TRAPLINE won the Colorado Book Award for Best Mystery in 2015.

Reviews:

"Trapline is more than just an accurate description of the New West, it's also an engaging whodunit. And like all great mysteries, this one will have you guessing and flipping the pages until you reach the end." 
- Telluride Inside and Out | Full Review 

"Trapline is more than a mystery, it's a political thriller of sorts that resolves around the issue of illegal immigration ... Everything comes together in the end in a chilling tale set against the grandeur of the Colorado mountains."
- The Denver Post | Full Review Here 

"Allison’s third adventure (Buried by the Roan, 2011, etc.) combines a loving portrait of a beautiful area with an ugly, all-too-believable conspiracy that could have been ripped from today’s headlines."
- Kirkus Reviews | Full Review Here

“Stevens relishes the opportunity to thoroughly discuss the topic of immigration in the US through his well-defined protagonist’s world. While Allison Coil, a hunting guide, refrains from giving a perspective on gun control, the highly-charged subject matter stays at the forefront of the reader’s mind as the two investigations build to their inevitable climax … Readers will enjoy the fast-paced action.”
– Mystery Scene Magazine

"A well-executed and suspenseful narrative following the self-reliant outdoorswoman and intrepid journalist as they stay a step ahead of the police. The book is a thrilling read for fans of the genre, filled with twists, political intrigue and a dose of wilderness."
- The Aspen Times

"This murder mystery has two things I love: a Western setting and two strong plots that coincide. Trapline by Mark Stevens also has two amateur sleuths who fit all of my criteria. They are strong characters who are competent in their fields, hunting guide and reporter, and as such they have license and the means to snoop ... Both are believable as they investigate the two cases and eventually come together to solve the larger puzzle. (Stevens) is as good at writing action sequences as he is when emotions are at work. Stevens has a clean style and keeps the plot moving in this, his third mystery in the Allison Coil series." 
- Stephanie Hainsfurther, Albuquerque Free Press 

"Thrilling, complex and well-crafted with more twists and turns than a high road through the Rocky Mountains. Trapline delivers as both a first-rate mystery and a contemporary western that shines the light on the greed, injustice and evil hidden in a landscape that takes your breath away. No doubt about it, Mark Stevens is an author to watch!"
– Margaret Coel, author of Night of the White Buffalo  

"Trapline takes the reader deep into the majestic but dangerous back woods of Colorado’s high country, and just as deep into the even more dangerous hearts of hate-filled racists. The self-reliant, adventurous hunting guide Allison Coil leads a merry band of Western Slope residents as they follow clues in a savage killing originally blamed on a mountain lion, and then become involved in solving the shooting of a popular but controversial politician. The reader will breathe the invigorating mountain air, track the sun bouncing off the peaks, and cringe with suspense. Stevens’ tightly-written story mirrors two major ongoing social tensions that resonate in the mountain west:  immigration and the conflict between preservation and development. Trapline rings as true as the beautiful mountains and valleys that frame this exciting, tense drama of today’s Colorado."
- Manuel Ramos, author of Desperado: A Mile High Noir, winner of the Colorado Book Award

"Like his protagonist, professional outfitter Allison Coil, Mark Stevens knows the mountains of Colorado, their treacherous, deceptively beautiful trails and dark secrets. He also knows how to ratchet suspense like he was born to the task. Stevens' Trapline, the third Coil mystery, is a work of enviable achievement, the embodiment of an immensely skilled author in full stride. If you relish a mystery that's rarefied and granite- hewn, like the high country stage upon which this one takes its turns, you can do no better."
- David Freed, author of Flat Spin, Fangs Out and Voodoo Ridge

"Trapline marks the welcome return of Colorado hunting guide Allison Coil, in a new novel that bears Mark Stevens’ trademark blend of mystery wrapped in New West issues. With its relentlessly escalating tension, and prose as crisp and luminous as a fall day in the Flat Tops Wilderness, Trapline grabs a reader and doesn’t let go until the last page."
- Gwen Florio, author of Montana and Dakota

“Stevens harnesses the shadowy undercurrents of our time and spurs them to a gallop. Leading the charge is Allison Coil, a uniquely brilliant investigator who operates on instinct and has the uncanny ability to see the world on an elemental level.”
- Warren Hammond, author of Kop, Ex-Kop, Kop Killer and the Tides of Maritinia

"This has got to rank up there with some of my all-time favourite books ... I’m hoping that you will, like me take time to read this beautifully crafted book and like me, find bits of writing that are so descriptive, you never want to forget them, but maybe want to go back to the book and re-read it , just to once again spot Mark Stevens extraordinary play with words."
- Best-Selling Crime Thrillers

"Coil is not only a standout protagonist; she’s a vivacious wilderness guide, the kind James Bond would admire. She hasn’t lost a step on black bears nor even the lightning swift cougar ... Mark Stevens has written a fine tight narrative worth reading." 
- Peter Kelton, Albuquerque Book Reviewer on examiner.com | Full Review