Can a troubled past find resolution?
The Wild Between Us
Amy Hagstrom
Lake Union
2003: High school seniors Meg Tanner and Danny Cairns live quiet lives in the High Sierra town of Feather River, California, until a blast from Danny’s past drops into their midst. Silas Matheson is like a force of nature. Handsome, intelligent, energetic, full of ideas and interests, he’s a young man who never does things by halves. Sweeping Meg and Danny up into his orbit they become a trio, basing their adventures in Silas’ family-owned mountain resort of Marble Lake Lodge. While hiking and fishing the rugged terrain around the lodge, they get to know each other well—perhaps too well. Cheerleader star Jessica Howard joins their group, but the dynamic is fated to tragically fall apart when Jessica disappears during a hike, never to be seen again. Stricken, Silas leaves the town. Meg and Danny remain, but Meg’s dreams of going to college dashed. Within days of the tragedy Meg and Danny join the local search and rescue team, using their experience to help others in a similar plight.
Fifteen years later they respond to a call out only to find Silas is the new owner of Marble Lake Lodge—and his two young sons are missing in the mountains. The weight of their shared past catches up with Meg. She’s determined to do her level best to find the missing boys. Danny is less than enthusiastic. The history between him and Silas too bitter to swallow. With the clock ticking, the site becomes a hive of frenetic activity to find the boys with Silas lost and struggling at its epicenter. As Meg and Danny search, the impact of the past haunts the three, ratcheting up the tension between them to unbearable levels. A chance discovery throws the whole mission wide open, and, whatever happens, Silas, Meg and Danny’s lives will never be the same again.
The Wild Between Us shows how a suspense novel should be written. The tension ramps up with every scene, starting with the call out through to the shocking resolution. With the authentic description of the search and rescue mission, and the beautifully realized characters and scenery, Amy Hagstrom has created a story that all readers of suspense will relish, an achievement all the more remarkable given it’s by a debut author.
