Jennifer_D

Here is an engrossing page-turner -- a solid choice for mystery fans or devotees of "Yellowstone."

In "Panther Gap," siblings Summer and Bowman have inherited a huge sum from their long-dead grandfather, who may or may not have had nefarious connections. That they are anywhere near this wealthy has never occurred to them -- their father raised them on an isolated ranch in Colorado, teaching them about the Others (animals) and practicing the "old ways" of the region's original inhabitants. The bulk of the novel describes Summer and Bowman's long-awaited, frequently-thwarted reunion interspersed with flashbacks that fill the reader in on their lives up to this point. Summer, the older of the two, is beautiful, resourceful, and tough – but not invulnerable to love. Her brother Bowman, on the other hand, studies the metaphysical world and is prone to having visions. He frequently does a sort of mind-meld (often under the influence of hallucinogenic substances he has grown, foraged, or purchased) with nearby wildlife, mentally travelling or flying along on their journeys and hunts. Two uncles, a lost lawyer, a two-faced ex-boyfriend, and the memory of the siblings' heart-broken father complete the cast. Once reunited, Summer's and Bowman's task is to claim their gazillions before any of the cartel / mob villains get to it. The result is non-stop action and plot twists.

McLaughlin's oft-praised lyrical style and soaring descriptions of the southwest are here, as is his simple, conversational tone. His characters become more fleshed-out as the novel progresses, and by the end we feel we know their general mindset and motives. The dialogue, however, often feels clunky and trite -- the characters' actions are from "Dances with Wolves" but their conversations are from "Hawaii Five-O." Where McLaughlin's landscape descriptions are lush and evocative, his characters, for all their education and self-awareness, speak in disjointed and unreal phrases. Andrew becomes The Joker toward the end of the book -- kidnappers don't talk like that.

Maybe McLaughlin will put the sincere, soulful tone he uses for his mountain-scapes into the voices of the people who inhabit them. In the meantime, "Panther Gap" is an entertaining and action-packed read.