A thin line of blue illuminated the crest of El Capitan, crown jewel of Yosemite. I peered up from the valley floor, looking for a figure atop the famous cliff. But so far, the darkness revealed nothing.
Cold seeped in through my flak jacket. As I sipped from my travel mug of strong coffee, a fiery glow appeared on the horizon, tippling the Sierra Nevada Mountains with daybreak. I stilled, my breath ghosting the air. I’d seen hundreds of sunrises in national parks across America, but the sight never failed to fill me with awe. Even after half a decade as a Special Agent with the National Park Service’s Investigative Services Branch, I still had moments where I couldn’t believe that this was my job.
As the morning sunlight on the mountains faded from orange to pink, I spotted the thing I’d been watching for: a lone figure perched at the edge of El Capitan. “I knew it,” I muttered, and took off running. B.A.S.E. jumping was illegal in national parks, but that didn’t stop people from doing it. We’d gotten a tip the day before that there were jumpers in the park. And while breathing in beautiful sunrises over some of the world’s most famous mountains was part of my job, so was arresting the people who jumped off them.
I just hoped that it was only an arrest. More than one person had died B.A.S.E. jumping off El Capitan.
Just as I skidded to a halt at the base of El Cap, the figure sprang from the edge, plunging toward the earth with dazzling speed. My stomach swooped, heart climbing into my throat as the figure drew closer and closer to the ground…
But then, a red-and-blue parachute blossomed against the granite cliff face and floated gently down the rest of the way to the ground. I marched over the frost-laden grass to where the jumper stood, gathering their parachute around them. They pushed their hood back and long blond hair threaded through with blue tinsel tumbled out. She grinned at me. “I guess I’m under arrest, aren’t I?”
“Unfortunately, yes.” I nodded towards the ranger station that sat at the side of the meadow. “If you come quietly and pay the fine, I won’t have to confiscate your gear.”
“That seems a fair trade for the most exhilarating ten seconds of my life.” She tossed her tinseled hair back and tucked her bundled-up parachute under her arm.
We walked in companionable silence toward the ranger station. It was probably the quietest arrest I’d ever made but I could feel the adrenaline buzzing off the jumper like a force field. I had no desire to jump off a cliff with only an iffy parachute for protection, but I knew what it was like to love something so much that you’d risk everything for it. I turned back to look at El Capitan, now bathed in the full light of dawn. I’d lost count of how many times I’d had to put my life on the line to protect the places I’d pledged to protect.
This morning’s arrest may have been an easy one, but the day was still young.
LOST IN YELLOWSTONE
Series: A National Park Mystery, Book 2
Genre: Traditional Mystery
Release: May 2026
Format: Print, Digital
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org | Oceanview Publishing
A foot in a geyser. A school in the wild. A truth no one saw coming.
When a human foot is ejected from a geyser in Yellowstone National Park, Special Agent Emme Helliwell of the National Park Service is assigned the chilling case.
Tasked with identifying the victim and uncovering what led to such a grisly end, Emme is drawn into the park’s vast, unforgiving wilderness—and into the orbit of a private school for at-risk teens where extreme backcountry excursions are part of the curriculum. As disturbing truths begin to surface, Emme must also confront personal fault lines, including the unresolved tension with an ex-boyfriend who’s suddenly back in her life and assigned to the same case.
In a place where danger hides behind natural beauty and good intentions can mask darker motives, Emme must navigate both treacherous terrain and emotional landmines to solve a mystery that could cost her everything.
Perfect for readers of C. J. Box and Lisa Gardner.
Meet the author
Nicole Maggi is the author of the National Park Mystery Series, beginning with A MURDER IN ZION, the first in the National Park Mystery Series (Oceanview Pub), which Publishers Weekly called “a winner” and has garnered Golden Poppy, FOREWORD, and IBPA Award nominations. She also penned THE FORGETTING, an International Thriller Writers Thriller Award Finalist, a Junior Library Guild selection and a #1 Kindle Bestseller, as well as WHAT THEY DON’T KNOW. Her YA fantasy series THE TWIN WILLOWS TRILOGY (Medallion Press 2014), was called “reminiscent of Twilight and Harry Potter” by VOYA. Nicole holds a BFA from Emerson College and has spoken at numerous conferences, including ALA, SCBWI, NYC Teen Book Festival, and Ontario Teen Book Fest. When she’s not writing, she’s either driving her teenager to the mall or plotting her next escape to a National Park. Find her online at nicolemaggi.com and on Instagram at @nicolemaggiauthor.