Canyonlands Carnage

National Park Mystery #7

by Scott Graham

When suspicious deaths befall a whitewater rafting expedition through Cataract Canyon in Canyonlands National Park, archaeologist Chuck Bender and his family recognize evil intent lies behind the tragedies. They must risk their lives and act before the murderer makes an already deadly journey on the Colorado River through Utah’s red-rock wilderness even deadlier—or turns on them instead.

Genres: Mystery, Nature, Outdoors

274 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 13, 2021

About the author

Scott Graham is author of Canyon Sacrifice: A National Park Mystery and Extreme Kids (winner of the National Outdoor Book Award). He is an avid outdoorsman and amateur archaeologist who enjoys hunting, rock climbing, skiing, backpacking, mountaineering, river rafting, and whitewater kayaking with his wife, an emergency physician, and their two sons. Graham lives in Durango, Colorado.

Reviews

[Abibliofob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Canyonland Carnage by Scott Graham is in my opinion the best so far in the Series about Chuck Bender and the National Parks Mysteries. I love the historical and archeology bits in these books and this story about how to use water in the rivers is great. The setting with an assembly of people from both sides on a river raft journey is superb. To my surprise! Then there is murder and Chuck has to do what he has done before. Get to the bottom? With it. I must thank @this_is_edelweiss @torreyhousepress for giving me an advance copy and @sgrahamauthor for writing it.

[Lynette · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little fast & loose with the geography of the Maze, but overall, an interesting presentation of the water wars in the west.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved learning about the water history!

[Ross L · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this up at The Kings English bookstore. I liked it. Probably read some more from this National Park Mystery series.

[Laurie Ann Jeavons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!

Scott Graham is one of my favorite authors. This series is fantastic and always a good read! I'm anxious for the next one!

[Sharon Mensing · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do love Scott Graham's series starring Chuck Bender, an archaeologist and all-around outdoorsman. This one takes place in the Canyonlands National Park. In it, Chuck is the naturalist on a river rafting trip designed to bring some sort of common understanding about water rights in the West. He handles the gear boat during the day and gives mini lectures in the evening. The book deals well with both the history of Western water diversion and the issues related to water rights that are a very current part of Western politics. The discussion of these issues in the book is a bit didactic, taking the reader out of the action of the story, but it's such a fascinating topic that I didn't mind.

The action in the book is thrilling, and some of Graham's best writing takes place as he describes the danger of running the rapids. He also describes some of the most remote parts of Canyonlands (in and around the Maze) very well, giving those of us who will never get there in person a glimpse of their beauty and spirit. The book includes sabotage and murder and, while you may have an inkling of the perpetrator before they are revealed, it does all make sense. The resolution is brought about too quickly for my taste, with such an expedient confession seeming rather unlikely. I did especially like that Chuck's family is directly involved in the plot, even if their involvement seemed a bit unlikely as well.

All in all, this is not a perfect book, but its combination of a timely topic, thrilling action, and gorgeous scenery made it a good read. There's another one of the series in the works, too, which is a very happy occurrence. I'll be looking forward to it!

[J.J. Rusz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I confess I liked this series better before Chuck Bender picked up a family. “Canyonlands Carnage” opens with a spectacular ride through whitewater rapids in Canyonlands National Park following on the death (by apparent heart attack) of an elderly member of an important policymaking group concerned with water use in the American West. The first two chapters are Scott Graham at his energetic best.

What follows is a string of accidents on the Colorado River that may be more than that, with lots of potential suspects both among the policy people and their professional guides. Chuck Bender is the expedition’s naturalist, and his family becomes involved too, adding a dimension to the tale but slowing it down. I mostly enjoyed “Canyonlands Carnage,” but when you have so many characters, they become hard to keep track of.

[John Senner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an "issue" story - water rights in the West, dam building, water conservation, etc. A group of conservationists are paired with corporate users to take a trip down the Green and then Colorado Rivers to work out their differences. Trouble begins at the first rapids.

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun mystery, easy read that keeps your attention and wondering what will happen next

[Anne - Books of My Heart · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart
 

Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The  National Park Mystery series continues to improve as it goes along. I still enjoy the park settings, the mysteries, the archeology and the family growth and character development.  These last two installments also have  timely topics which are very relevant.

Chuck and Janelle and the two daughters, Carmelita and Rosie, are much more of a tight family now.   Chuck is an archeologist who does work at National Park sites.  Chuck Bender is in his early 50s in good shape.  Janelle is now nearly finished with a paramedic course.  She is serious about it and does a good job. She is working with Chuck now instead of blaming him. The girls are starting to have teen attitudes though.

The theme for Canyonlands Carnage is water use and shortages in the Southwest United States. A group of scientists, academics, corporates and government types are going on a whitewater rafting trip down the Colorado River while they discuss water regulations.  Chuck and Clarence go to both help with gear and so they can provide historical / archeological facts.

Right away people start dying.  They look natural or accidental but Chuck and Clarence don't think they are. They discover aspects which make them more like homicide.  At home, Janelle gets an email for Chuck from a friend warning about dangers.  So she and the girls travel to one of the night stops on the route to deliver that information.

Janelle and the girls become targets even though they leave almost immediately. They witness the next murder.  It's a struggle afterward to get everyone out safe and determine the culprit.  Chuck and his family have a lot of experience.

Narration:
I've enjoyed this narrator previously.  The primary voice and thoughts were Chuck and he certainly became Chuck for me. Janelle has more of a voice in these later books.  The other voices were all comfortably appropriate. I was able to listen at my usual 1.5x speed.

[Vicky Ramakka · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is the idea of the arm chair traveler, at ease, reading about far-off events. But for Canyonlands Carnage, it's more like clutch the arms of your chair squeeze your eyes shut, and hope you survive, as you join Chuck Bender and brother-in-law Clarence plunging into one fearsome rapid after another.
This newest addition to Graham's National Park mystery series is a satisfying balance of white-water thrills, curious clues dropped like pennies, and campfire discussions about the drought's worsening impact on the entire southwest.
For those who follow the series, they will be pleased to find his family is an important part of the story. I especially enjoyed seeing daughters, Carmelita and Rosie, developing distinctive personalities and growing in self-confident.

[Jeannie · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are a lot of improbable things going on in this book, but water issues are so important in the Southwest, that reading about them is always engaging if that is an area of the country that is of interest to you. The family aspect is fun, although the age is off for the youngest daughter. While her character is a good addition to the story, she seems a good eight years younger than her age as given in the narrative. Finally though, the striking cover was worth the price of the book if nothing else!

[Sydney Spires · Rating 3 out of 5]

i only bought this book bc it took place in the exact same spot i rafted all last summer which is pretty fun. it took me forever to get through bc it started kinda slow and is clearly meant to be educational so just spits paragraphs of facts at you so i didn’t really understand the plot until like 1/3 of the way thru and then even that was slow to pick up. i brought it on vacation so that i’d be forced to finish it and the plot actually did pick
up. it felt sort of like a cousin of Deliverance but less graphic/disturbing and more educational

[Marion · Rating 4 out of 5]

National Parks Mystery #7 published in 2021.
Count on Scott Graham to share his love for and deep knowledge of the history and topography and current issues relating to, the national park and the Southwest. As a part-time resident of Durango, I especially enjoy his local knowledge and color.

This one focuses on the crucial issue of water rights amid the ever dwindling supply and increasing demand. Also some hair-raising near death experiences in the river rapids.

Props to the fabulous Torrey House Press for another environmentally relevant story.

[Jennifer Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid 3-1/2, maybe a little higher. Like the others in this series, a fairly typical murder mystery set within a national park and having environmental overtones as well as historical and cultural themes, particularly in relation to the Ancestral Puebloan cultures and their descendants, as well as more recent southwestern history.

[Zoe Todd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this up when in Moab Utah at local book store by local author and I’d just been in a Canyonlands
Enjoyed the river who dunnit. But simple at the end but the water struggle and history was fun.

[Kimberlee Yeargin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned a lot about water in the Southwest region of the US, water conservation, National park history, geology and ecology and water politics in addition to enjoying another mystery in this series. It is just a fun read as well.

[Kathy Goodman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast-paced thriller on the white water, multiple mysteries in the desert canyon-another win for the Chuck Bender series!

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great descriptions of the land in the area. Kudos to Graham for such beautiful depictions

[Victoria Contreras · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love how this book keeps you on edge and also has a lot of great information about the park and it’s history. Great read!

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good depiction of commercial raft trips and of the western water crisis. Murders were a bit hard to believe but mystery was well developed

[Carol Bedin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, educational (about water rights)mystery, maybe not the best writing.

[Yasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the introductory discussions about the Colorado River Compact and water rights that were included in this book.

[Mary Grace Hanson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love National Parks or outdoorsy murder mysteries

[James Fortin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dope because I’m reading “down the great unknown” right now and both books are about the same place so it was cool to hear it and read it. Excited to visit one day

[Janna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the mystery and learning about the water issues in the Southwest.

[Jeani · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are an outdoorsman, this is the series for you. So much detail about the adventure but beware…not much mystery. Zzzzzz….

[Thomas King · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought provoking for lovets of the soth west.

Enjoying again Scotts characters this tale took me through an advenure in CanyonLands . Adding the girls to the story was a bit over the top...might have been more realistic with just Chuck and Clarence.

[Rose Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fine story. A fun quick read. The ending was weak and the description of the Maze District of Canyonlands is a joke.