Resident Book Review of “The Last Ranger”

Resident William Miller will review The Last Ranger by Peter Heller [New York: Penguin Random House, 2023] on April 15, 2025 at 7 PM in the Auditorium.

This is a mystery that takes place in Yellowstone National Park. The novel reads more like a nonfiction story, because the author writes as though events are unfolding in the moment.

The three main characters are Ren Hopper, a law enforcement park ranger; Hilly, a biologist and wolf expert and Les Ingraham, a local trapper. Ren deals with the challenges of a law enforcement park ranger in a remote area of the park. Hilly is a young woman who is clearly more passionate about wolves than she is about human beings. Les, a suspected poacher, has a colorful back story.

The novel highlights the conflicts that arise when the National Park Service attempts to keep Yellowstone a totally natural environment in the face of millions of visitors who want to be

up close and personal with bears, bison, and other wild animals. Through Hilly, we learn the ecological value of reintroducing wolves to this environment. We also get an understanding of why nearby ranchers are threatened by the growing number of wolves who cannot be restricted to the park’s boundaries.

Ren and Hilly are initially brought together because they live in adjoining cabins. Events unfold after Hilly is injured in the wild and saved by Ranger Ren. Was the injury caused by an accident, or was it attempted murder? You will need to read the book to find out.

Peter Heller was an outdoor adventure writer before he became a novelist. He is the author of The River, The Guide, and The Dog Stars among other fiction and nonfiction books.

Resident William Miller loves Western adventure stories and has memories of hiking and camping in Yellowstone four times, beginning in 1950 at the age of ten.