Detective Alexander Spider is a tough city cop hot on the trail of a killer and he is determined to find justice for the victim. But the street gangs aren’t opening up and the citizens are tight-lipped in fear. On top of it, he has a new partner, Miguel, who is deeply religious and untested working the streets of Santa Barbara, California. On the outside, Alex has a give-a-damn attitude but inside, he has churning doubts and fears. When Alex gets home stressed out and frustrated from the job, his lover, Jason Zachery, who once had a run in with the law, knows exactly how to relax the tension of the day. Wanting to please Jason and reward him for his love and care, Alex agrees to a vacation hiking in the Los Padres National Park. Vacations and hiking aren’t on Alex’s normal activities list but he’s willing to sacrifice for Jason. Deep in the forest, Jason and Alex discover the bodies of murder victims and realize all too late, that they just might be in danger of joining the other bodies hidden in shallow graves in the forest floor.

A Forest Of Corpses is one of the most intense and richly graphic books I’ve ever read. Alex and Jason are deeply moving characters with multifaceted, complex personalities. Pat A. Brown uses the male point of view like no other author I have ever read, including male authors. Her knowledge of forensic science, police procedure, and nature are a credit to Ms. Brown’s diligent research. There were times when I forgot that A Forest Of Corpses was a fiction novel because of Ms. Brown’s ability to put the reader in the middle of the action. I loved this book and highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a well-told story.