Bad River

By: Marc Cameron

Narrated by: David Chandler

From a remote village perched on Arctic permafrost to the Badlands of South Dakota, searching for answers about his brother sets Arliss Cutter on an icy trail of murder and madness into the darkest heart of the Alaskan wilderness. New York Times bestselling author and former U.S. Marshal Marc Cameron captures the beauty and brutality of both man and nature in his newest high stakes suspense for fans of Paul Doiron, CJ Box, Allen Eskens, and Jane Harper.

"Cameron’s novels hook you from the first line, cement your eyes to the page, and grip your heart in a vice. I can’t think of another writer whose work I admire more." —WILLIAM KENT KRUEGER

"A double-barreled blast of action, narrative, and impossible-to-fake authenticity.” —CJ BOX
Deputy US Marshal Arliss Cutter uncovers a grisly clue to his brother’s death—and follows an icy trail of murder and madness into the darkest heart of the Alaskan wilderness …

In the Inupiaq village of Wainwright on the Arctic Ocean, two teenagers discover a frozen body in the permafrost wall of their family’s cellar. They recognize the face through the ice. It is the face of a young woman who went missing—two years ago . . .

In South Dakota, Arliss Cutter searches for answers surrounding his brother’s mysterious death. But his visit only raises more questions without any leads. Until he returns to Alaska—and learns that his brother had something in common with the frozen body in the ice cellar . . .

Inside the young woman’s pocket is a fossilized animal tooth—similar to the one Arliss’s brother picked up on a trip to South Dakota. A bizarre coincidence? Or are the two connected somehow? Before Arliss can figure it out, his brother’s widow and children become the targets of a brutal home invasion. Arliss arrives on the scene in time to save them—but his actions trigger a larger investigation that puts his own neck on the line. From South Dakota to Anchorage to the Inupiaq villages of the Arctic, Arliss follows this bloodstained trail of clues to a remote lodge on the banks of the Kobuk River. Here, in this unforgiving wilderness, he will find the answers he seeks. Here, in this untamed, often violent land, he will come face to face with the terrible truth—and the man behind his brother’s murder . . .

©2024 Marc Cameron (P)2024 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

"A double-barreled blast of action, narrative, and impossible-to-fake authenticity.” —CJ BOX

John Wayne meets Detective Poirot

This 6th of Mr. Cameron's "Airless Cutter" series. continues this non-stop action filled, complex, and intriguing epic. It Utilizes a large cast of unique/compelling characters who we have come to so greatly enjoy and admire in the 1st 5 volumes. I had thought I had used up all of my superlatives in my 5** review of the last installment, "Breakneck". However, I see I must find more.
This extended novel completes the complex Agatha Christie like mystery of the hero's brother (Ethan's) death. This is accomplished by following a varied group of colorful, unique individuals through an ever escalating, thrilling series of events. I greatly enjoyed the education about the extensive duties of the U.S. Marshals Service, the strong emphasis on personal responsibility, family, and country, and the detailed depiction of Alaska life. This states pioneer spirit, its native peoples, and of its beautiful scenery pay great tribute to our 49th state. What a tremendous adventure this series has been. If, by chance, this book is not the end of the road relating the exciting exploits of the Alaska U.S. Marshalls, I look forward to even more Grumpy-isms and rules of life plus villain death by antique whaling harpoon and a Colt 357 Python. Mr. Cameron is currently my favorite thriller/mystery author, and I can't wait to start another of his series.
I cannot praise the outstanding performance of Mr. Chandler enough. From the first chapter, the unique character voices enveloped me like the embrace of old friends. I am impressed by the range of differing individual voices, each spoken with just the right amount of emotion, inflection, and style as each situation requires. I am impressed that his feminine voices are as well done as the males. I am most impressed with his ability to maintain the constancy of each character's voice not only throughout this book, but through the entire 6 volume series as well. Brilliant. Just brilliant.

Excellent wind up and finally the pitch, a strike!

Incredibly interesting and winding story line, surprisingly easy to follow. I love Chandler’s unhurried presentation and appreciate his pronunciation of the inupiak names which I don’t think I could ever do.
The only regret is that it seems like the end of an era, but I pray this is not the end of the tales about Arliss - fascinating!!!

Yet another fantastic adventure

I love how we get three or more story lines in these books. We start off with an opening gambit, which leads into a major story arc for the book. We get a search and rescue story arc. Finally, a series story arc is resolved. All with plenty of action and stops all over the state of Alaska and ever some other locations. A fun story that I zoomed through.

Excellent story!!

Well done! Great narrator, engaging story! Looking forward to the next one in the series!!!

Alaskan Frontier

Great storyline characters and narrator! Hopefully there are more great stories in this series! Arliss Cutter a hero for the ages!

Cutter story evolving

This read answered or tied together some lingering unanswered questions concerning Arliss brother Ethan’s death and his on going evolving relationship with Mimm. And of course….also includes a lot of cool action scenes along with vivid descriptions of the Alaskan terrain. Also ends with an interesting teaser.

Enjoyable Action/Suspense

Again we start with a minor starter plot that is unrelated to the core of the book, followed by two largely unrelated main plots. The B-plot this time is about the apprehension of a smart but deeply reprehensible character, and it's fine, if unremarkable.

The A-plot is finally about the climax of the investigation into the death of Cutter's brother, and it's much better. That said, it involves a great deal of travel, both in and out of Alaska, and the pieces of the story don't flow as well as I might have preferred. But the resolution is done well and the denouement is satisfying.

Relatively minor aside: who knows anything about SD would measure distances from Ft. Pierre, which is a tiny suburb of Pierre.

I like David Chandler's narration, but the capital of South Dakota is pronounced as if it were spelled "pier".

Recommended.

suspenseful and action-packed

too many in an audiobook. also multiple confusing plots that are intermixed in a confusing way

FINALLY

hard to review without spoilers. just say you won't be disappointed. THey finally get into the meat of the murder of Ethan. David Chandler great as ever

Another Thrilling Book

The story was captivating and I couldn't stop listening. However, as a former resident of Alaska and current resident of South Dakota, I volunteer to advise David Chandler on the correct pronunciation of "Chugach" and "Pierre."