Amy Raye is out in the wilderness on an elk hunt with her good friends Kenny and Aaron. It’s the end of the season and their trip. Her friends have already tagged theirs, so Amy Raye decides to head out on her own with her bow — her weapon of choice — to get hers.
The snow had stopped falling, but its moisture still coated the air. She drank a large cup of coffee, then poured another, more for the warmth than the caffeine. Silence hovered over her like a tarpaulin. The wilderness wasn’t asleep. She knew it had awoken with her first stirring, was waiting for her next move, watching her. Its stillness was a sure sign.
–Breaking Wild egalley
She hits one, but not fatally. As she tracks the animal through the woods, she begins to realize coming out on her own was a mistake on her part. The changes in elevation and direction she makes as she follows the dying animal confuse her. The snow and cloud cover adds to it. Her flashlight dies and she did not bring replacement batteries. The quick breakfast she ate at the truck before heading out has worn off. It’s getting dark. She’s cold, hungry, and lost.
The determination that it takes for Amy Raye to stay alive and her many hours alone causes her to turn inward, rethinking her recent past, specifically the mistakes she’s made that have estranged her from her husband Farrell. She has considered leaving him, wondering if he was just not the man she needed, that he was somehow too kind for her.
When Amy Raye is reported missing, Pru is the first on the case. She and her dog Kona follow the scent through the woods, but it’s soon lost and covered by fresh snow. Pru also has made mistakes in her life as she’s raised her son on her own. One area about which she feels absolutely confident is her work on rescue. She always finds the missing person. One time she found a body, but she usually has found the missing alive. She does not want to give up on Amy Raye’s case. She wants to understand why she set off on her own and what exactly happened. She doesn’t want to wait for the spring thaw to find a body. She wants closure, both for the investigation and for Amy Raye’s family.
Breaking Wild is a great combination of a mystery and an adventure/finding oneself type of story. I was hooked from the beginning. The alternating narratives from Pru and Amy Raye build the suspense as Pru continues the search for missing hunter Amy Raye. Author Diane Les Becquets uses flashbacks to the past to give us more detail about each of these women in a seamless way. The descriptive and beautiful prose just adds to the experience of reading this novel.