The Dinosaur Hunter

A Novel

By: Homer Hickam

Narrated by: Michael Kramer

Life on the ranchlands of Montana comes with more than its share of trouble. The unique people who live and work on this untamed stretch of today's American West expect it---and some of them even enjoy it. One of them is Mike Wire, a former homicide detective who once worked the decadent hills and valleys of Hollywood. Having enough of the violence of the big city, Mike has retreated to a far corner of civilization to spend his days running the Square C Ranch and pining for Jeanette Coulter, its spirited and iron-fisted owner. But Mike is soon to learn terrible things can happen beneath Montana's big skies, too. The badlands are home to more than just horses, cattle, cowboys, and laid-back rattlesnakes. Just beneath the surface are the bones of a dinosaur family that could make a fortune for whoever gets to them first. When a paleontologist and his attractive young assistants arrive at the Square C to dig, Mike senses trouble is clinging to them like Montana mud. Once discovered, those bones won’t stay buried, and not everyone hunting for them is doing it in the interest of science. When a murderer begins to stalk the dinosaur hunting grounds, Mike has to combine the lessons he learned in Los Angeles with those of the Montana prairie to protect the people and the land he has come to love.

©2010 Homer Hickam (P)2010 Tantor

Critic reviews

" The Dinosaur Hunter is a fascinating thriller, well-crafted and relentless.... A cross between Tony Hillerman and Larry McMurtry, this is one hell of a good [listen]." (Douglas Preston, author of Tyrannosaur Canyon)

Like Craig Johnson? You'll like this, a good story

This is a nice story moving along nicely with only hints at the 0 to 60 mph in 1.2 seconds that kicks in at the end. The narrator makes this book a very pleasant listen. Another may have ruined the book, instead Michael Kramer paced the book to match the Montana summer.
I hope there is another story to come down Rancher's Row from Mr. Hickam.

Good Story,

Where does The Dinosaur Hunter rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Good story and relaxing to listen to.

What does Michael Kramer bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Great voice and a pleasure to listen to.

Any additional comments?

Found the book in a thift store and started to read it and I liked it,so I looked it up on Audible.
Pleasantly surprised

Things just kind of happened

I was expecting more 'murder-mystery/ adventure / detective figures it out.' It just drifted and no one really figured it out. It was enjoyable but I'd like a more developed story. Lots of things to look forward to in future reads.

Great book

I have listened to hundreds of books and this was one of my favorites. Really fun.

A fun ride

"The Dinosaur Hunter" is simply a sit-back-and-entertain-me, awesome story with the perfect narrator for the part. We are big Homer Hickam fans, and this is one of his best.

Slow and Steady Gets the Job Done

Great book. Love the slow stead flow and the way it reminded me of my time in Montana and folks I know from there.
Now I’m craving a G and T.
I’m buying

Plenty to think about, unexpected plot twists and get the feeling Homer was there.

The story was very good. It was to folks living in Montana and those who have heard about black helicopters, what Hickam's war books were to soldiers and his rocket books are to coal miners and NASA buffs. Only slightly familiar with the alphabet soup bureaucracy and its issues over land rights, and a little more familiar with the dog eat dog world of mayors and political bigwigs, I found quite a bit to laugh about. I also kept picking up on how much dinosaur history is simply guessed at, from what was alluded to underneath what was actually said. As usual Homer Hickam is intellectually stimulating with plenty of humor for seasoning.

Now, there were some reviews critical of the narrator. So, I went into the story with my ear tuned. I listened for a while and came to the conclusion that the narration style was entirely appropriate for a cowboy reading of the book's Peyton Place murder mystery genre. I appreciated the artistry. However, after a while, I increased the reading speed to 1.2 and was even happier.