Robin Lamont

This book is a brave and important piece of work. Like her heroine, Robin Lamont has waded into the deep waters of public land and wildlife mismanagement and uncovers a host of ugly truths. In the West the government agencies that are charged with protecting the land and wildlife have been largely captured by the folks the land and wildlife needs protection from. The secretive US Government Wildlife Services is run by the USDA for ranchers in a way the public would never tolerate if they show more knew about it. "Shoot, Shovel and Shut-up" is their slogan regarding wolves. Like all Western states, the Idaho Fish and Wildlife Agency is paid for by hunting licenses and run not to protect wildlife but for hunters. In the Western conservative red states much of state legislative agendas are set by the Tea Party's private American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Many rural folks who live near our public lands don't seem to realize that Little Red Riding Hood is not a true story. Hunting psychology is about dominion and is justified in much the same way of that of a rapist. With the lifting of Federal protection for wolves that states have taken over and now hold killing derbies to see who can kill the most wolves and coyotes. Recreational hunters routinely claim without irony that wolves are the only animal that hunts for fun.

The issues are all there and nicely wrapped up in a page turning tale. I read my copy all in one sitting. The protagonist works for a small animal protection group and the books opens with her visiting the gorgeous Lamar Valley in Yellowstone and having the life changing experience of observing wolves in the wild. It is here that she first learns of ranchers and hunters laying in wait at the Park's borders to shoot any wolf that crosses over. A murder is discovered in nearby Idaho of a Wildlife Services agent who appears to have been shot and trapped in his own animal trap. The heroine is sent to investigate and her love for animals and her dismay and disgust at what she learns as she does so keep compelling her to dig in deeper into ever more personal danger. The reader won't know they are being taught an important wildlife management lesson, they will just keep turning the pages to find out what happens.

We need more of such work. Kudos to Lamont for her talent in getting her own work out there. Do the planet a favor, buy this book, read it, then tell two friends to do the same. You will make the world a better place. show less

This book is a brave and important piece of work. Like her heroine, Robin Lamont has waded into the deep waters of public land and wildlife mismanagement and uncovers a host of ugly truths. In the West the government agencies that are charged with protecting the land and wildlife have been largely captured by the folks the land and wildlife needs protection from. The secretive US Government Wildlife Services is run by the USDA for ranchers in a way the public would never tolerate if they show more knew about it. "Shoot, Shovel and Shut-up" is their slogan regarding wolves. Like all Western states, the Idaho Fish and Wildlife Agency is paid for by hunting licenses and run not to protect wildlife but for hunters. In the Western conservative red states much of state legislative agendas are set by the Tea Party's private American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Many rural folks who live near our public lands don't seem to realize that Little Red Riding Hood is not a true story. Hunting psychology is about dominion and is justified in much the same way of that of a rapist. With the lifting of Federal protection for wolves that states have taken over and now hold killing derbies to see who can kill the most wolves and coyotes. Recreational hunters routinely claim without irony that wolves are the only animal that hunts for fun.

The issues are all there and nicely wrapped up in a page turning tale. I read my copy all in one sitting. The protagonist works for a small animal protection group and the books opens with her visiting the gorgeous Lamar Valley in Yellowstone and having the life changing experience of observing wolves in the wild. It is here that she first learns of ranchers and hunters laying in wait at the Park's borders to shoot any wolf that crosses over. A murder is discovered in nearby Idaho of a Wildlife Services agent who appears to have been shot and trapped in his own animal trap. The heroine is sent to investigate and her love for animals and her dismay and disgust at what she learns as she does so keep compelling her to dig in deeper into ever more personal danger. The reader won't know they are being taught an important wildlife management lesson, they will just keep turning the pages to find out what happens.

We need more of such work. Kudos to Lamont for her talent in getting her own work out there. Do the planet a favor, buy this book, read it, then tell two friends to do the same. You will make the world a better place. show less

The Experiment is a plot-driven, complex story focusing on animal abuse and the immense power and overreach of Big Pharma.
Robin Lamont clearly knows her topic. The science presented is scary because it’s true. This could too easily happen and, in some ways, already has.

Usually when I read this type of book, the activists are presented as lunatic bad guys. Here, we see the struggles, reasoning, and, most importantly, humanity driving an animal protection group. I didn’t find the content show more heavy-handed, though it certainly is thought-provoking.

This is the third book in The Kinship Series. While it reads well as a stand-alone, I found myself wishing I’d read the other two first. The plot is specific to this book, and everything is resolved at the end, but I didn’t feel a strong connection to the characters as individuals outside the group and the mission. Despite that, I still thoroughly enjoyed the story.

*I received a review copy as part of the Partners in Crime book tour.* show less

Robin Lamont's newest book is not suspense in the traditional sense, but she does create enough tension to keep the reader turning the pages.
The main character Maren Garrity is a struggling actress who uses her theatrical skills to work as a private detective to pay the rent. On her current assignment, she creates various identities and disguises to trap the sellers of knock-off designer bags, but the plot turns into a comedy of errors when a shipment of fake Louis Vuitton bags is mixed up show more with a shipment of weapons destined for a survivalist group in Utah, who are under surveillance by the FBI.
And to complicate matters, Maren is on her own quest for vengeance against Pryor Wright, an ultra-right wing radio talk show host whose virulent anti-gay tirades may have caused a vicious attach on her twin brother Dell. The attackers were heard to quote Wright as they beat Dell so severely that he lands in the hospital, and almost loses the use of his hand, a double tragedy for a guitar player.
Maren finagles a job as a summer intern on Wright's show by creating another persona who adores Wright's message. Meanwhile the FBI and New York police are on her trail, but whose trail are they following? As she changes costumes and identities, they are unable to figure out who she really is, and what her agenda is.
While the story sometimes takes on aspects of Greek tragedy, Maren rehearses for a new musical version of Antigone, and she may be caught in the same web of deceit that led to the death of the original character from Sophocles' play.
Wright for America is a thoroughly enjoyable novel that had me laughing at the confusion of the characters, but at the same time, it sends a timely and crucial message: Words have power. Words can shock and words can kill. If you speak, think first. And think about what you hear.
Robin Lamont's book shows her versatility as a writer, and I look forward to what she does next. show less