Scat detection and collection—which is covered in the novel—and its analysis provide a vital tool in studying wildlife and recommending practices that will preserve threatened and endangered species. The technique was developed by Sam Wasser, director of the Center for Conservation Biology at the University of Washington (conservationbiology.uw.edu) and director of Conservation Canines. Thank you, Heath Smith, lead instructor and director of operations for Conservation Canines (conservationcanines.org), for the hours upon hours of conversation, article links, photos, and emails. Thank you for inviting me to join your team of handlers in the Selkirk Mountains. I get sentimental when I think of this group. For your warmth, work, generosity of spirit, and for showing me the ropes, thank you, Suzie Marlow, handler and social media and outreach specialist; Julie Ubigau, handler and outreach and education coordinator; Jennifer Hartman, handler and communications coordinator; and, of course, your four-legged team members. Suzie, thank you for that cross-country interview by phone, and for you and Heath joining me in Seattle. And Jennifer, what can I say? You’ve been my constant go-to for everything handler and dog related in the book. Your patience is remarkable. You were my eyes and ears. Thank you for proofreading those earliest pages. Any errors are my own. My thanks to you and Suzie for that special time in the Adirondacks when I needed to come up for air. As I’ve told you before: You all are welcome at my hearth anytime.
I am also indebted to Working Dogs for Conservation in Bozeman, Montana (WorkingDogsForConservation.org). Thank you, Peter Coppolillo, executive director, for providing me with background information and for inviting me to observe some of your newest rescue dogs being trained. Thank you, Megan Parker, cofounder and director of research, for answering my questions and allowing me to observe you working with the dogs. And a special thank-you to the amazing Aimee Hurt, cofounder and director of operations, for inviting me to accompany you at your assignment post at the United States–Canada border, and for graciously sharing your life and work experiences with me as I tried to wrap my head around the character of my protagonist and better understand the work of both handler and dog.
I’ve taken liberties with some of the facts in this novel. For example, the original conservation canine group, Conservation Canines, is housed in Eatonville, Washington, not Whitefish, Montana. And though most of the geographical landmarks and settings are true to form, there are places such as Gilman Lake, Stage Hill Road, and others that are products of my imagination.
Grizzly bears are beautiful and powerful, and can be frightening. Thank you, Richard Marsh (now retired), grizzly expert and wildlife biologist with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks in Kalispell, who spent an afternoon introducing me to grizzly bear management, including a culvert demonstration. Thank you also to John Waller, carnivore ecologist at Glacier National Park. The information you provided was invaluable, as was the time I spent in the park. (And I will never forget the difference in size between the black bear skull you showed me and the skull of the grizzly!) Thank you, Kat Sarensen, U.S. Fish and Wildlife biologist in Spokane, Washington; Franklin Pemberton, Colville National Forest public affairs officer; Roby Bowe, sheriff of Lincoln County, Montana; and Jim Hagler, assistant service manager at Ed Reilly Subaru in Concord, New Hampshire. Particularly memorable is my interview with Dana Base, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist based in Colville, and our conversation about the woodland caribou. The image of the gray ghost has stayed with me. Many thanks to all of our wildlife biologists for the work they do.
Important publications that inspired my research for this novel include: The Psychopathic Mind: Origins, Dynamics, and Treatment (Meloy, 1998); “Grizzly Bear Connectivity Mapping in the Canada–United States Trans-Border Region” (Proctor et al, 2015); “Scat detection dogs in wildlife research and management: application to grizzly and black bears in the Yellowhead Ecosystem, Alberta, Canada” (Wasser et al, 2004); “Board of Review Report: Fatality of Mr. John L. Wallace from a bear attack on the Mary Mountain Trail in Yellowstone National Park on August 25, 2011” (Frey et al, 2012); Stalemate: A Shocking True Story of Child Abduction and Murder (Philpin, 1997); “America’s Gray Ghosts: The Disappearing Caribou” (Robins, 2016); “Periodic Status Review for the Woodland Caribou” (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Wiles, 2016); and The Shadow of Death (Ginsburg, 1993).
Epigraphs for a novel can provide both inspiration and direction. In addition to the novel’s opening epigraph from Carolyn Forché’s poem “The Garden Shukkei-en,” Part One’s epigraph, attributed to The Baroness De Staël-Holstein (Ann-Louise-Germaine Necker), is from Germany (De Staël-Holstein, 1813); Part Two’s epigraph, attributed to Sam Berkowitz, is from Confessions of Son of Sam (Abrahamsen, 1985); and Part Three’s epigraph, attributed to John Philpin, was written to me in an email.
A writer’s world can be a lonely place without the solidarity of others. Thank you to my readers and to the bookstores that have supported my work and invited me to be their guest; it’s been delightful connecting with you. I am also grateful for my neighbor and friend, Cate Regan, a retired psychiatric nurse practitioner. Thank you for the lively, sometimes hilarious conversation, and for sharing your and Jim’s screened-in porch. Thank you, Michael Herrmann, owner of Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord, New Hampshire, for early feedback on the novel, and to my mom for reading multiple drafts and brainstorming with me on titles.
And yet these pages would not be a book without my agent and my publishing home, Berkley. Thank you, Michelle Brower, my agent, fierce ally and advocate. I’m unbelievably fortunate to have landed on this path with you. Thank you, Danielle Perez, both teacher and editor. Your deft skill and guidance have opened up worlds to me. This book is ours. Heather Connor, you are a dream! Could there be a better publicist? I think not! I am grateful to Amy Schneider for her excellent copyediting skills, and to Vikki Chu for the beautiful cover design. And loads of gratitude to the rest of my Berkley team: Jeanne-Marie Hudson, Claire Zion, Craig Burke, Fareeda Bullert, Jenn Snyder, Diana Franco, Christine Ball, and Ivan Held. And thank you to Penguin Random House’s incredible sales and distribution team.
Thank you to my writing compatriots: Bob Begiebing, Richard Adams Carey, Alison Taylor-Brown, Katie Towler, John Searles, Wiley Cash, Mitch Wieland, Craig Childs, and my former student and newly published author Marjorie Herrera Lewis. There are others, of course: Karen and Martha, who find me when I’ve disappeared too long; Glade and Susan, who have no problem with me pitching a tent in their backyard; and my late husband, Shaun, who first sparked the idea for this novel. Thank you to my sons—Nate, Seth, and Jake—and thank you to all my family and friends for their emotional support and understanding, especially my husband and best friend, Gregg Mazzola, who accompanied me on the Utah leg of my research, backpacking with me into the Nokai Dome wilderness unit. I love you all.
THE LAST WOMAN IN THE FOREST
Diane Les Becquets
Readers Guide
Discussion Questions
Why do you think the author chose to include the victim portraits? Do you think they are effective? Why or why not?
Discuss the characters of each of the victims. What do they have in common besides their deaths? What is different? Do you think these similarities and differences are meaningful?
Expanding on the previous question, how do the victims compare to Marian?
The setting of this novel spans an enormous geographical and environmental range, including the Rocky Mountains, the deserts of Utah, and the Alberta oil sands. What impact does the environment have on the novel? Do you think it would have been as effective with a more confined or different setting? Why or why not?
Discuss the character of Nick. Why do you think it is so important for him, personally, to help Marian? Why do you think the Stillwater killings stuck with him?
As Nick notes, although the killer likely had relationships, it was imp
ossible for him to truly reciprocate the feelings women may have had for him. Do you see this in Tate and Marian’s interactions? How does Tate and Marian’s relationship compare to what we see of Nick and Cate?
Despite the sense of isolation offered by the wilderness setting, interpersonal connections and relationships are crucial for Marian’s development and for her exploration into Tate’s life. Discuss Marian’s relationships with characters other than Tate and Nick, such as Jenness, Jeb, Emily, and Trainer. How do you think her relationships with these characters influence Marian throughout the course of the novel?
There are various dog characters with distinct personalities. What do you think their presence adds to the novel? How do the dogs affect Marian and the other characters?
A major theme in this novel is the idea of moving forward after discovering you’ve been lied to. How does Marian reconcile the feelings she had, and the things she experienced, with everything she learns?
Discuss the confrontation toward the end of the novel. Was it satisfying? What do you think this scene means for Marian?
Do you think this novel explores, to some degree, what it means to be a woman in modern society? Why or why not?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Diane Les Becquets, a former professor of English and MFA director, is an avid outdoorswoman, enjoying backpacking off the grid, snowshoeing, archery, and swimming. A native of Nashville, she spent almost fourteen years living in a small Colorado ranching town before moving to New Hampshire. Breaking Wild, her debut novel, was an Indie Next pick.
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