The wolf: to some a majestic animal that belongs on the lands of Yellowstone; to others, a predator and perceived threat to their livelihoods. But a few people think of the wolf as a totem animal, and Alix Thorssen, owner of the Second Sun Gallery in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, is one of them.
October is a waiting month between tourist seasons: for Alix, the wait is filled with plans for an art auction to support the Teton Land Trust. But the questionable shooting of a wolf on ranch land and a request from an eccentric artist that Alix look into a death that occurred twenty-five years ago, means that the gallery owner will turn sleuth again... and be far from idle.
Take a visit again to Jackson Hole, beneath the towering spires of the Grand Teton mountains, in search for a lost boy,  wolf, and way of life --  and buried memories. For Alix the truth is undeniable, and almost heart-breaking.

Reviews:
"A few writers are gifted with a feel for place that transforms locale from mere background into a vital element of the story itself, as important as the human characters who inhabit it... (for instance) Tony Hillerman and James Lee Burke. To their number add Lise McClendon, who has taken the small resort town of Jackson Hole and the Wyoming wilderness that surrounds it, and made it her own.  McClendon weaves a persuasive story, as haunting as the landscape it occupies and blessedly free of manufactured melodrama. In Alix, she gives us a heroine both captivating and credible."
-- The San Diego Union-Tribune

"Combining the old mystery with the new question of who killed the wolf makes for a story with depth and complexity. Alix puts herself and her livelihood in peril as she looks into both, and she finds out a lot about her friends and their loyalty when her own life is on the line. Set in Grand Teton National Park, the story combines a deep love for the wildness of that particular part of the world with an understanding of the often unusual people who live in wilderness."
-- Dallas Morning News

"Wyoming flora and fauna are lovingly described alonside sharp dialogue and good pacing in this readable, down-to-earth mystery, which is refreshingly free of a histrionic heroine-in-distress finale. Recommend to fans of the outdoorsy and witty Nevada Barr and Dana Stabenow novels."
-- BOOKLIST

"Thematically, this work is the strongest of the four Alix Thorssen novels, plus the sense of something magical occurring in the area is powerful. Its use of the fall season in Wyoming as a setting is expressive, and the well-developed characters that peole this work are also a highlight. Recommended to any traditional mystery reader, especially those who enjoy works set in the contemporary West."
-- MYSTERY NEWS

"This is just an exquisite novel, the best McClendon has produced to date... tension-filled novel which shows McClendon's keen sense of people and their emotions and their conflicts. And always, watching from the mountains, as Alix and the others are caught up in this surprising and twisting tale, is the avatar and the catalyst, the blue wolf. This is a powerful, moving novel." 
--- Carl Brookins - DOROTHYL-- Internet Mystery Digest

'Blue Wolf' is a mystery that stars an engaging amateur sleuth, but it is also a novel about human frailties and fears that dog a person their whole life. Lise McClendon captures the essences of the human spirit to perfection, which is why her novels are so realistic. It has been a long time (too long) since an Alix Thorssen mystery was published, but this tale makes the wait worth it."
-- MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW

"What McClendon does very well is create an interesting, complex character in the form of Alix Thorssen. At once sad and hopeful for the future, she constantly pushes people away as she simultaneously draws them in. What elevates the novel overall is the pounding, primeval force of wolves that runs throughout the book: predatory, threatening, mystical, political, mythological. The novel gains in resonance and strength by the way these wolf images pulse beneath the surface of the writing."
-- FOREWORD

"Touches of poignancy round out the absorbing story in BLUE WOLF. Ms. McClendon does a fine job of merging the mystery of the past with the present--and very real-- controversy, making this a lively outing."
-- Romantic Times Magazine