$19.95
Paperback, 6″ x 9″
194 pages
ISBN 978-1-63381-479-0
by Gregory Burr
The title Wolf Runner is a metaphor, equating humans to animals. Game warden Joe Riddle grew up in the Maine woods in a rough poaching family, and wildlife biologist Dave Caro had his humble beginnings on the rough streets of Hell’s Kitchen, New York, and learned to love hunting and fishing on Long Island. Even though they grew up in different states, they became fast friends when they met in college and went on to become outstanding professionals in their fields of study. After years of being apart, they reunite when they are both hired by Maine Game and Fish.
A corrupt regime takes over the executive branch of Maine’s government and the Game and Fish Department. The two friends stand up to the megalomaniac commissioner and his minions, only to receive targets on their backs. The malevolent leadership, along with criminal partners, conspire to have their opposition silenced.
Who will win this epic struggle between good and evil? Will good people stand by and do nothing? The author breathes life into intense scenes that make the reader feel like they are there. Read as the protagonists use their outdoor skills, the landscape, and the animals, to battle overconfident lowlifes.
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Drawing from his coastal Hancock County upbringing and an outstanding career managing fisheries in the Downeast Maine region, Burr’s first foray into the outdoor murder mystery genre will have readers smelling balsam as they traverse a dark trail of greed, pitted against respect for wild resources. Evil state power and politics, addiction, and New England crime are featured in contrast to noble values of service, integrity, and long-term friendship. The woods and waters of Maine hold many secrets. Wolf Runner reveals that predators and prey are not always those of fur, feathers, fang, or claw.
—David Craven, Retired Maine Warden Service Sergent
Burr has spun a nail-biter. The intertwined elements of the sportsmen’s wild woods and upright and miscreant characters are taken together in an epic tale of love, hate, honesty, and corruption you won’t want to miss. The tapestry of the human condition is laid out on the best backdrop of all: the rich colors and aromas of the Maine woods.
—Dennis LaBare, author of The Landlocked Salmon at Grand Lake Stream and Appalachian Grouse Dog: A Boomer’s Memoir
Burr’s Wolf Runner may be his first novel, but it won’t be his last. Drawing on his own experience as a Maine biologist, Burr delivers a riveting book of a young man’s unexpected journey from the rough and tumble streets of Hell’s Kitchen to Long Island and the fabled Maine woods, where budding biologist Dave Caro develops into a nationally renowned bear biologist. Burr’s page-turner is a thrilling read.
—Ron Joseph, author of Bald Eagles, Bear Cubs, and Hermit Bill: Memories of a Maine Wildlife Biologist
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gregory Burr grew up in the midst of Acadia National Park in the tiny village of Northeast Harbor. This small town was surrounded by the beauty of the park, and this inspired him to become an avid outdoorsman and fisherman. He graduated from Mount Desert Island High School in 1981. He then attended Unity College and graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Environmental Science with a concentration in inland fisheries management.
In 1987 he was hired as an inland fisheries biologist with the Maine Dept. of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, stationed in the Machias office. In 1989 he was promoted to a research fisheries biologist with the IF&W out of the Bangor research office. In 1991 he was promoted to inland fisheries management biologist with IF&W in the Grand Lakes Region of Downeast Maine. In 2006 he was promoted to Assistant Regional Fisheries Biologist with IF&W working out of the Jonesboro office, covering the Downeast region. In 2007, Greg was given the Maine inland fisheries & wildlife fisheries biologist of the year award. In 2010 he was promoted to the position of Regional Fisheries Biologist for the Downeast fisheries management region working out of the IF&W Jonesboro office. In 2017 Greg received IF&W’s lifetime outdoor achievement award. In 2024 Greg retired as the Downeast Fisheries Resource Supervisor for the Grand Lakes Region at the IF&W Jonesboro office.
He currently has his own inland fisheries consulting business and travels around New England working for private landowners. He and his wife, Sue, currently live in their home they built on Eastern Harbor in South Addison. They have three children, Ashley, Taylor, and Sutton. Greg is a Master Maine Guide who enjoys hiking, canoeing, sea kayaking, hunting, fishing, and golfing. Greg is a periodic guest host of The Maine Outdoors radio show on 103.9 FM at Blueberry Broadcasting in Bangor, Maine, on Sunday nights at 7:00 p.m. Wolf Runner is his first book.