Book Review: Out on a Limb: A Smoky Mountain Mystery

image: amazon

I must admit, I wasn't expecting this book to be a heart pounding page turner.  I wasn't expecting to read through the night to finish this.  I certainly wasn't expecting to fall in love with a brand new to me author, and to begin the hunt to find all of the other books that she has written.  Having said that, let me actually do a professional book review!

Ivy Iverson loves her job.  She is a graduate student at the University of Tennessee, and she loves to climb trees.  Not just any trees, she loves to find the tallest and oldest trees and climb them as high as possible.

Phoebe McFarland is a nurse who grew up in the Smoky Mountains and went away after going to college.  After a successful career in the big city, Phoebe decides to return home and provide skilled medical care for the people in the community where she grew up.

While climbing one of the tallest trees in the Great Smoky Mountains, Ivy is attacked and left for dead - hanging hundreds of feet above the ground.

Phoebe's life unexpectedly intersects with Ivy's when a mysterious purple backpack is found in Cade's Cove.  While Phoebe and her friend Ranger Henry attempt to track down the owner of the backpack, they begin to fear that her very life is in danger.  The more they delve into the circumstances surrounding the owner of the backpack, the more they begin to fear for her life.

What exactly was Ivy researching while high up in the trees?  Had she found something that somebody was willing to kill for in order to claim?  Or was she merely the victim of professional rivalry?  Can Phoebe and Ranger Henry find the answer before more people are killed?

In this twisty mystery, you will find yourself in the beautiful Smoky Mountains, and enjoy meeting the quirky characters who populated the area since long before the park existed.  You will be drawn into a mystery that involves modern day issues surrounding bio-flora, research, academia, and ownership of discoveries in our National Parks.