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Lost Gorge Mystery #2
Fiend in the Forest
A new and updated edition of Winter Stalker: A Lost Gorge Mystery
The blizzard descended in a fury that the old-timers swore they’d never seen. The roads shut down; the town shut down; the ski lift shut down. Everyone was accounted for—or so everyone thought.
But one skier got on the chairlift and never made it to the other end. By the time the storm cleared out, all that remained was his decimated remains in the snow. Whether animal attack or murder—no one’s quite sure—nobody has ever seen a body with that kind of carnage.
Mina Park was operating the chairlift that afternoon and can’t forgive herself for failing to save him. Now her part-time job as a deputy feels a lot more like a full-time calling. Who was he? Where did he come from? And, more than anything, what happened on that dark night that left him in such a state and by who’s hand?
A couple of the more colorful townsfolk are convinced Bigfoot is the culprit. Crazies from all over descend on the region and head into the woods to find the elusive beast. All they find is more pain and death.
Mina has to face down the beast, or the beast in the man, before anyone else dies.
The blizzard descended in a fury that the old-timers swore they’d never seen. The roads shut down; the town shut down; the ski lift shut down. Everyone was accounted for—or so everyone thought.
But one skier got on the chairlift and never made it to the other end. By the time the storm cleared out, all that remained was his decimated remains in the snow. Whether animal attack or murder—no one’s quite sure—nobody has ever seen a body with that kind of carnage.
Mina Park was operating the chairlift that afternoon and can’t forgive herself for failing to save him. Now her part-time job as a deputy feels a lot more like a full-time calling. Who was he? Where did he come from? And, more than anything, what happened on that dark night that left him in such a state and by who’s hand?
A couple of the more colorful townsfolk are convinced Bigfoot is the culprit. Crazies from all over descend on the region and head into the woods to find the elusive beast. All they find is more pain and death.
Mina has to face down the beast, or the beast in the man, before anyone else dies.
Kindle Edition
First published November 6, 2018
57 people are currently reading
34 people want to read
About the author
M.K. Dymock
6 books173 followersAlso Known as Lee Dawson.
Melissa is an analyst by day, writer by night, and ski instructor/triathlete by weekend. All of that makes her sound way more awesome than she is, but that's the point. Many of her stories include outdoor adventure since that's where her best ideas come from. Follow her own adventures at weekendwomanwarrior.com.
Melissa is an analyst by day, writer by night, and ski instructor/triathlete by weekend. All of that makes her sound way more awesome than she is, but that's the point. Many of her stories include outdoor adventure since that's where her best ideas come from. Follow her own adventures at weekendwomanwarrior.com.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
June 13, 2020
This is book two of the Lost Gorge Mystery series and flows the main character Mina Park, who is operating a chairlift on the peak of Baldie, the aptly named peak of the Lost Gorge Mountain Resort, as well as any other job she can do to earn her money to pay her bills. She is also a part-time deputy and has worked as a river guide and ski instructor when required. Due to a huge snowstorm, the lift is being closed down early and the bottom liftie lets her know of the last rider coming up, but they never arrive. She waits for more chairs to come past, but then has no choice but to start a search for them asap. As she skis the chairlift line, she sees something in the distance, but can’t make it out. She has a feeling something is watching her, but not where it is.
She makes it down to the lodge and joins Patrick and Sheriff Solo (Sol) Chapa, to discuss where they have both looked so far and what options are left to them. Due to the weather, Sol calls off the search until the morning and hopefully clearer weather. At the moment, visibility is too bad to continue a search, but Mina is upset that if someone has fallen, they will be dead by morning, and she will blame herself! Sol has more experience than her at Search and Rescue (SAR), so she agrees with his decision, especially as it has been known for skiers to jump off the lift to ski down, just for the thrill of it. They could be putting themselves at more risk, searching for nobody! As they go out the next day, a body is found, torn to shreds and with a very large but bare footprint nearby. Far larger than a normal human’s, so not one that belonged to the victim.
The news soon stops people from travelling to the resort and numbers are down. The resort however, does get some unwelcome visitors. Those that are drawn to the long held myth and legend of Bigfoot and the notoriety that would come to the one that can prove its very existence. This, before any sort of autopsy can correctly label what killed the victim, animal or man! One of those is software developer Ryan Lehman, who saw something terrible some twenty years ago and had been following the threads of Bigfoot stories ever since. He has seen the beast close up as a teenager, ravaging a body, leaving it in much the same state as this recent body find was. He was branded a liar and attention seeker and sent to have therapy at the time and had restrictions on all his gaming and other interests for some time. His old pal Phil was the one to persuade him to leave work and come up to the resort for this Bigfoot sighting. Now may be his only real chance to get vindicated and to prove the myth is a reality.
A group of these Bigfoot hunters go out on a trek to see if they can find any sign of the creature and another body is found. This one not quite as torn up as the first one. Was this an animal attack or was it done by human hands? Mina and Sol will need to investigate this remote location for more evidence, before they can make any decision. Mina ends up having to team up with Ryan, at one time a suspect, but also someone she was almost interested in. They will have to put aside any differences they have about whether Bigfoot is real or not, and concentrate on where the evidence is leading them, to find out who or what killed the first man and more importantly for Ryan, who or what killed his friend.
A great mystery, mixing in myth with human folly and leaving you wondering what is real and what isn’t. Sometimes you have to realise that the simplest explanation is the correct one, when it comes to figuring out how something was done. A large mix of suspects in this case and a very complex background given to the mystery at the end of the book, which shows how good the author is at messing with your head. I haven’t read the first book in this series, but this book was easy to read as a standalone book and kept my interest the whole way through. It leads you in one direction, with misdirection happening all around it! I look forward to reading some more of this authors books and this is an author to watch. I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSprout and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
She makes it down to the lodge and joins Patrick and Sheriff Solo (Sol) Chapa, to discuss where they have both looked so far and what options are left to them. Due to the weather, Sol calls off the search until the morning and hopefully clearer weather. At the moment, visibility is too bad to continue a search, but Mina is upset that if someone has fallen, they will be dead by morning, and she will blame herself! Sol has more experience than her at Search and Rescue (SAR), so she agrees with his decision, especially as it has been known for skiers to jump off the lift to ski down, just for the thrill of it. They could be putting themselves at more risk, searching for nobody! As they go out the next day, a body is found, torn to shreds and with a very large but bare footprint nearby. Far larger than a normal human’s, so not one that belonged to the victim.
The news soon stops people from travelling to the resort and numbers are down. The resort however, does get some unwelcome visitors. Those that are drawn to the long held myth and legend of Bigfoot and the notoriety that would come to the one that can prove its very existence. This, before any sort of autopsy can correctly label what killed the victim, animal or man! One of those is software developer Ryan Lehman, who saw something terrible some twenty years ago and had been following the threads of Bigfoot stories ever since. He has seen the beast close up as a teenager, ravaging a body, leaving it in much the same state as this recent body find was. He was branded a liar and attention seeker and sent to have therapy at the time and had restrictions on all his gaming and other interests for some time. His old pal Phil was the one to persuade him to leave work and come up to the resort for this Bigfoot sighting. Now may be his only real chance to get vindicated and to prove the myth is a reality.
A group of these Bigfoot hunters go out on a trek to see if they can find any sign of the creature and another body is found. This one not quite as torn up as the first one. Was this an animal attack or was it done by human hands? Mina and Sol will need to investigate this remote location for more evidence, before they can make any decision. Mina ends up having to team up with Ryan, at one time a suspect, but also someone she was almost interested in. They will have to put aside any differences they have about whether Bigfoot is real or not, and concentrate on where the evidence is leading them, to find out who or what killed the first man and more importantly for Ryan, who or what killed his friend.
A great mystery, mixing in myth with human folly and leaving you wondering what is real and what isn’t. Sometimes you have to realise that the simplest explanation is the correct one, when it comes to figuring out how something was done. A large mix of suspects in this case and a very complex background given to the mystery at the end of the book, which shows how good the author is at messing with your head. I haven’t read the first book in this series, but this book was easy to read as a standalone book and kept my interest the whole way through. It leads you in one direction, with misdirection happening all around it! I look forward to reading some more of this authors books and this is an author to watch. I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSprout and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
April 18, 2023
Definitely an interesting plot but it’d get more stars from me if it was properly edited.
September 29, 2020
OK I definitely Liked the first book way better ... this book was good and interesting but well had it's own drama for sure and was ... well for me easy to figure out who was involved before the ending... but I still had the wrong person ... hahahahhhaa ..but had the right family just did not think the person could do what they did in the end ... yea it is that good but was somehow this author can throw you off the path ... I liked the fact characters from book 1 were in this book and some had different positions .. so nice to read about familiar friends :) ... ok so this book was about Mina ...
Mina was the all time heroine even through her scared times and then we have the Hero Ryan, our big foot hunter/the love interest was fun and interesting too. I loved that they both had to face issues in their lives and resolve them by the end.. the author is good at keeping you the reader invested in her stories. I’ve read the first in the series,and for sure it will have you on the edge of your seat and I was like NO WAY when the ending came and we read who the killer truly was ...... so was nice getting to read about some characters from the first book in this book, BUT this book as well as the first one ARE definitely standalones. But if ya wanna know who Sol is ...or Clint....or who even some of the other characters are then ya need to read book 1 but if you don't well you have noone tyo blame but yourself .. :)
Mina was the all time heroine even through her scared times and then we have the Hero Ryan, our big foot hunter/the love interest was fun and interesting too. I loved that they both had to face issues in their lives and resolve them by the end.. the author is good at keeping you the reader invested in her stories. I’ve read the first in the series,and for sure it will have you on the edge of your seat and I was like NO WAY when the ending came and we read who the killer truly was ...... so was nice getting to read about some characters from the first book in this book, BUT this book as well as the first one ARE definitely standalones. But if ya wanna know who Sol is ...or Clint....or who even some of the other characters are then ya need to read book 1 but if you don't well you have noone tyo blame but yourself .. :)
November 5, 2022
Mina is a ski instructor and part-time deputy. During a snowstorm, a skier goes missing. When a body is found all torn up, people start talking like it was Bigfoot that killed the man. Little does this ski town know that the person they should be afraid of is the one they least expect. I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book.
April 7, 2025
I had a hard time putting it down. It kept me going until the end. Would love to read more by her! Thank you for the chance to review it!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
June 18, 2020
This is book 2 of A Lost Gorge Mystery Series. I thought this was well written with a great plot. The characters are well written as well. If you enjoy suspenseful mysteries then I recommend this book.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
June 8, 2020
This is my first time reading anything by this author, I was drawn to the book via the blurb and really enjoyed the book. The plot is an intriguing one that easily held my attention, the author has written it so well that it was easy to visualize the scenes in my mind. I liked the depth given to the characters so that they came alive. I am looking forward to reading more by this author in the future.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
May 19, 2023
On the fence…overall it was very good plot-wise, but, mainly in the last half, seemed very chaotic as to who was where doing what. Also, improbable in a lot of instances. Lack of editing was also a problem, names mixed up, e.g. “Phil stomped around the truck….” Phil was long dead at that point. Earlier Lane became Mike. Mina also doesn’t do it for me.
December 7, 2019
Probably one of the best mysteries in terms of storyline I've read. That twist...I did NOT see that coming.
There were a few swear words though, and of course, some slightly graphic descriptions? Though at the same time, it doesn't go into much detail.
There were a few swear words though, and of course, some slightly graphic descriptions? Though at the same time, it doesn't go into much detail.
June 7, 2020
The story line was great, the character work was fantastic and the book had a good flow to it. This was a good read and kept me hooked from beginning to end. I look forward to more from this author.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
June 9, 2020
Is it just something other out in the woods? Something with a predatory instinct?
Are the things in the woods darker more than primitive?
Intense action, drama and psychological thriller
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Are the things in the woods darker more than primitive?
Intense action, drama and psychological thriller
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
March 8, 2022
Kind of makes you believe in Bigfoot. This one has a ruthless slasher at a winter resort. Mina, the fabulous skier, is back and she is a part time deputy…all 5’2” of her. She meets a visitor who happens to be a Sasquatch expert. This leads to romance, but not until lots of blood has been shed.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 3, 2022
Editor
I liked the plot of this book. BUT I don’t know who the proofreader was but there were grammatical errors that bothered me. Maybe that’s because I’m a teacher. Maybe that’s why the book was free!
I liked the plot of this book. BUT I don’t know who the proofreader was but there were grammatical errors that bothered me. Maybe that’s because I’m a teacher. Maybe that’s why the book was free!
April 20, 2021
Don't Waste Your Money!
This book started off well as a mystery, and ended as a lame romance! I would not read it again!
This book started off well as a mystery, and ended as a lame romance! I would not read it again!
February 28, 2024
Just okay
Disjointed syntax and character name errors were very distracting. Not enough details and explanation at end of the story. Open thoughts often left dangling.
Disjointed syntax and character name errors were very distracting. Not enough details and explanation at end of the story. Open thoughts often left dangling.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews