Ben Mikaelsen's award-winning first novel, Rescue Josh McGuire, was widely praised for its fast-paced adventure, its detailed depictions of the Montana wilderness, and its engaging portrait of a wild bear cub. Mikaelsen, who says he draws the "soul" of each of his novels from real experience, is no stranger to bears, the wilderness, or adventure. The author has had the unique experience of raising a six-hundred-pound black bear named Buffy at his home in the mountains of Bozeman, Montana. Additionally, Mikaelsen once stated that over the years he has been involved in many adventures, including "a sixteen-hundred-mile cross-country horseback trip from Minnesota to Oregon, numerous parachute jumps, racing sled dogs, playing horse polo, building a log house, private and commercial pilot training, extensive scuba diving, and worldwide travel." Although his personal adventures have entailed courage and endurance, and his fiction is engaging for its action and suspense, Mikaelsen's...