Greetings from Juneau, Alaska. I’m Stacie Calder, a naturalist by education, background, and love of animals, especially wildlife—although I definitely love my wonderful husky Sasha.

It’s spring now, and I’m working on a wonderful tour boat in the waters outside Juneau. I have the great enjoyment and honor of pointing out to the tourists on our boat the wildlife that appears as we head toward the glaciers and back. That can include a lot of harbor seals on ice floes, including mamas with their babies, as well as sea birds in the air, plus other animals on the snowy hillsides of the shoreline, including bears and wolves. Fun!

But not so fun is the day when a passenger disappears. And then when Sasha, who comes along on my tours, discovers him lying in the water at a shoreline thanks to her wonderful sense of scent—it’s terrible.

Still, that’s not how my days usually go. Mostly, I start out early in the morning, getting to the boat with Sasha and greeting our passengers. Then I say hi to my fellow tour boat folks, from the captain to the rest of the staff, and head up to the top deck where I stay for most of our journeys, since it’s easiest to see and point out the wildlife from there. Then, after we start out, I’m able to show our passengers a delightfully good time, spotting and pointing out the animals they’ve come to see. I let my assistant Lettie take over sometimes while I grab coffee, and then I return to the top deck.

Eventually, the day draws to a close and we return to shore and I say bye to our passengers. Most of them are strangers, but a few of them take our tours a lot—and are somewhat difficult. I’ve found out that a couple are studying what we do in the hope of starting their own tour companies. Ugh.

In fact, that’s the case with the guy who winds up dead.

Well, fortunately. that’s never happened before, and I hope it never does again. For this is the life I love, enjoying all kinds of animals, learning about them, teaching about them, and living my life for them. Although if I have to, I’ll continue to protect the captain of my boat and fellow crew members from being murder suspects. as well as myself.

But that certainly isn’t my regular day.

Bear Witness, An Alaska Untamed Mystery #1
Genre: Cozy
Release: May 2022
Purchase Link

Alaska tour boat guide Stacie Calder faces the deep freeze in this scenic cozy series debut perfect for fans of Paige Shelton.

No nine-to-five cubicle career will suit Stacie Calder—the naturalist much prefers working in the great outdoors. Specifically, the spacious and spectacular Alaskan wilderness, whose rugged charms she shares with sightseers on the top deck of the tour boat where she works. But one May afternoon, Stacie’s passengers see more than glittering glaciers, frolicking harbor seals, climbing bears and soaring seabirds. . .they also witness a man lying dead in the frigid Alaskan waters. And it seems likely that someone gave him a fatal push.

Stacie didn’t know the unfortunate victim, but he sure wanted to know a lot about her. He spent most of his final afternoon bombarding her with questions quite awkward to answer. And when he wasn’t in her hair, he was arguing incessantly with the boat’s beleaguered crew. Which makes for a suspect list about as long as the passenger manifest. Furthermore, as police helicopters relentlessly circle her boat in search of any clues, Stacie is shaken to find herself on that suspect list.

Before the tour boat reaches shore Stacie—accompanied by her beautiful blue-eyed husky, Sasha—must deduce just who sent the testy tourist tumbling into the turgid waters and have the authorities take custody. Because if she can’t, then the killer might aim a fatal ice-cold stare at Stacie.

About the author
Linda O. Johnston, a former lawyer who is now a full-time writer, will have published 57 books as of May 2022, including mysteries and romantic suspense novels. Her new mystery series is Alaska Untamed, starting with Bear Witness, for Crooked Lane, under her first pseudonym: Lark O. Jensen. She also has a new Harlequin Romantic Suspense story being published in May, Guardian K-9 on Call. Most of Linda’s current stories involve dogs!

All comments are welcomed.