Kathy West and Nathan Toland are back for another monstrous wildlife adventure. The two rangers work in secret for the U.S. Park Service, investigating and protecting the public from supernatural and dangerous creatures that live in national parks.

In their first adventure (see my review here), West and Toland put the kibosh on a giant crab invasion. In the next book, the pair went toe-to-toe with a lounge of mutant fire-breathing lizards (review here). This time, the power rangers are in Yellowstone Park investigating a conspiracy of murderous mega-ravens and a sleuth of prehistoric beasts.

If you had only one chance to visit a U.S. national park, Yellowstone would be a great choice. Officially declared a government wilderness sanctuary 150 years ago, it includes 2.2 million acres and shares borders with three different states—Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. A trip to Yellowstone National Park, says author Russell James, is the North American version of going on an African safari.

Yellowstone has a long-forgotten secret, however, and Toland and West are tasked to uncover it. Here’s a clue for readers: If this assignment is anything like their previous assignments, it’ll assuredly include a giant monster or two.

As an NPS historian, Toland gleefully dives into the park’s massive library of paperwork (much like Scrooge McDuck diving into his vault of money). West, being the action-hero type, investigates tourist-restricted trails, mountains and woodland areas.

Pretty quickly the rangers piece together a compelling jigsaw puzzle of Yellowstone arcana. The info they uncover confirms the existence of a secret government organization initially fronted by President Theodore Roosevelt. And yes, as expected, there are horrible monsters involved.

Before long, Kathy West and Nathan Toland discovered that the nation’s park service was founded on a great big lie. On paper, the parks were meant to save unique natural ecosystems for the enjoyment of future generations. But in reality, a small splinter group within the government had purposely regulated public access to various parks and historical sites. As it turned out, Yellowstone wasn’t a sanctuary to protect indigenous flora and fauna—it was actually a prison for monsters. To be continued!

[Ravens of Yellowstone / By Russell James / First Printing: December 2021 / ISBN: 9781922551214]