Book review: ‘Baited’ an intriguing stocking stuffer for the mystery enthusiast

How many people would want to kill a Park Service trail crew worker?

Plenty, apparently. Sprinkle in a grizzly bear and you have the basic plot of “Baited” an intriguing and easy read from East Glacier author Colleen O’Brien.

O’Brien’s first novel takes place in Glacier National Park, primarily over three days. There’s a host of characters in this novel and keeping them all straight was a challenge at first, particularly since I would pick the book up, read 20 pages and then set it down and do something else.

It’s just the way I read books as of late.

 O’Brien even has a handy character list in the beginning, making character tracking easy.

The basic premise is Ezra Riverton, the above mentioned trail crew worker, is missing after a storm in the backcountry of the Cut Bank Valley of Glacier. A search ensues and a host of suspects arise, including a soon-to-be ex-wife, a jaded grizzly bear DNA researcher (Ezra’s been messing with her bear DNA study), and another person, who had all the reason to kill Ezra. (to reveal it here would be a major spoiler).

There’s also a grizzly, who dines on Riverton as well.

Most the characters work for the Park Service and there’s loads of side drama and intrigue, including a jewelry theft ring, pregnancies and an awful game of sexual pursuit.

Having said that, the novel is far from graphic.

O’Brien knows Glacier Park well, she worked for the Park Service and her view of the agency isn’t exactly flattering. I hope the average Park Service employee isn’t as mean or incompetent as some of the characters in this book. In O’Brien’s tale, the grizzly bear DNA study is a mess. In real life, it was great success, done by renowned scientist Kate Kendall, who broke through innumerable barriers to get the study completed. Obviously this book is a work of fiction, but it still feels like O’Brien had some sort of score to settle against the effort.

O’Brien has a master’s of fine arts in creative writing from the University of Montana and is a skilled writer. As a story, “Baited” moves right along and a modestly observant reader can figure out who did in Ezra pretty easily long before the main character in the book does.

But that’s not the point of the book. There’s a lot of despair in this O’Brien’s tale and what the story is really about is how Glacier National Park and its wild spaces are always there for these characters, a salve to heal the wounds of inhumanity, no matter how bad things get.

“Baited” is available at area bookstores and shops around Glacier National Park as well as Amazon.