Book Review: Big Bend by Sandy Dengler (Jack Prester #9)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Jack in an interesting story

Cons: A bit too much so the ending felt rushed

The Bottom Line:

Missing reporter

First step in new mystery

Always enjoy Jack

Finding Crime in the Vastness of Big Bend

When I discovered a couple of weeks ago that Sandy Dengler had released a new entry in her Jack Prester series, I jumped to get it and pushed it up my to be read mountain range. And I enjoyed this trip to Big Bend. 

For those who haven’t met Jack yet, he is an investigator at large for the National Parks service. As a result, we have visited parks all over the country, although many of his cases seem to be in the south west. Of course, Jack does have cases we don’t know about. It’s been two years for the characters since the last book, after all. 

In this case, a reporter has gone missing in Big Bend down in Texas, and Jack is asked to help find him. However, when Jack arrives, he finds some auditors have arrived to monitor everything going on in the park. And when out searching for the reporter, Jack finds someone else out there.  The results of that encounter are tragic. What is happening in the vastness of this park’s wilderness?

There are a lot of storylines going on, including one with Jack’s wife, Ev, also an investigator for the National Parks system. That kept me engaged as I was reading, but it proves to be a weakness of the book. The ending felt rushed and some of the connections felt forced. But this was a minor complaint. Overall, I enjoyed the book, especially some of the outcomes. 

I’ve been reading this series for decades, literally, since the first books originally came out in the 1990’s before the author returned to the series and started publishing new entries in the last few years. As a result, there is one plot point that upset me. I get it, but I didn’t like it. 

This also means the books are a little vague on their technology.  They clearly aren’t set in the 90’s, but I feel like they aren’t quite in modern times either.  Or maybe that’s just because of the setting – National Parks aren’t always the most reliable when it comes to technology.  But that’s a minor point most readers won’t care about.

We have amassed a small group of returning characters, and it was great to spend some time with them again. A couple are very much in the background, but I still enjoyed their cameos. Unfortunately, we had some minor new characters, and I always had a hard time keeping the minor ones straight. The larger players in this story were more distinctive.  We also get the story from multiple points of view, which works well in this case to keep us fully informed. 

The writing is fantastic, which is always the case in a Sandy Dengler book. She brings the wilderness to life and immerses us in the story at the same time. 

I’m hoping this isn’t our last visit with Jack Prester. I’ll certainly be keeping my eyes open for more. Until then, be sure you’ve booked your trip to Big Bend. 

Here are the rest of the Jack Prester Mysteries.