i read this book before and had been looking for it. is a great outdoor adventure to read and enjoy buy the fire

The back jacket reads:

"To Matt Whittaker, retired Vietnam pilot it was a sanctuary where he might heal the wounds of his disillusionment, to Kate O'Rourke and her climbing club of teenage girls, it was a playground for adventurous fun - until two psychopathic killers made them the targets in a macabre shooting gallery."

Set in the 1970's in Colorado, a Vietnam war veteran, suffering from the war like so many others, is out hiking and encounters the trail of two men which at first he assumes must be hunters. At the same time, a group of teenage girls with their chaperones are doing some rock climbing and camping. As it turns out, the "hunters" are inmates out in violation of their furlough, on a human shooting spree.

The book delves a little into the morality of taking lives - the war, self defense, and murder. The heroine starts out believing that she will never take a life, even if her own is threatened. Then she finds herself in that situation.

It's a fast read, light entertainment and very relaxing. I enjoyed reading about the outdoors, the challenges, the climbing and camping. The violence is isn't too terribly graphic, thankfully. For example, a rape takes place but it's written in the voice of a witness who knew it was happening but didn't actually see it. Someone is murdered by gunshot, and the author describes the damage to the clothing more graphically than the damage to the person. That sort of thing. I found it a rather elegant way to describe something awful without being too graphic. The suspense is rather light by today's standards. There is a smidgeon of romance but it's unresolved. The hero is a man's man, and the heroine is quite a strong woman. I sort of wanted a postlude - did the survivors go out and get that steak dinner?

I lived in Colorado in the 70's, which is partly why I enjoyed this novel. Back then we wore boots we called clutterchucks or sometimes just clutters, and I learned something new: the correct spelling for this type of boot is Kletterchuhs. The author's description of the area sounded so real that I almost thought he was writing about an actual location. I think it might just be a fictional location from his own combined experiences. Too bad it isn't a real place - I would go camping there.

I gave the book four stars because overall it met my expectations.