever it takes to wring the most money possible out of the situation. While some people will argue that the town's division over the issue is overdramatized, having lived in a small town divided over a windmill project I can say for certain that that part was spot on. On the other hand, until about 3/4 of my way through the book it felt like reading it was more of a slog and a chore than fun escapism. Characters were flat, dialog was stilted and unnatural, and there was a lot unnecessary repetition. Butler had a tendency to skip around, making jagged transitions that didn't really work and left the reader feeling like they had missed something. I felt no connection or investment in Willson (as she's referred to through the book, creating further separation from the character in my mind) until the last few chapters, which were heartbreakingly depressing and left me looking at the last page asking "that's it? That's how you leave it?" That reaction suggests to me that Butler has definite potential in the future, but No Place for Wolverines did not live up to that potential, and I probably wouldn't want to give the author another chance by reading another book.

Unusually, it is only the wolverines who win by the end of this book. It is not the characters, and it is definitely not the reader. My recommendation is to enjoy the cover, but you'll enjoy it more by not reading the book.

*3.5 stars rounded up.

In this second outing with Jenny Willson, Parks Canada warden, she is asked by her boss, the chief park warden in Banff, to accept a temporary assignment in Yoho National Park, where a ski resort is being proposed. He is suspicious about the people involved and wants Jenny to do some quiet investigating.

The area where the resort would be built, if Stafford Austin has his way, is currently still free of human impact. It is also an area where wolverines, an endangered species, can still be found. "The biologists call wolverines an indicator species, because if they're around, it means things are still wild."

Jenny welcomes the opportunity, not only to perhaps help protect the park from development, but to spend time with her widowed mother who still lives in nearby Golden, Jenny's childhood home.

She begins her investigation by trying to learn more about Austin, digging into his past. She connects with an American journalist living in Boise, Idaho, who is also looking into Austin's seemingly shady business dealings, and the two team up. Is this wise? Or will things blow up in Jenny's face?

The story bogs down at times with lots of details about these business maneuverings but there's enough drama to keep the reader turning pages. Our feisty hero is right in the middle of all the action!
Now where will she head off to? I'm looking forward to the third outing!

I received an arc of this new mystery from the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review. I appreciate the opportunity.

A solid 4 stars
This is a very good sequel to Full Curl, book 1 in the Jenny Willson series. Jenny is a Canada National Park Warden in Banff NP, Alberta, Canada. She volunteers to go to Yoho NP, British Columbia to investigate a proposed ski resort on the border of Yoho NP. She uncovers a project with many questions and problems. One of which is the fact that is located in prime wolverine territory. Wolverines are a protected species in Canada. I read it in 4 days, an easy, satisfying thriller.
There is a bittersweet ending that ties up all the threads in a satisfying manner.
Two quotes:
Vancouver rain: "Horizontal pulses of rain were coming at him as if thrown from a bucket, apparently unmitigated by the tall buildings all around."
Jenny's assessment of ski proposal:
"This was a project with more questions than answers. Willson pictured an iceberg, most of its mass lurking out of sight below the surface, potentially deadly."
Thank You Dundurn Press and Dave Butler for sending me this book through NetGalley.

No Place for Wolverines by John Marrs is the second book in the Jenny Wilson mystery series.

Park Warden, Jenny Wilson goes undercover when a rich developer plans to build a ski resort in the Canadien Mountains. The ski area called 'Top of the World' resort, has critical environmental and financial ramifications. One of North America's last populations of wild wolverines will be lost and that's just the beginning. When a cabin used for the wolverine research is burned down, killing a young women. That's just the beginning of the negative ramifications the resort will cause.
Jenny is sent undercover to determine how close the resort is to becoming a reality.

Jenny begins to uncover some dodgy financial buisness being used by the developers. If her cover is blown, there could be dangerous consequences for Jenny. Including murder.

******
I really enjoyed the debut novel, book:Full Curl, the first in the Jenny Wilson series.
I didn't like this one quite as well as it was more about politics rather than wildlife like the first one was. Despite that, the book is well written with plenty of suspence and interesting characters. I'll be looking out for any future Jenny Wilson novels.

Thanks to NetGalley, Dundurn Publishing, and author, [author:John Marrs|7264719], for this uncorrected advanced digital copy in return for my honest review.

The first chapter grabbed my attention immediately. Then it became more about political and environmental issues, and it slowed down for me. Even though it wasn’t the suspenseful read I was hoping for, I really liked Jenny Willson and her mother. It was well written, and I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys these type of mysteries.

The book takes place in British Columbia, Canada and begins with two researcher volunteers venturing into the Yoho National Park looking for evidence of endangered wolverines in the area. After returning with the evidence, one of them is killed in a suspicious fire in their office. A lot of their gear and supplies are lost in the fire, but not all of the evidence.

Meanwhile, there is a proposal to build large ski resort in the park and evidence of the endangered wolverines would hurt the chances of getting the project approved.

Jenny Willson is a park ranger who grew up in the area and she transfers back to secretly investigate the proposed ski resort. She’s also concerned about her mother, who still lives in the area and fights with severe depression.

Groups are formed on both sides of the issue...and the town becomes divided and conflicted over the proposed ski area. As with most politically/financially-motivated individuals, the people behind the proposal aren’t completely honest and forthcoming. Jenny forms alliances with an RCMP officer and an investigative journalist and finds herself in the middle of a tangled and dangerous mess.

Thank you to NetGalley / Dundurn / the Author for this digital ARC / in exchange for my honest review.
#NoPlaceForWolverines #NetGalley

Jenny Wilson initiates a covert inquiry into a proposed ski hill in Yoho National Park. While performing duties as a park warden she must decide if it is worth risking her career, perhaps her life and the lives of those close to her. What she discovers lurking in the darkness will have a hefty price attached to it.
During the course of inquiries she feels a growing attraction to the Mountie investigating a case of arson.
This story has a range of interesting characters including DeSantos the blackmailed bureaucrat, Austin the developer with a dubious past and a huge interest in the ski hill and also a somewhat seasoned journalist.
I didnt enjoy this quite as much as Dave Butler's debut novel Full Curl. The first book seemed to have more of an outdoors (one of my passions) storyline and the second more of a business/financial focus (and less action).
Despite this I would still recommend this to a reader with different interests/focus to myself
I must say the opening scene did a superb job of grabbing my attention and holding it for several pages. Possibly too good by raising my expectations on what lay ahead. In line with my earlier comments I loved the action/outdoor sections.. The ending leaves matters open for a sequel and maybe an interesting change in location. I have given it 4 stars as I dont believe it should lose marks just cause money matters arent my thing.
Thank you once again to Netgalley and the publishers for a free digital copy of the book in return for an honest review.

I don't understand all of the positive reviews on Goodreads. I did not like this book. The lead character was barely likable and there was WAY too much telling and not showing. Overall, there wasn't much action. Most of what did occur happened "off-screen" and the reader was told about it later. Also, the time jumps were unsettling. The heroine begins her investigation in one month and then, BOOM, suddenly it's four month's later. And oh, BTW, during that four months, this, this, and this happened.

Heroine meets a handsome cop. BOOM, it's the middle of the book and she finds out he's engaged to her good friend. And the reader doesn't even know the friend existed until the middle of the book, when we find out about the engagement.

Heroine meets a handsome reporter. BOOM, time jumps and we find out that the reporter has at some point in the past few weeks published an article without her permission and burned all bridges with her. We're told that she was mad and felt betrayed, but is getting over it. Most readers want to see that stuff; not have it practically mentioned in passing in a recap weeks later!

Overall, the time-jumps and disconnects destroyed what little suspense the book did have.

And don't even get me started on the ending ....

Banff Park Warden Jenny Willson goes undercover at nearby Yoko National Park to investigate the people involved in the proposed Top of the World ski resort. Jenny is thrilled to be back in her hometown and spend time with her widowed mother but she quickly discovers the town's residents are very divided about the planned resort. After a wolverine researcher dies in a mysterious fire, Willson forms an uneasy alliance with an RCMP corporal and an investigative journalist to expose the truth behind the project.

This was an engrossing mystery and a strong followup to Full Curl, the first book in the Jenny Willson mystery series.

I received an eARC via Netgalley and Dundurn with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book and provided this review.

Hi, this was archived very early compared to the publication date and I did not get to read it. Sorry I can't review it as it has gone off my computer, but if you make it available again do let me know to downlaod.

The book begins with a close up view of a wolverine attack on a baited trap in the Canadian Rockies. The author, Dave Butler, uses this as a close up view of how beautiful and fragile the mountain environment can be. In this realistic work of fiction, we find Park Warden Jenny Willson working in Yoho National Park trying to determine the push behind a new ski resort within the park boundaries. Virtually everyone agrees that another ski resort in the Rockies is foolish. However, due to a minor rewording of a law protecting the national parks, both the provincial and federal government have a proposal on their desks. Surprisingly, both governments are actually considering it. Why? When a wolverine researcher dies under mysterious circumstance, Willson is forced to work with the RCMP to investigate the ski hill proponent’s role in the crime. What appears to be a straightforward investigation soon grows to endanger those closest to Willson.

This fast paced story brings economic development, road building and pipeline construction into the discussion. Although it is fiction, this book is realistic enough to be very timely and important. I enjoyed this book because it strikes at the heart of an issue that concerns us all today: economic development versus environmental conservation. I highly recommend this book to people that need a spellbinding story of how these two opposing factors may meet head on in real life.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Dundern Press for providing me with an advanced copy of this excellent book.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/28718038-rick">View all my reviews

For Park Warden Jenny Willson, this is only job she could ever think of doing. Working in the wilderness of Banff National Park, she deals with poachers and wildlife. After coming across a fire with a dead body, she begins to investigate what if anything it has to do with a new ski resort in the wilderness. She is kickass and the kind of girl, I want for my friend. Beautiful descriptions of park and area. What happens to the wolverines? There has to be room for them. This book was exciting, the story interesting. I loved it. I received this book from Net Valley for an honest review.

4 stars

In the Golden, British Columbia wilderness, two researchers are looking for signs of wolverines in the area. When they get proof, they are elated. Later, that night, one of the researchers in killed in a mysterious fire.

Stafford Austin is a very wealthy man from Idaho wants to build a new ski resort in the Yoho area. He has some unsavory associations and his consortium has a questionable history.

Park warden Jenny Willson is sent to the Yoho station in British Columbia to check out what is going on. She welcomes the trip and the chance to “kick ass” once more. The local community is divided among those who support the ski resort idea and those who are violently opposed to it. Jenny forms an alliance with an RCMP officer and an American reporter to uncover the scam – if there is one. There seems to be evidence of fraud.

When Austin and his cronies start infighting, their project may be in danger of being completed. Violence is escalating against Austin and Jenny and her cohorts are in danger as well.

I appreciated that Jenny seems to be a well-adjusted young woman. It makes a refreshing change from investigators in other novels who are damaged in some way. I like what another reviewer said about this. This book is both well written and plotted. The tension begins almost immediately in this book with the death of the researcher and continues throughout. But, it is blended with everyday situations that relieve it at points. There is sufficient background information given on Jenny and the suspects so as to enlighten the reader, but not so much that it detracts from the story. I really liked the descriptions of the Yoho area: the mountains, the countryside and so on. This is an exciting and very interesting book. I am very glad to have the opportunity to read it.

I want to thank Netgalley and Dundurn for forwarding to me a copy of this great book to read, enjoy and review.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Dundurn Publishing for an advance copy of this well written, engaging and suspenseful book. I enjoyed it so much I immediately purchased the first book in the series.

The setting was vividly drawn and the characters given well developed compelling personalities. The character of Jenny Willson was especially appealing. She is brave, likable and relentless in her pursuit of the truth. (There seems to be a trend lately for mystery stories to contain female investigators who are emotionally unstable due to childhood abuse or other traumatic trauma in their past. They are successful investigators but barely function in social situations). It was refreshing to meet the bright, friendly, quite well adjusted Jenny Willson.

A shady businessman and his cohorts plan to build a gigantic year round ski resort/amusement centre in the park, and eventually build a new toll road through the mountain range and a pipeline from Alberta into British Columbia. The town is divided between those who see the project attracting businesses, jobs and money to the area, and those who oppose the idea due to environmental concerns.

The wilderness area has found to be the extended range of wolverines, an endangered species. A volunteer wolverine research assistant is killed in a fire, perhaps deliberately set. The head of the project has been threatened for his efforts to conserve the animals in the parklands. Soon the business man and his partner are shot and wounded.

Jenny is working covertly to learn all she can about the ski resort scheme. She befriends a local RCMP officer and an American investigative reporter. They are soon on the track of those committing violence on both sides and possible investment fraud. Ambitious politicians may also be involved in the project which would destroy much of the wilderness. She must contend with threats to herself and her depressed mother. There are risks to her career and a sad, unexpected betrayal. Retribution and justice are not always served. I found this a tense, exciting read.

Thank you NetGalley and Dundurn Publishing for the eARC.
After Full Curl, the first in the Park Warden Jenny Willson series, I very much enjoyed this follow-up. Jenny's character grew on me as she is investigating a proposed gigantic ski park being planned by a consortium of vaguely shady men, led by an American charismatic businessman. As she delves into his past, he proves to have a checkered record and she teams up with an investigative journalist and an RCMP corporal. The ski park proposal divides the small town in BC, one side relishing the idea of jobs and tourism, the other afraid of the disturbance of the National Park and the animals that inhabit it. When a Wolverine researcher dies in a suspicious fire and subsequent events include shootings and a rocks thrown through windows, things turn dangerously ugly. Danger seems to lurk everywhere as the town is torn apart. Politics, nature conservation and hucksters make for an explosive situation and Jenny, also worried about her deeply depressed mother, deftly maneuvers her way through it all. I very much felt the frustration of dealing with politicians, the inherent bureaucracy and greed that comes with trying to protect our dwindling wild spaces and the animals who are being pushed to extinction. This book is a sensitive look at a subject that concerns us all. An excellent read in a setting I would love to visit.

A proposed ski resort in Yoho National Park has gotten park ranger Jenny Wilson’s attention. Battle lines are being drawn between those in favor of the ski mountain and those opposed and the battle is getting ugly. A researcher studying wolverines in the park dies in a mysterious fire, drawing together Jenny, an RCMP officer and a journalist, all looking for the truth. Jenny is a Canadian Anna Pigeon and lovers of that series and Jessica Speart’s novels will find much to like in this nature centered mystery