Murder of Ravens (Gabriel Hawke)
Mystery
1st in Series
Windtree Press (January 20, 2019)
Paperback: 302 pages

Synopsis

The ancient Indian art of tracking is his greatest strength…

And also his biggest weakness.

Fish and Wildlife State Trooper Gabriel Hawke believes he’s chasing poachers.

However, he comes upon a wildlife biologist standing over a body that is wearing a wolf tracking collar.

He uses master tracker skills taught to him by his Nez Perce grandfather to follow clues on the mountain. Paper trails and the whisper of rumors in the rural community where he works, draws Hawke to a conclusion that he finds bitter.

Arresting his brother-in-law ended his marriage, could solving this murder ruin a friendship?

Guest Post

Today we have Hawke from Murder of Ravens joining us and giving us a little background on himself and his job.  Fascinating stuff!

My name is Hawke. Actually, it’s Oregon Fish and Wildlife State Trooper Gabriel Hawke, but I prefer to be called Hawke. My mother named me Gabriel from the Bible, but my life has been anything but angelic. Which is why I prefer Hawke.

I enjoy my job. Because my Nez Perce grandfather spent time with me, teaching me how to track, I am known as a Master Tracker. I use this gift to help when people are missing in the Wallowa Whitman Forest as well as all over the Northwestern United States and Canada. I also give seminars on tracking at law enforcement conferences.

The ability to track was a skill my Nez Perce and Cayuse forefathers used to find food for their families. These days I use the skills to find lost backpackers and hunters in Wallowa County, the land where my Nez Perce ancestors lived during the summer and winter.

You can tell which direction a person or animal is going to go by the depth of the indentions in a footprint. You can tell if they are hesitant or hurrying. When there appears to be no footprint, you look for other clues to assess which way the creature is going. It could be displaced dirt, sand, grass, or leaves. Everyone leaves a trail, it’s just knowing how to see what is and isn’t there. Knowing the surroundings and seeing what is out of place is also a good way to deduce which path a creature has taken.

It takes a certain skill and focus to be a tracker. Unfortunately, the type of focus it requires can make me single-minded when I get caught up in clues and information that pertains to a case I’m on. As in my first book, the apprehension of the person who strangled a man with a wolf tracking collar on Goat Mountain. I came upon the body and a wildlife biologist. It would have been easy to assume the biologist killed the victim, but the facts and tracks didn’t add up to that being the case.

Back down in the valley, listening to rumors and following the paper trails, I managed to dig up information that slowly helped to build a case. Because I came across the body and had to find the answers, I was allowed more freedom to work the case than usual.

That is the best part about working in a large, rural county. There is a small law enforcement group, few people, and a lot of ground to cover. We are given more latitude to work cases and help out other law enforcement.

About the Author

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 35 novels, 8 novellas, and numerous anthologies of murder mystery and western romance. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. Her Shandra Higheagle mystery series has been a runner-up in the RONE Award Mystery category, and a finalist in the Daphne du Maurier.

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