I love Peter Heller's writing, so descriptive and so engaging. If you like reading about nature and all its splendors, this book is for you. It also includes an eccentric cast of characters and mysteries galore. It's an ode to the beauty of the natural world.

Peter Heller writes nature and wilderness better than anyone else. This book will transport you to the outdoors and you will love the characters and won't be able to put it down.

Summer means spending time in nature and reading about the great outdoors. I searched @NetGalley for a few titles, fiction and nonfiction, that suited my mood. Let me know if any of these fit your summer mood.

The Last Ranger by Peter Heller seemed a natural place to start. He writes about the great outdoors with the grace and reverence of someone in awe of the natural world. One can count on Heller to strike a perfect balance between a strong sense of place, dramatic tension, character development and well written prose.)

Ren is a park ranger at Yellowstone charged with breaking up camper disputes, saving clueless tourists from themselves and keeping poachers at bay. The heart of the story revolves around the conflicts that arise between naturalists, hunters and the Yellowstone homesteaders. The action begins when Ren finds his friend Hilly, a wolf biologist, nearly dead with her leg caught in a trap. But was it meant for a wolf or his friend?
(Pub Date: 25 July 2023)

North Woods by Daniel Mason is the story of a place and home in the woods of Massachusetts. It is the story of the people who over the centuries have inhabited the land, called it home and left their imprint. The reader follows the succession of inhabitants who found shelter, sustenance, sanctuary and in some cases captivity.

I was drawn in by the structure of the novel which reads like a story collection centered around the North Woods’ inhabitants. It is layered with explorations of home, family and their relationship to place. (Pub Date: 19 Sep 2023)

Journalist Gloria Dickie‘s Eight is in turns heartbreaking and hopeful. Dickie travels the globe to examine the plight of eight remaining species of bear, from the bile farms of Vietnam to the vanishing ice floes of North America. She meets scientists and conservationists striving to reverse the unparalleled challenges faced by these beautiful creatures. Interweaving history, science, and myth, Dickie speaks to the indelible place bears hold in our culture and warns what we stand to lose if we do not act.
(Pub Date: 11 July 2023)


I’d like to thank @NetGalley, @AAKnopf, @RandomHouse and @WWNorton&Company for the privilege of reading these advanced readers copies.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Last Ranger
Author: Peter Heller
Source: NetGalley
Publication Date: July 25, 2023

I pride myself on reading speed, but when reading a novel written by Peter Heller, I slow down dramatically, taking me four days to read this 200-page novel. Mr. Heller writes so beautifully and lyrically that it is a rare treat when a new book is published. You dive in feet first into a Heller book and enjoy the book event. The Last Ranger is about a Yellowstone ranger (a/k/a lawman) who always seems a little late to life’s difficulties. Ren is still reeling from losing his beloved wife; so he seeks solace in his job, fly-fishing, and Yellowstone National Park; the place he calls home. Officer Ren Hopper is a loner with such a broken soul that he has to find meaning in his work and his thoughts. It’s not easy doing his job, but it is the actual process of living that's harder for him. Ren is a well-fleshed-out character, and you will love and root for him to succeed. Life is hard, and no one understands that more than someone who’s lost a lot in life. This is a terrific book and a great story. Obviously, I loved it. #range #yellowstone #lawenforcement #poachers #life #heartbreak #loneliness #purpose #life #meaning #kindness #TheLastRanger @Netgalley #PeterHeller #yellowstone #parkranger @knopf #secondchances #nature #pack-mentality #literaryfiction #suspense
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I received a complimentary copy of this ARC. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. Thank you to Knopf Books, NetGalley, and the author for the opportunity to read this novel. Pub. Date: June 25, 2023.
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#book #books #bookaddict #booksofinstagram #bookstagram #bookstagramer #bookshelf #booksbooksbooks #readersofinstagram #reader #booklove #bookreader #reader

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was beautifully written, loved the theme and the message. Very powerful story, and I highly recommend it!

I always enjoy Heller's novels, and his latest is no exception. In "The Last Ranger", Heller creates the unforgettable character of Ren Hopper, an enforcement ranger at Yellowstone National Park. As Hopper goes about doing his job, he deals with both mundane and life-threatening situations, along with all kinds of different people. One of Heller's strengths is his strong sense of place; I felt like I was at Yellowstone with Ren, seeing the animals, the wilderness, and the crazy tourists. The writing is beautiful, the story is compelling, and there's a wonderful mix of humor and depth. This book will make you think hard about the special places we have left on this planet, and hopefully you'll walk away from the novel with a greater appreciation for them and the people who protect them. Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for a digital review copy.

The Last Ranger was incredibly enjoyable and a must read for anyone interested in nature/ thriller books. I was a big fan of The River, Peter Heller's last book, and have been very excited to read this one!

In the Last Ranger, Ren is battling trauma from his childhood and marriage. If the aftermath of all of this he has settled into a stable, quiet life as a ranger in the National Forest, where he has built a life with few close friends and much solitude. Unfortunately there is a poacher going after protected wildlife, who eventually also threatens the only person that Ren is truly attached to. It is a race to unravel who the poacher is, protect the National Forest and protect his friend.

Peter Heller’s first novel was The Dog Stars, and I have been a fan ever since. His latest novel is The Last Ranger, and it may be my favorite. Maybe.

Ren Hopper is an enforcement ranger in Yellowstone. His duties range from traffic control to breaking up campground disputes to keeping stupid tourists from dying as they try to get selfies with all manner of large and dangerous wild animals. (Please do not try to feed an apple to a young moose that is under the watchful eye of its mother.)

Some encounters prove to be more difficult, such as those involving illegal trapping and hunting, and those with individuals who believe the government has no right to limit what they do on public land.

Ren has his own demons that haunt him, but he also has some terrific (if somewhat unusual) friends.

A huge bonus for the reader is an introduction to the wildlife that is found in Yellowstone. (Did you know that the average age of a Yellowstone wolf is about 3.2 years and the median age is about 4 years?)

This is a great read!

Five stars because the nature descriptions are simply amazing. For those who have visited Yellowstone and those who have yet to do so, this novel is like visiting a close friend. The peace, the beauty, and the simplicity combine to give a feeling of contentment. In addition to the setting, this a character study of a multi-layered, semi-broken, good-hearted man trying to heal himself in nature. The novel could easily be the beginning of a series as several plot points could be continued, including following the wolves’ lives in the park.

Thanks to NetGalley and Alfred A Knopf Publishing for the ARC to read and review.

3.5
I was super excited to see Heller's new book THE LAST RANGER that takes place in Yellowstone National Park (which is a fantastic park that I've frequented) and to know THE wolves were involved. Those famous wolves that were reintroduced to Yellowstone in 1995 and have since helped the land, animals, animals and fauna in many beneficial ways.

Know this about the book. It is more of a character study and a following of Ren, a park ranger, and the details of his life and the things he encounters as a park ranger. The basics of the stupid people who get too close to wildlife for a photo (people die every year doing this in real life), attending accidents, getting cars to move along when bison are blocking the roadway (not a fun thing when you're way in the back-speaking from experience).

There are a couple storylines that pop in and out of the book that the reader is looking for resolution. The anticipation rises as encounters happen but then dissipate as normal life resumes. I guess I was expecting this to be more of a thriller...but it's not. Once I just embraced following Ren's life, I settled into the book better and appreciated the lucky life he had to work in one of the most famous and beautiful national parks out there! Now I'm considering running up there for a couple nights with the kids just because...summer!

P.S. I could've used more wolf stories :)

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for the advance e-copy of this book.

Peter Heller’s books never disappoint. I am usually left wanting to savor a strong cup of coffee before a hike on a crisp day. I tore through The Last Ranger. I enjoyed the suspense of the story and the sense that I was in Yellowstone. I’m grateful for the opportunity to have received an advance copy from Net Galley.

4.5 stars. This is a wonderful book. Set in Yellowstone National Park, the book centers on the conflict between a poacher and a wolf biologist, with relevant side plots into the lives, loves, and skirmishes of other characters. The characters are nuanced, their lives lead in the gray spaces between black and white (aren't the most interesting lives there?). Peter Heller writes about nature with reverence and grace. I've read everything Heller has written and eagerly await more.

Also reviewed on Goodreads. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this novel, releasing August 1st.

Realy enjoyed this book and I think it will have a good audience at my library. Definitely will be ordering.

"And he would burn with shame and go mute with heartbreak--that she felt she had to carry her pain alone." #TheLastRanger is marvelous. I loved these characters and the community they have created. The quiet menace of boys who suffered trauma at early ages and how differently they process it. And the wolves! Oh man, the wolves! There's a little bit of mystery, a lot of coffee drinking on early morning misty porches and much internal dialogue. I loved Ren's quiet angst, and how Heller takes up back into his childhood. Heller impresses with his knowledge of Yellowstone, its wildlife and its people. Highly recommend, a terrific, quiet read that steals your heart.

P.S. Thanks to #netgalley for the ARC.

Thanks so much to PRH for the galley!

The writing in this is just gorgeous - it felt poetic but natural, and the descriptions of the outdoors will put you right in the park. Ren as a main character felt very human: sympathetic but flawed.

I wanted a little more plot in this. It moved slow, and really the plot was more of a platform for Ren to explore his own grief and desires for the future. That’s not bad, I just prefer a little more get-up-and-go.

A “ thriller” on some level dealing with the fight between a wolf biologist and a poacher.
However the true center of the book is Yellowstone Park itself, and Heller writes about it in all its lushness and beauty. Coupled with this is an insight into the work of a Park Ranger, a detailed study of wolves, and the eternal struggle between those who want to preserve parks and those who would like to hunt and mine it.

The Last Ranger is a beautifully written mystery set in Yellowstone National Park. Ren is a park ranger there. He lives in a cabin within the park and his one neighbor is a wolf biologist. When things turn ugly between the biologist and a local poacher, Ren gets involved.
Peter Heller writes about nature like very few other authors.
“Far off but clear: the strain of a single wolf. Two barks testing the night. Almost like a tuning, the confirming plucks of a string. And then a rising resonant howl that froze the stars in place, and dropped and hollowed like a woodwind, and crescendoed again. The night went taut, like a drum skin, as if the solitary wolf had willed all of creation into a sounding board or bout for his song.”
This is a slow burn of a book. Heller takes his time setting up the story and giving the reader the full scenario. We see the locals who need but don’t care for the tourists, the wolf enthusiasts who enjoy observing and are smart enough to know how to do it safely, the local extremists who think there shouldn’t even be a park, the tourists with more money than brains. I love when an author can sneak in some interesting facts without disrupting the flow of a story. Heller did that multiple times as he spelled out how the animals lived.
The main characters are fully fleshed out. Ren has a definite sense of justice and mercy. Even the “bad guys” have their reasons. The ending worked perfectly.
My thanks to Netgalley and Knopf, Pantheon and Anchor for an advance copy of this book.

The Last Ranger with its setting in Yellowstone National Park among all the wildlife especially concentrating on the wolves is informative and educational. Since I vacationed in Yellowstone last summer, so many of the scenes that the ranger described brought back memories of what we experienced. Ranger Ren's activities were the highlight of the novel. Great work, Peter Heller.

Ren is an introverted park ranger who values the land and its inhabitants(animal) more than his human relationships. He sees and tries valiantly to protect the sacred beauty of the park, all the while having to deal with and tangle with tourists, unbalanced townspeople, and his bosses. He meets Hilly, a scientist who studies wolves - one pack in particular. She feels the same way about "her" wolves that Ren feels about the park, and they develop a fairly good relationship as they co-exist in the park. This book was a fun read, often kept me reading past bedtime, and eager to know what happens next. One character who turns out to be killing wolves, Les, seems to be a wild card who follows no laws or rules and is dangerous to everyone he encounters. The interactions between him and Ren (and Hilly) feel true and lead to chilling injuries and a surprising sideline. The relationship between Ren and HIlly grows nicely and an understanding between Ren and Les is debveloped.

I love Peter Heller's books. I haven't read a book by him that I didn't love and The Last Ranger was no exception. His characters are always wonderful, memorable people. And I especially loved every single one in this story.

His settings are vivid, lush and transformative. Yellowstone is a wonderful place to set a novel and even though I knew about the story around reintroducing wolves into the park, I loved loved loved reading about it.

My favorite character was the wolf specialist and she will stay with me a long, long time. These literary novels with a bit of a mystery and incredible character and setting are his specialty and why I keep looking forward to a new Heller book every single time.


with gratitude to netgalley and Knopf for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.