Jaguar's Claw - by Brooks Yeager (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Named a finalist for the 2023 American Fiction Award: Adventure.

Don't miss this explosive sequel to Brooks Yeager's prize-winning Chilly Winds.

Taz Blackwell isn't looking for trouble - it lands right on his doorstep, in the form of a beguiling wildlife scientist whose saucy façade hides a dangerous secret. Then an old friend from his diplomatic days recruits Taz to help fight the threat of wildfires in the Brazilian Amazon. The mysteries he encounters in the forest will test him in ways beyond his wildest imaginings and change his life forever. And the enemy he makes will return to haunt him and try the strength of a new but rocky romance.

Review Quotes

"Yeager's explosive environmental adventure is an often thrilling story of a hero... Taz Blackwell... a former State Department official and high-level negotiator at environmental talks, who finds himself in a world of cartels and government misconduct and in a tumultuous romance with a woman with a difficult past. Taz's back-and-forth with his love interest is snappy and enjoyable. Yeager expertly paints picturesque scenes, whether Taz is basking in the calm waters of Chincoteague Island off the Virginia coast, speeding through the Chihuahuan Desert, or fighting blazes in the lush Amazon...and his solid prose shines through and makes for an enjoyable tale."

- Kirkus Reviews

**

"A ripping good adventure tale. [Watch as] our hero takes on Mexican cartels, confronts Washington bureaucrats, and heads to Brazil to fight fires and illegal loggers in the Amazon."

- Bruce Babbitt, Secretary of the Interior under Bill Clinton, 1993-2001

**

"A delightful, character-driven novel with a hero we can root for. Taz Blackwell is wise and knowing with an unforgettable inner voice and a humor that is wickedly accurate. The writing is flawless. This novel is to be read slowly - for the pleasure of savoring each page."

-Robert J. Mrazek, award-winning author of the Jake Cantrell mysteries.

**

"A vivid tour de force. Taz Blackwell is a swashbuckling antihero the reader can't help but like. Be prepared to follow him from one fascinating intrigue to another, and to delight in Yeager's superb writing along the way."

-Judith Mills, Author of Blood of the Tiger, Former Director: TRAFFIC wildlife-trade monitoring program in East Asia.

**

"Indiana Jones meets Greta Thunberg! This is the action-adventure story for the reader who understands that 'global warming' may be the single most important problem facing us today. Yeager's capacity for describing the finest details of his settings, whether on Chincoteague Island, in the forests of Brazil, or the deserts of Northern Mexico, creates a full-blown "movie-in-your-head," and is it ever fun to watch! [The author's] rare combination of environmental expertise and political/diplomatic acumen provides the essential grist for a story that's at the very heart of the fight to protect the earth."

-Stacy Rhodes, Senior Foreign Serve Officer, U.S. Department of State.