The Forest Prime Evil by Alan Russell (1992, Walker/1994, Worldwide)
Half Nelson by Jerome Doolittle (1994, Pocket Books)
Clear-Cut Murder by Lee Wallingford (1992, Walker/1995, Worldwide)
Whoo? by Richard Hoyt (1991, Tom Doherty Associates)

Old growth, spotted owls, clear-cutting... the stuff of newspaper headlines, regional politics, and a number of entertaining mysteries published in the last five years. From Humboldt County in northern California to the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in Washington state, private investigators have been tracking down fictional murder suspects in plots that pit environmentalists against the timber industry. In fiction as in life, the characters are often more complex than they first appear, and the lines between good and evil are not always clearly drawn.

In The Forest Prime Evil by Alan Russell, charismatic environmentalist Christopher Shepard, known as the Green Man, is found dead in a grove of ancient redwoods. Local authorities have ruled the death accidental, but activists from the "Sequoia Summer" encampment and the radical environmental group EverGreen suspect murder, and hire Stuart Winter to investigate. The set up borrows liberally enough from recent history to warrant the opening disclaimer that "Sequoia Summer is a fictional movement created by the author and has no relation to any of the Redwood Summer activities that occurred in Humboldt County in 1990." As the plot unfolds, we are introduced to Bull Dozier, CEO at Trans-Mississippi Lumber which is busy liquidating timber assets in Humboldt County to pay off debts; his estranged stepdaughter Ashe O'Conner, prominent campaigner for Proposition 150, a statewide initiative to protect old growth; and "Doc", a recent PhD who has been studying the effect of clear-cuts on the environment. Amidst discourse on the spiritual and scientific value of redwoods, Winter unravels the events leading to the Green Man's death. Initial stereotypes are broken down as the complexity of human emotions reveals an unlikely murderer with a classic motive. This book is my favorite of the bunch, with lots of local color, interesting minor characters, and a story that kept me guessing till the end.

A set of characters with remarkably similar roles is introduced in the opening pages of Half Nelson by Jerome Doolitte, where charismatic environmentalist Robert Rackleff of Earth Everlasting shares the podium at a JFK School of Government forum with Dixie-Cascade CEO Hap Oberholser. The pair spar politely on stage, but the action in this timber vs. old growth debate quickly returns to Portland, OR, where Rackleff is preparing evidence for a pre-trial hearing against Dixie-Cascade. A series of death threats have prompted Rackleff to hire Tom Bethany as a bodyguard, but despite elaborate security precautions, Rackleff is killed by a car bomb shortly after his courtroom appearance. Bethany takes a personal interest in finding the culprit, and the search turns out to be fairly straight forward. In this book the good guys are good, the bad guys are bad, and Bethany's job is to track them down and wrestle them to the ground. The action casts a broad conspiratorial net, drawing in skinheads, the Christian right, and the FBI, and is liberally spiced with commentary on the national political scene. This book is sophisticated, well written and action oriented. For me it lacked an element of true mystery, but will appeal to those who enjoy a good chase, and a main character skilled at physical and psychological intimidation.

One small community's experience with the jobs vs. the environment debate is the backdrop for Clear-Cut Murder by Lee Wallingford. A controversial timber sale on the Neskanie National Forest on the central Oregon Coast has drawn members of the radical environmental group EarthAction and local activists from "Friends of Burnt Meadows" together to protest. In an attempt to bring together a polarized community, prodigal son Ward Tomasivic (another charismatic environmentalist) returns to the milltown of Coffee Creek to deliver his vision of owls and jobs. The message is quickly lost, however, when Tomasivic is murdered a few short hours after his speech. Forest Service Law Enforcement Officers Frank Carver and Ginny Trask are handed responsibility for the investigation, which proceeds amidst escalating tension at the site of the proposed timber sale in Burnt Meadows. Animosity towards Tomasivic at the local mill coupled with incriminating circumstantial evidence point to mill owner Charlie Zellers as the prime suspect. Frank is unconvinced of Zellers' motive, however, and further investigation uncovers long buried secrets which eventually lead to a killer who harbors a deeply personal motive. This book has a lot of potential that isn't realized. Although the Forest Service plays a larger role in this book than any of the others, I've yet to read a really good mystery about the agency.

Richard Hoyt's Whoo? revolves around a disputed owl count on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Consultants for the timber industry have counted 50% more owls than US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) biologists, and the resulting legal mess has delayed harvest on a number of timber sales, including those sold to Bosley Ellin, owner of the local Skamania-Pacific mill. The FWS biologists are back in the town of Sixkiller, WA for an owl recount, as is private investigator John Denson, who is working to clear millworker Terry Harkenrider of a minor marijuana charge. Denson becomes involved with FWS biologist Jenny MacIvar, and when her body is found floating in the river the day before the owl count, he feels compelled to do some additional investigating on the side. As Hoyt's convoluted tale evolves, we learn that some of the Gifford Pinchot National Forests's owls are a little further from home than expected, and that money is once again the root of much evil. This is a humorous tale with a fanciful storyline, but if you are easily offended by sexist remarks, it will be a challenge to get past the opening pages, much less to the end of the book.

Although the authors' styles vary dramatically, these books are remarkably similar in many ways, each drawing on the tension between the northwest timber industry and the environmental community to set up a murder and provide an array of believable suspects. They also all rely heavily on fictional stereotypes of real people, places, and events to add detail: we have two CEOs who are liquidating timber assets to pay off junk bond debt, two mill owners who are struggling to keep their mills operating with timber harvested from Federal lands, three versions of self-indulgent Earth First!ers, a generous sprinkling of rednecks with no love for spotted owls, and all those charismatic environmentalists. Undoubtedly a familiar motive has led these authors to exercise their artistic talents in the same arena, because surely topical issues like these will sell a book or two.

Note: Whoo? was published in hardback only; all others available in hardback and paper. The library or a good used bookstore may be your best bet to find these titles. - Polly