Although I’ve never physically been to Alaska, it holds a special place in my heart.

Two dear friends from my high school in Florida, Tom and Dave Durham, spent parts of their time in the Coast Guard stationed in Kodiak and Sitka.

When Alaska Wilderness Mystery Author Robin Barefield contacted me to let me know her latest novel, The Ultimate Hunt was out, I realized four things.

1.    I wanted to read it and also review it for This Awful Awesome Life.

2. The descriptions of Alaska in Robin’s books make me feel like I’ve stepped into the world described by Tom’s letters which I still have after all these years.

3.    I would be in for a marathon reading session because I can’t put one of her books down.

4.    I might have to sleep with the lights on for a few nights after I finished reading it.

Mission accomplished on all fronts.

Barefield has a master’s degree in fish and wildlife biology, and she is a wildlife viewing and fishing guide. She and her husband, photographer Mike Munsey, own and operate a lodge on the west side of Kodiak in Uyak Bay. This is the sixth novel in her Alaska Wilderness Mystery series, and she has written two non-fiction works. She also has a blog where she discusses the biology and behavior of the marine and land animals she sees every day on Kodiak Island, a true crime newsletter and a true crime podcast.

The Ultimate Hunt is written in first and third person, so the reader can experience some of the action first-hand through the eyes of Jane Marcus, a fish and wildlife biologist at the Kodiak Braxton Marine Biology and Fisheries Research Center. Barefield switches seamlessly to a third person narrative for events Jane is not directly involved in.

Steve Duncan, the pilot/owner of Kodiak Flight Services (KFS) is recovering from Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare medical condition in which the immune system attacks the nerves. It can lead to partial or complete paralysis which may or may not be permanent. To fight the depression he’s experiencing during his recovery, Steve spends his evenings sitting on the KPS deck looking out over the Trident Basin. He sees what he believes to be suspicious activity. A black Beaver floatplane with no markings lands at night picking up a person who, instead of walking under their own power, is being supported by two brawny men. Sometimes, the men carry something that looks like a loosely rolled up rug. His wife, Linda, thinks he’s experiencing Rear Window syndrome – her name for letting his imagination run away with him like the character L.B. Jefferies (Jimmy Stewart) in the Alfred Hitchcock classic. Steve believes people are being abducted. He enlists the help of Jane Marcus to prove he’s not imagining things. Jane is trying to avoid spending time with Corban Pratt the PR representative for Tamron Oil. Since the oil company is a corporate donor to the Research Center, Jane has to be tactful. Helping a friend gives her the perfect excuse.

Jane sees something strange, but she’s equally cautious. Who will believe them? If they report the activities without sufficient evidence, the pilot could switch to a different location to do whatever he is doing. Without the plane’s tail numbers or a logo, how would they identify it?

When Jane talks with her long-distance boyfriend FBI special agent Nick Morgan, he’s preoccupied with a case he’s working on in Seattle. Morgan is skeptical. After a U.S. Senator’s daughter disappears while working in Kodiak, Morgan comes to investigate, but he refuses to believe there could be a link to the mysterious plane.

Other young healthy people in Kodiak, Homer, and Anchorage are also being reported missing. Jane becomes convinced these missing persons are somehow connected to the disappearance of the senator’s daughter and the black plane.

Where are these people being taken? Are they still alive? Why have there been no ransom requests?

When Jane is spotted snooping around the plane, how far will the pilot and his bosses go to keep her quiet? The answer to that question catapults Jane into her worst nightmare as she and her fellow captives fight to elude the demented sadists chasing them in the ultimate hunt.

I’m one of Barefield’s biggest fans because of her attention to detail. Given the size of Alaska, the many islands in the Kodiak archipelago, unpredictable weather, wilderness, and wildlife, investigating crimes is especially difficult. She never makes it easy for her law enforcement characters. They put in the work to get the job done, but her endings are never tied up in neat packages waiting to be unwrapped.

Another reason I enjoy her books is that I learn interesting facts about Alaskan history, marine and land animals in Alaska, and its diverse ecosystems. I get a glimpse of why people living in Alaska work so hard to preserve it’s natural beauty. 

I’ve been receiving Robin Barefield’s True Crime Newsletter for several years, and I enjoy listening to her podcasts. To sign up for her newsletter, visit her website, https://robinbarefield.com/

Listen to her podcasts at http://robinbarefield.com/podcast-murder-and-mystery/

For more information about their lodge, visit www.munseysbearcamp.com

Other Books By Robin Barefield:

Big Game (2012)

Murder Over Kodiak (2016)

The Fisherman’s Daughter (2017)

Karluk Bones (2019)

Kodiak Island Wildlife (2021)

Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge (2022)

Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier (2022)