COLD BURN by A.J. Landau (Jon Land and Jeff Ayers)

A National Parks Thriller, second in the series from Leave No Trace (2024)

5 stars

National Park Service Investigator Michael Walker has a major case on his hands as he’s sent to Alaska to contend with the disappearance on a U.S. Geological Survey team who had been studying the melting permafrost and got caught in an avalanche. Turns out they went missing on native American territory, and Michael needs to negotiate access with the government-hostile Tlingit people. Michael’s also assigned to investigate that tribe’s increasingly stolen artifacts and the killing of his lead suspect in the thefts by an assassin. Add on top of this, there’s the sudden massive death of native fish in the Alaskan waters surrounding the tribe’s home.

Simultaneously FBI Agent Gina Delgado, who’s teamed up with Michael in the past, has two intense cases of her own: a best-in-class stealth new military submarine that has sunk to the bottom on Alaska’s Icy Strait, with all the crew on board found mysteriously dead. Gina’s also investigating the death of a crew member in the Florida Everglades who had been working on a team experimenting with changing the water temperatures.

All these complex cases start to converge and tie directly into climate change and a threat that could imperil all life on Earth. There’s also a wonderful satire of a character just like Elon Musk, a billionaire intent to find a new fuel source that will enable a human-led mission to Mars. The investigations prove compelling, Michael and Gina both intrepid and insightful, and the larger concept of what may be lying under the permafrost chilling.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy.

Stacy DeBroff

Stacy DeBroff, founder and CEO of Mom Central.com and social and digital consultancy, Influence Central, is a social media strategist, attorney, and best-selling parenting author. A sought-after expert for national media, she trend-spots regularly with national brands and speaks frequently to national and international audiences on a wide range of subjects, including influencer marketing, social media, entrepreneurship, and consumer trends. A passionate cook, gardener, reader, and tennis player, she adores this new chapter of post-college-age parenting.