Baited

by Colleen O'Brien

It's 2004 the summer of Glacier National Park's grizzly bear DNA study. Trail crew worker Clancy Dyer dashes through the aspen to roust her buddy. She finds only his shredded tent and horrible smell. She alerts district ranger Mack Savage. As they work to find the missing man, they uncover a series of misdeeds and betrayals.

Told from multiple points of view representing Glacier's eclectic east side, Baited grapples with personal loss, the controversy surrounding grizzly bears and how to reconcile one's love and affection for a person who has committed a reprehensible act.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

320 pages, Paperback

Published June 3, 2025

About the author

Colleen O’Brien is a Montana writer whose work has been published in the anthologies "A Mile in Her Boots: Women Who Work in the Wild," "Bright Bones: Contemporary Montana Writing," and "A View Inside Glacier National Park: 100 Years, 100 Stories." Her short stories and essays have appeared in Montana Quarterly, Flathead Living, The Missoulian, Whitefish Review, High Country News, Montana Outdoors, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Weddings, and on Timothy McSweeney’s Internet Tendency.

Baited is her debut novel. The manuscript was awarded the Michael K. Smith Fellowship at Porches Writing Retreat in Virginia. She is co-owner of several East Glacier, Montana businesses and lives with her family near Glacier Park.

Reviews

[MB Bertram]

The phrase "Just one more chapter!" was created for this book. I could not put it down.

I was enthralled by the characters as soon as I started reading. I wanted to know everything about them - how they got to Glacier, their hopes, their dreams, their secrets. . .

O'Brien does an amazing job of making us care about these characters, even the ones we don't like very much. No one is truly good or truly bad. They're all complicated, like the people we all meet in everyday life.

Did I mention it's also a who done it? I love a good mystery. This one kept me guessing and hoping it wasn't one of the characters I had gotten to know and become fond of.

[Sara]

Wow, Colleen O'Brien's "Baited" was a fantastic read! Seriously, I picked this up and couldn't put it down. As someone who's lived and worked in Glacier National Park for over ten years and has seen firsthand the dramas created by a diverse crew living in close proximity, I can tell you this book offers a wonderful, authentic portrait of that experience.
I loved how the author crafted intricately intertwined relationships amongst these unique individuals. Each character, coming from different backgrounds, brings their own distinct motivations that drive them through the story. The complexities added by the varied cast enduring not only emotional and interpersonal challenges but also the formidable challenges of Glacier Park's environment—its tough terrain, unpredictable weather, dangerous river crossings, and pervasive wildlife—made this book incredibly engaging. Highly recommend!

[Victoria Wiedrich]

I don’t read fiction very often; however, this book was part of the Glacier Book Club package for 2026 that I purchased. The story was good but there were too many characters, therefore, I had trouble keeping track of them. It was a fast read and the story was interesting. I just found it difficult to go back to the beginning of the book so many times due to characters overload.

[Lauren]

I happened upon this book during a recent trip to Glacier National Park while staying in East Glacier. The novel takes me back to those precious moments on the “quieter” side of Glacier during the shoulder season, when you have the chance to experience the raw beauty of the park and appreciate all that incredible place has to offer.

It’s the perfect read for those who love Glacier or plan to visit as well as for nature-enthusiasts and lovers of all things wild. The storytelling is vivid, and the plot is fast-paced and keeps you on your toes.

I count myself lucky for having found this novel and look forward to future reads from the author.

[Maria Alana]

2.5 ⭐️ There will be 2 parts to this review…

Book roasting:
This whole book felt like I was in the first 10 pages!! TOO MANY CHARACTERS! Also not everything made sense and the mystery still isn’t fully solved! Is it supposed to be a cliffhanger? I DONT KNOW! The first 200 pages were even worse. Also the reveal didn’t feel like ANYTHING!

Book understanding:
Although I didn’t like this book it takes A LOT to sit down and right one! And to get it published too! There were parts I liked which is why I give it 1.75 stars. I love the parts about the Native Americans and would DEFINITELY read a book that’s more about them. Pllleeeeaassseee write about what life is like for natives (as much as you can as a white)! Overall, I know my book reviews are harsh but this book gets 5⭐️ for the fact that you WROTE A BOOK!

P.S. as a reference I gave Harry Potter 2 stars

EDIT: I know I was hating on this book but now I miss it! The Montana vibes are spot on and I’m craving a sequel!

[Nate Schweber]

An engrossing whodunnit with turns and switchbacks like a trail leading deep into Glacier National Park’s grizzly-filled backcountry. Baited is a mystery in which the only things more powerful and unpredictable than nature expressing itself via fire, flood, and apex predator are the emotions and motivations of a gritty collection of characters. “Glacier’s a powerful place,” a ranger cop comments, “…it culls the riffraff.” With prose sharp enough to make you feel the pine needles, Colleen O’Brien evokes what is so forebodingly captivating about one of Montana’s most dramatic landscapes. For lovers of the state’s literary forebearers, imagine Ivan Doig – if he wrote noir.

[Joann Flick]

Full disclosure: the author is a friend and I live near the East Glacier Ranger Station.

Colleen creates a realistic set of circumstances and personalities that collide with the often brutal landscape and natural perils of Glacier National Park and develop into a twisted, tragic mess. I loved how she inserted a side note about the flora, fauna or geology of the park along the way. It’s a gripping tale that kept me awake way past my bedtime.

The book will make you want to visit Glacier National Park for its raw beauty. And, it will make you wary of the power of the place to consume the humans enchanted by it.

[Janet E.]

I really enjoyed this book. The characters are great and a wonderful introduction into a landscape I know little about. The writing is wonderful. A definite cut above many of the authors I have read. There is a list of characters at the front which I really appreciate and a map of the territory she references throughout the book. I appreciated that because every time I read a book I have a note pad and write those things down because I easily get lost in which character is which. Maybe, I am the only one with that problem! The story is compelling and keeps you guessing.

[Marianne]

Such a fun way to learn about glacier park and be entertained!!!!

[Patti]

I bought this book at Colleen’s shop when I was in East Glacier. Later she was kind enough to sign it for me. A wonderful woman. Baited is a fascinating read about Glacier and an exciting page turner. I highly recommend it!

[Cay]

Loved this book! Great mystery with unique characters (not stereotypical/expected), I read it straight through to find out what happened and highly recommend it! A great summer read!

[Michael Banks]

Context: Picked up this book while meandering through downtown Kalispell, where the Bookshelf was proudly featuring local talent in Montana's literary tradition(#readlocal). What made finding this book special was that I was in the middle of a destination trip for my best friend from my high school years, Katie, who was getting married in Glacier National Park. I found it while window shopping with Baily, the maid of honor and close friend who rounds out our lil trio that was my 3 musketeers from ages 12-18. Baily particularly motivated my love for reading back in those days, and the whole trip was rooted in reconnecting with nature and with dear friends I'd lost touch with.

Confession Session: I got drawn into this book because of the cover, and all three of my stars for this review are influenced by my own craving for a read that matched the days I'd recently spent immersed in Glacier's picturesque mountainscapes and trails. In terms of descriptive imagery, the writing matched the pace. O'Brien's prose does a remarkable job of painting a vivid picture of the flora, fauna, and landscape that this story had to be grounded in to carry weight. I also really appreciated how she colors the story with local nuance. She touches on aspects of the area's native history, what the park means to locals, socioeconomic differences across the cast of characters, and the complex relations between Native and non-Native society in this part of the country.

With that in mind, where the story fell short for me was simply in the pacing. The cast of characters can be hard to keep up with at times, and there were a few that I was left wanting more from. By the time we get into their individual perspectives, the chapter ends and a new POV resets. This was a classic 'whodunit', but I found myself lost trying to keep up with the who's who of it all, so some of the moments that were meant to elicit a shock were lost on me. This book reads as the premise of a short story that was turned into a novel, and as such, there were parts where it simply dragged on.

It is clear that O'Brien loves this place and the people that occupy it, and I would recommend her as a go-to for any reader who wants to go on a visual journey. For anyone who quite literally wants the picture in 1000 words, or needs a masterclass in building a narrative around descriptive imagery, start here.

[Michelle Spano]

4.5 ⭐️ This book was excellent! A Glacier Book Club pick. I enjoyed reading a mystery/suspense that takes place in one of my favorite places I’ve ever visited-Glacier National Park. The story kept me hooked and included many of my favorite things- hiking in beautiful places (some mentioned I’ve been lucky enough to visit), wildlife encounters, a dash of romance. It also sparks some interesting ideas to ponder. Does scientific research in these places cause more harm than good? I also appreciated the perspective about the history and use of the land.

“Steal the land from Natives starving to death because you decimated the buffalo herds, designate a wild place full of vicious animals for all the American people, create a bunch of laws to protect the place and the animals from all the people, hire and keep hiring rangers—mostly white men—to enforce the laws, hire people like herself capable of meticulously completing the federal paperwork that the law enforcers didn't possess the attention span to han-dle, and then get all distraught and excited and mount expensive, elaborate searches when the people got lost, fell off the mountains, met with weather, or got attacked by the predators.
They were all our walking around in the bears living room, clawing their way up mountains, fording raging rivers. What did they expect?”

[Emily Swanson]

If you're interested in reading about Glacier National Park and the people who work or live on the East Side, pick up this book. I worked with Colleen at the park as a seasonal ranger in the early 2000s, and she beautifully captures the tension that results from individual people loving the park intensely but having vastly different ideas about how best to protect and manage the park and its resources.

In my opinion, the East Side is the best side of the park, but its relative remoteness and the tensions that remain from the Blackfeet being forced from their traditional homelands make it a complex place. Colleen tells a compelling mystery through characters who seem like real individuals and not caricatures, yet the characters also reveal the casual misogyny and racism that sometimes exists in the park, as well as the different types of workers in the park, some of whom get promoted out of the backcountry and into office jobs.

If you can't lace up your boots and get onto the trails at Glacier, this book will take you as close as possible to the real thing.

[Louise Wedley]

Sorry, this book was a terrible disappointment. I thought it would be a fun read before going on vacation to Glacier National Park. The author tried to stretch a short story into a long one. I didn't like a single character in the book. The storyline had so much potential. but did not meet it. Weak characters and plot. I feel like the author hates Glacier, hates the people of Montana and hates National Parks and their staff. Or at least that was my reading of it ....

[Diane]

I've just spent a couple of perfect summer days on my back porch completely immersed in this fast-paced backcountry thriller. I loved the way characters' back-stories were seamlessly woven into the plot. All the different subcultures living in and near National Parks (especially Glacier) are perfectly captured here. You can tell the author knows this setting intimately. I'm hoping for a sequel!

[Edie]

Cast of thousands that were difficult for me to keep track of. The author obviously loves Glacier National Park as there were many, many descriptions of the mountains, wildflowers and wildlife. Nice but didn't add to the story which would have moved along better if they had been cut back.

[Kathryn Noble]

I bought this book when I was in Glacier National Park this fall. It is an amazing read! I was just somewhat disappointed in the ending of the book. Those who have read it will probably know what I am talking about. I wanted some closure (for sure) on one of the characters.

[Linda]

Enjoyed the story, especially the descriptions of the scenery in Glacier National Park. A lot of characters to keep straight, but fortunately, a character list in the beginning of the book helped me keep them and the connections to other characters straight.

[B]

Is there a series here?
Looking forward to another one about Glacier.

[David Dittloff]

So good! A real page turning mystery. Great prose. Complex, believable characters. O’Brien’s love and knowledge of Glacier Park and wild places and wildlife in general oozes out of every page.

[Mary]

Ugh. Park rangers sleep around, take drugs, burgle,....
I didn't like anyone in this book.

[Sidney Yarnall]

Ugh, idk too many characters and I just couldn’t get attached to any of them or the story. Cool that it was in glacier tho!

[Mbvdk]

This book was really good. It drew me in and the story was well written and complex enough to keep me guessing to the very end.