Who can you really trust? Nosy neighbors? Those damned outsiders? The government? ... a Park Ranger who wants nothing more than to hide from the shadowy affronts that follow him? Ranger Jack Chastain returns to the canyons of New Mexico after fighting wildfires, and steps into a political firestorm. But of whose making? He wants to run, but a beautiful woman makes him take a stand. Who is behind the threats to destroy a national park? And a newly created national monument, and nature itself? When mysterious provocations pit neighbor against neighbor, a battle between 'self interest' and 'do the right thing' ensues, trapping Chastain between people who face hard truths about who they can really trust, and a fire that can change everything? Public Trust is the original Jack Chastain National Park Mystery, where he finds the embrace and solitude of the desert southwest, and meets Kelly Culberson, a woman lamenting seeing her community torn apart. A novel in the tradition of national park mysteries and ranger action adventures, the likes of Nevada Barr. Buy now and enter the world Ranger Jack Chastain seeks to protect. ____________ "So real you think you're reading non-fiction. This is a good read." - Ranger Magazine -...intrigue and suspense make Mitchell's debut novel a fascinating page-turner—and may make you think again about those government employees everyone loves to hate. I couldn't put it down." - Gary Colliver , Windows on the World Books and Art, Mariposa, California. "In Public Trust, J.M. Mitchell brings a richness to the wilderness mystery that's not to be missed. Fire starts the novel and it burns fast and furious, but pales to the political firestorm that becomes a battle for nature herself." - Nevada Barr, New York Times bestselling author "...intrigue and suspense make Mitchell's debut novel a fascinating page-turner--and it may make you think again about those government employees everyone loves to hate. I couldn't put it down." - Gary Colliver, Windows on the World Books and Art, Mariposa, CA "JM Mitchell gives an insiders view of what it's like to be a public servant caring for our public lands these days. Mitchell knows the parks; he knows the National Park Service; he understands the importance of preserving these lands for the future." - Curt Buchholtz, formerly, book reviewer for The Rocky Mountain News, and park range "I really enjoyed reading Public Trust--its a real page-turner, very well plotted and exciting. In fact, after reading the first part, I tried to set a couple of long stretches aside, knowing I wouldn't want to put it down." - Karen Merritt, PhD, former Director of Academic Planning and Program Review (retired), University of California "...The story is one not only true of national parks, but to the state of politics today, and of the risks of polarization to our society and all that we value." - John Reynolds, former Deputy Director, National Park Service Mitchell started writing fiction for fun, as a diversion from technical and scientific writing, but it was the ironies observed while conducting public meetings in Yosemite and Grand Canyon that led him to create Jack Chastain and the twisting plot of Public Trust. Rather than use the staple image of the inept government bureaucrat, he wanted to create a character of competence--a public servant, maybe a damaged one--and throw him into conflict and politics, amidst competing interests and polarized expectations. Could he survive? Public Trust is the story of Jack Chastain, a stalwart but not overly-idealistic ranger who tangled with politicos in Montana and finds himself reassigned to a national park in New Mexico. There, he encounters a community bitterly divided by the machinations of an outgoing U.S. president. Businessmen, environmentalists, ranchers and politicians, all tangle over a way of life that could be lost forever. Chastain wants no part of another war over a shrinking landscape, but finds himself caught in the middle. Only one person seems to understand what's truly at stake, a beautiful woman who won't let him run from the conflict he must face. To do his job means facing her father, a former senator, and putting himself between warring factions, including the most ruthless operators in the state. He becomes enemy to all. What's at stake? Much, but in this story of intrigue that captures the slime and inflexibility of politics today, nobody wins. Until Mother Nature plays her hand. Caught in the middle. It's the story of our times--polarized society, battles over government, competing interests, inflamed rhetoric, conspiracy theories. But who draws the battle lines, and why? What's at stake for the losers, or even those simply drawn into the fray? And does anyone have a responsibility to find the common ground? Or, is it really, "no rules" and "all's fair?" J. M. Mitchell has known the conflict over public policy, especially in the debates over America's favorite places, the natio