A Solitude of Wolverines: A Novel of Suspense

Written by Alice Henderson

Narrated by Eva Kaminsky

“Both a mystery and a survival story, here is a novel written with a naturalist’s eye for detail and an unrelenting pace. It reminded me of the best of Nevada Barr…It’s so fraught with excitement and wondrous details that it demands to be read in one sitting and savored afterward. Don’t miss it.” —James Rollins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Last Odyssey  

The first book in a thrilling series featuring a wildlife biologist who courts trouble as she saves endangered species . . . and a mysterious killer who buries his dead in the land she helps preserve—a fast-paced, action-driven tale of suspense with the atmosphere and propulsive tension of works by Jane Harper, C. J. Box, William Kent Krueger, and Nevada Barr.

While studying wolverines on a wildlife sanctuary in Montana, biologist Alex Carter is run off the road and threatened by locals determined to force her off the land.

Undeterred in her mission to help save this threatened species, Alex tracks wolverines on foot and by cameras positioned in remote regions of the preserve. But when she reviews the photos, she discovers disturbing images of an animal of a different kind: a severely injured man seemingly lost and wandering in the wilds.

After searches for the unknown man come up empty, local law enforcement is strangely set on dismissing the case altogether, raising Alex’s suspicions. Then another invasive predator trespasses onto the preserve. The hunter turns out to be another human—and the prey is the wildlife biologist herself. Alex realizes too late that she has seen too much—she's stumbled onto a far-reaching illegal operation and now has become the biggest threat.

In this wild and dangerous landscape, Alex’s life depends on staying one step ahead—using all she knows about the animal world and what it takes to win the brutal battle for survival.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Oct 27, 2020
• ISBN: 9780063035416

Alice Henderson

In addition to being a writer, Alice Henderson is a dedicated wildlife researcher, geographic information systems specialist, and bioacoustician. She documents wildlife on specialized recording equipment, checks remote cameras, creates maps, and undertakes wildlife surveys to determine what species are present on preserves, while ensuring there are no signs of poaching. She’s surveyed for the presence of grizzlies, wolves, wolverines, jaguars, endangered bats, and more. 

Reviews for A Solitude of Wolverines

[carolfoisset · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

After reading a review I added this to my TBR list and was happy when it was chosen by my book club, however I found it a disappointment. Poor writing, not as much research/science info as I had hoped for, and a story that just didn't flow for me. On a positive note, my bookclub offered some links to informational videos and from them I did learn a lot about these interesting creatures.

[Lisa Ridge · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Uprating to 4.5 stars. I really enjoyed this book; I'd say one of my favorites of 2021. The setting (mountains of Montana), the strong female main character, a wildlife biologist doing conservation work, inside a good psychological thriller, takes me to my happy place and I can ignore everything else and read to the end. The only thing holding back a 5-star rating is that Alex is a little too perfect for all of the dangerous challenges she faces -- even though the author explains all of her skills through her mother's lessons and tests she had to endure growing up. I also had difficulty imagining all of the MacGyver-like rigging she came up with to keep ahead of those chasing her. The ending was intriguing and I look forward to the next book in the series.

[Donna · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed the main character who works to study, report, and protect particular and general wildlife. It has a thriller quite different, thank goodness, from those usual murder mysteries. I'm going read the series as well as Ms. Henderson's other series! This book is Very High;y recommended.

[Laurel Girard · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Just one thing: the main character said she lost 9 0ints of blood and survived. I double & triple checked this. You can only loose roughly 1-2 pints and live to talk about it.

[Kara Citarella · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Such a unique book and main character! I have never really read books with animal conservation, beautiful backdrop and mystery all into one. Some of the other reviews said they thought the main character was “too perfect”, but I think she had her flaws, especially with how she handled her ex. I couldn’t stand the way she let him treat her, but in the end, you find out how truly strong she is and how she sticks to her convictions. There are so many books about men who kick butt in the wilderness the way Alex did; I’m glad to see a woman character who’s just as capable!

[Carol Kubala · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Action packed debut t of a new series featuring Dr. Alex Carter, a wildlife biologist. For fans of Nevada Barr, with much about threatened species, the quest to save in within the remote backdrop of an vacant resort in the woods of Montana. Be warned that there are scenes of animal and human violence. Enjoyed this narration by Eva Kaminsky. If you're a fan of the great outdoors, a good thriller, a new gal with skill and brains in the preservation of land and animals, this might be for you.

[chris.wolak · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

So good! The great outdoors, championing animals in the wild, and a competent, kick-ass woman field biologist. I need to go on a hike stat! A must read for fans of Nevada Barr.

[carol420 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Alex’s interactions with the small-town locals on her post are really good. Also, the setting and the plot was also well done. The book was, indeed, suspenseful and I enjoyed learning more about wolverines, since the Zoo I worked at for 28 years, didn't have wolverines, although the species are becoming more prominent in Michigan. The actual theme is powerful for anyone concerned by the often lack of concern for animal lives-difficult to absorb. Alice Henderson manages to take what might just be the first animal-activist and naturalist thriller. A really good story that combines chills, thrills, and plenty of heart right up through the finale. Thanks to my friend Lynda for recommending this book.

[caitz-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

After a breakup and a life-threatening experience in Boston, wildlife biologist Alex Carter heads to the Rocky Mountains in Montana to survey wolverines at an abandoned ski resort turned land trust. She quickly runs into trouble with some of the residents in the area. This fast-paced thriller had a twist I never imagined and left a question unanswered. I have to pick up the next in the series soon.

[hardlyhardy · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Who knew being a biologist could be so dangerous?In Alice Henderson's first Alex Carter adventure, “A Solitude of Wolverines” (2020), the young biologist is targeted by a crazed gunman in Boston and then takes a job counting wolverines in the Montana Rockies, where an entire gang of ruthless men are soon trying to kill her.Alex has incredible survival skills and can best any man she faces in hand-to-hand combat, yet unlike those wolverines she tracks, she is not entirely alone. Some unknown man, it turns out, has been tracking her, saving her life first in Boston, then later in Montana. Who is he? Henderson leaves that as a cliffhanger to entice us into her second novel, A Blizzard of Polar Bears.“Wolverines” tells us much about wildlife and the need to protect it, but mostly this is a thriller from beginning to end. The pace encourages fast reading, and if you read it quickly enough you may not notice that much of it makes no sense at all. For example, a man takes Alex's journal out of her backpack and reads it — in the dark. Alex can hear a conversation word for word at a distance — during a snowstorm. Even the plot itself sometimes stretches credulity. Still, it is fun.

[nbmars · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Alex Carter, 30, is a biologist with a passion for preserving natural habitats for wildlife. After a harrowing escape from a gunman in Boston, she accepted a job offer with the Land Trust for Wildlife Conservation - LTWC - on a preserve located at the site of an old ski resort in Montana. The LTWC is interested in a wolverine population survey, and to Alex it sounded exactly like what she loved doing and where she preferred to be. It was also convenient because she recently had broken up with Boston-based Brad Tilford, her boyfriend of eight years. She had thought she and Brad shared the same values, but Brad had changed, and for Brad, making money and having status and prestige outweighed anything else in life.In Montana, Alex got more than she bargained for, finding out almost immediately that most of the town was unfriendly at best or trying to kill her at worst. Fortunately, Alex had an advanced survival skill-set thanks to her late mother, who insisted she know how to protect herself in most circumstances. But she comes under increasing danger hard to escape after she uncovers a dangerous illegal operation in the area, with its perpetrators set on eliminating any witnesses.Evaluation: The author goes into a great amount of detail - perhaps a little too much - over every aspect of Alex’s work and work-arounds. This book has elicited comparisons with books by Nevada Barr about National Park Ranger Anna Pigeon, who travels to National Parks around the country, solving mysteries in the wilderness. I have not read those books but I would be interested to find out if Anna Pigeon is as much as a somewhat unrealistically overly competent MacGyver as Alex Carter. Kudos to the author however for all the information about the relatively unknown species of wolverines.

[gpangel_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Solitude of Wolverines by Alice Henderson is a William Morrow publication. White-knuckle suspense! After Alex experiences an unsettling act of violence, she is offered an opportunity to study Wolverines at a wildlife sanctuary in Montana. This is just the break Alex needs, and without even thinking it over properly she jumps at the chance. Upon arrival, at the spooky camping location, Alex gets the distinct impression she is not wanted there. Determined to proceed with her mission, Alex’s cameras pick up the Wolverines and something quite unexpected- a badly injured man. Her reports to authorities are mostly dismissed, but the danger to Alex is most assuredly real… I love a good environmental thriller- though I haven’t stumbled across one in a while- until now, that is. There is something about humans versus nature, about wildlife and isolated locations that creates a stronger level of suspense. There was a lot going on in this novel- the landscape, the dangerous weather, the awe of tracking the wolverines, the greed of human nature, an unsettling backstory, as well as a very puzzling mystery. I was hooked right from the get-go and couldn’t turn the pages fast enough! This new series has a gotten off a fabulous start and I’m very excited about tagging along with Alex Carter on her next big adventure!

[clp412 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book took me on quite the outdoor journey! Dr. Carter's outdoorsman skills are impressive and her love for nature are too! I am so glad that I read this book and look forward to more in the series!!

[phoenixcomet · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I wanted to like this book, I really did, but ultimately it just went on too long. I did enjoy the wrap up to the book. Alex Carter is a biologist who is sent into the wilderness to study wolverines and in so doing uncovers a nefarious plot and puts her own life in jeopardy. This is clearly a set up to the next novel.

[cathyskye · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When I learned that A Solitude of Wolverines was a mystery with a wildlife biologist as the main character, I perked up. When I learned that the book was written by an actual wildlife biologist, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. Now I can say that this first Alex Carter mystery is a winner, and I can't wait to read more.Wildlife and the wilderness are at the center of this story, and you can really get a feel for the type of conservation work wildlife biologists do. If you love all creatures great and small, there's even a bibliography so you can learn more about the animals being studied in the book. But if the wilderness is at the center of A Solitude of Wolverines, Alex Carter is its beating heart. When asked to lie about her findings for her bosses who have taken bribes in a previous job, Alex refuses in spectacular style knowing that she has a lot to lose by telling the truth. This is not your usual female character. Her mother was an Air Force fighter pilot who devised games for her daughter that taught Alex how to think on her feet and use the items at hand for her survival. When something like that is mentioned in a book, you can take it to the bank that this is going to be a big factor in the story later on-- and it is. There are plenty of high octane action scenes in A Solitude of Wolverines, and there is no candy-coating of the consequences for neither man nor beast. (I mention this for those readers who might be a bit squeamish.) The only thing that made me wonder about Alex is her choice of best friend and boyfriend. Anyone with two working brain cells should have been able to deduce that her boyfriend was a high maintenance waste of space, but I suppose that tells us that she makes mistakes like the rest of us mortals. Her best friend is a typical high rolling Hollywood actress, and that makes for an odd combination with the middle-of-nowhere loving Alex. I do have to admit that it's probably not a good idea for a main character-- no matter how dynamic-- to be a hermit. There's also a shadowy third character in Alex's orbit. One that she didn't realize she had, and it would appear that this dangerous shadow will figure more prominently in the next book. Why is this person a "dangerous shadow"? Because he's Alex's serial killer guardian angel. How's that for a shocker! A Solitude of Wolverines is a momentous opening chapter in Alex Carter's story, one that changes her: "A new sensation spread inside of her, a loss of innocence." I, for one, am looking forward to seeing what she does next.

[juju2cat · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

So. Alex is no Anna Pigeon but she is a close second. I had a hard time at first imagining a beautiful intelligent woman roughing it in the wild. (Does that make me sound sexist? I truly don't mean to be!) It wasn't until later in the book when things got seriously complicated that I began to feel excited. Then add an apparent stalker who watches over her, saving her life twice, which adds a great creepiness to the whole book. Enjoyed it! Thanks to Scene of the Crime for an e-copy for my review.