A Woman's Guide to Search & Rescue: A Novel

by Mary Carroll Moore

Overview

Kate Fisher and Red Nelson, women pilots and estranged sisters from opposite sides of a fractured family, are thrown together in a suspenseful drama of Search & Rescue in the Adirondack mountains of New York State when Red is framed for the brutal attack on the manager of her indie rock band.

Her dying mother begs her to flee for sanctuary to the only family Red doesn't yet know--her sister Kate. But dramatic crosswinds take her plane into a spin and she emergency lands in a remote gorge. Kate, a Search & Rescue worker, is called to the crash site of Red's plane, to solve the mystery through clues that lead her to a dangerous reunion with her sister. When the real attacker comes after Red and threatens Kate's family, including her daughter, Molly, who decides to hide Red on their property, concern over Molly's safety forces the two sisters to face past secrets and present dangers, stage a real rescue, and begin to repair the broken but longed-for family they come from.

A cross-generational family saga with fast-paced tension, called "an exciting work of survival fiction with strong female characters," (Kirkus Review, selected for Kirkus magazine) that "deftly balances the tension and danger of a crime thriller with the emotion and compassion of a family saga" (Independent Book Review), A Woman's Guide to Search & Rescue is a literary thriller that explores the unexpected gift of found family in times of loss and tragedy, the forging of a meaningful but complex sister relationship between two related strangers, and the discovery, by three women of different generations, that by saving each other, they save themselves.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798987531716
Publisher:	Riverbed Press
Publication date:	10/24/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	344
File size:	948 KB

About the Author

Mary Carroll Moore is an award-winning author of three novels, including the PEN/Faulkner-nominated young adult novel, Qualities of Light, the prequel to this story. She received her MFA from Goddard College and has taught throughout the US and abroad at various writing schools and universities since 1998. Her writing-craft book, Your Book Starts Here, won the New Hampshire Literary Awards "Reader's Choice" award. Before moving into fiction, she worked as a chef, a cooking-school owner, a cookbook author, and a syndicated columnist for the Los Angeles Times. Her first cookbook won a Julia Child/IACP award. Over two hundred of her essays, stories, and articles have appeared in magazines and literary journals. She lives in New Hampshire with her family.

Table of Contents

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Day 8

Day 9

Day 10

Day 11

Epilogue

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Questions for Reading Groups

Editorial Reviews

2023-06-16
Moore presents a novel about two sisters who must face their shared trauma after dangerous circumstances reunite them.

Red Nelson, the lead singer of the rock band Sleek, is on the run after finding her manager and ex-husband, Vern, unconscious backstage at a North Carolina show. His attacker tried to hurt her, as well, but she was able to get away. It appears that her old boyfriend Billy Cotton was behind the incident, so she steals Vern’s plane to get as far away as possible. She travels near the Adirondacks, where her long-estranged half sister, Kate, lives. However, Red’s piloting skill fails her, and she crashes in Panther Gorge. Injured, isolated, and desperate, she texts Kate’s 22-year-old daughter, Molly, who’s also not getting along with her mother. Molly rescues Red and houses her in a cabin on Kate’s property. As she begins to heal, she confronts her history of tumultuous relationships. On the other side of the sizable property, Kate is also struggling. She’s a keen pilot, as well, but because she’s had a series of severe blackouts recently, she’s been barred from flying. She also happens to be a member of a local search-and-rescue team investigating the recent plane crash at Panther Gorge. Before long, a media frenzy builds around Red’s sudden disappearance, as she’s a suspect in the attack; Billy also appears, just released from prison. The sisters must make tough choices—between fighting and fleeing and between self-preservation and forgiveness—to protect their family and clear Red’s name. Moore’s engaging offering not only gets across the ruggedness of the Adirondacks setting, with its “jagged cliffs and craggy trees,” but also presents a touching tale of siblings. The author ably brings her characters to life; each woman is flawed and vulnerable, which makes them feel realistic and relatable. Red is shown to be shortsighted in many of her decisions, and Kate is depicted as using steadfastness and regimentation as emotional armor. The sisters complement each other and form a strong bond; together, they forge a believable path forward.

An exciting work of survival fiction with strong female characters.

Kirkus Reviews