Step into Antler Camp and meet Patton Conover

In Deadly Trespass, Patton explains that "I was supposed to be George Patton Conover, a son named after the general who had commanded my father's North American tank unit and brought half the division home alive. When I arrived female, my father held onto Patton and my mother chose Cassandra, hoping liquid syllables would drown the general's name."

Patton discovers that Antler Camp is "the safest place on earth," despite the " Bring Your Rifle Leave Your Woman" sign that still hangs on the door.

"Antler Camp looked ancient because it was ancient. Generations of Conovers embraced our outpost with a passion that surpassed black flies, spring snows, and barn doors shredded by carnivores. The bear-proof pen inside the barn was a message that we'd staked out territory on the edge of the wild. . . .

"Around the sagging camp walls, wood smoke fingers drifted into the arms of low-hanging limbs. Inside, wool coats hung on antlers. Baskets of boots, waders, and snowshoes smelling of leather and long use were nailed to the wall. A giant pine table tattooed by restless children glowed under suspended gas lamps, and around the wood stove, chipped rocking chairs competed for space with a couch that sighed when we sat on it. Behind the stove, mildewed National Geographics, worn-out nature guides, and children's books crowded tall shelves." (Deadly Trespass, chapter 6)

What is it about Patton? Let the readers tell you:

Patton is "a wonderful main character – vulnerable yet capable, multi-faceted, complex. There is nothing simple about her . . . " She
 "challenges the world to take her on—person by person, group by group . . . as she dares others, friendly or hostile, to prove themselves."

"Patton is an inspiring protagonist, complex and multifaceted: strong, smart, competent and resourceful, yet tender and vulnerable at the same time. Patton’s deep love of the forest and the creatures who inhabit it is infectious . . ."

". . . a seasoned, salty and spirited defender of Maine's woods and wildlife. Loved that Patton never gives up the fight . . . "

Who else but Patton Conover could have silent conversations with animals? Conversations that, incidentally, don't always go the way she intends! Who else could have such a way of stirring up trouble with the questions she asks, and her propensity to suddenly show up in places she isn’t welcome?

Patton and her dog Pock return in the next Mystery in Maine, Deadly Turn, available now!

In Deadly Turn, Patton has not lost her propensity to ask troublesome questions and show up where she’s not welcome. She is hired by a research firm to collect dead birds and bats at Maine wind-power generation sites, where her boss comments: " I know you’re the state's most visible green do-gooder. You don’t say much, but you’ve got a reputation for setting people up so your fingers aren’t on the trigger and people seem to shoot themselves. You've got a reputation for being a very efficient spoiler.”