Product Description

Helen Ross is a 29-year-old biologist, sent into a hostile place to protect the wolves from those who seek to destroy them. She struggles for survival and for self-esteem, embarking on a love affair with the 18-year-old son of her most powerful opponent, brutal and charismatic rancher, Buck Calder.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #417779 in Books
• Published on: 1999-07-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 512 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Things aren't going too well for wolf biologist Helen Ross. At 29, she's unemployed (recently retired dishwasher), single (boyfriend of two years left her for Africa), and has just learned that her father is marrying someone younger, richer, and prettier than herself (completely accurate). Back in her lonely log cabin in Cape Cod, frantically chain-smoking, she receives a message from her former lover Dan Prior. Prior, also a biologist, works for the US Fish & Wildlife Service wolf-recovery program. In return for helping him track the lupine posse, Prior will provide her with a cabin, truck, and a snowmobile for good measure in a rustic little town called Hope, just outside of Helena, Montana. Apparently, Ross has never heard the proverb "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is," and happily skips off to Big Sky Country.

Within moments of her arrival, she finds out what she's up against: a small town with a long history of wolf fear and loathing, no resources (big surprise) and a powerful rancher who will do whatever it takes to eliminate the wolves. The rancher, testosterone-saturated Buck Calder, has got the community riled up after a wolf stalked his daughter's home and killed the family dog. He won't stop until every last endangered wolf is dead, which proves problematic for Ross when she decides to romance his 18- year-old son, Luke. Cynics be warned: their love affair spawns a trove of gooey pillow talk and syrupy prose. Even so, Evans has made impressive strides as a writer since his debut novel, The Horse Whisperer, and his storytelling has reached a noticeably new level of sophistication: the plot is tight, the characterisation is realistic, and the dialogue is crisp. --Rebekah Warren

From the Back Cover
Helen Ross, a twenty-nine-year-old biologist, is sent to a sleepy Rocky Mountain ranching town to defend a pack of wolves from those who want to destroy them. For a century ago, in Hope, Montana, the wolf was slaughtered to extinction and though now protected by a law as an endangered species, the old hatred runs deep.

Alone in this hostile place, bruised by a broken love affair, Helen struggles for self-esteem and survival, embarking on a dangerous alliance with the son of her most ferocious opponent, the brutal and charsimatic rancher, Buck Calder.

From iis heart-stopping first chapter to its devastating climax, The Loop, set in the same vast landscape as The Horse Whisperer, is an epic tale of primal passion and redemptive love.

About the Author
Nicholas Evans
Nicholas Evans was a screenwriter and film producer before writing his first novel, the phenomenal number one bestseller The Horse Whisperer, which has sold more than ten million copies worldwide since its publication in 1995. It is now also a Hollywood film, starring and directed by Robert Redford. His second novel is The Loop, and his latest novel is The Smoke Jumper. Nicholas Evans lives in London.

Customer Reviews

If you thought the Horse Whisperer was as good as it got...
I finished reading The Horse Whisperer, a book I thoroughly enjoyed being an animal lover, and was afraid that Evans' next novel wouldn't be as gripping. How wrong I was. The Loop was every bit as good as The Horse Whisperer, and I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading animal fiction, but be warned; this book is so brilliant you just won't want to put it down until you've finished!

Another triumph for Evans.
Like many, I read this after The Horse Whisper and was absolutely mesmerised. Evans has the ability to write a beautiful love story whilst maintaining a realistic view of the world that surrounds his subjects. The reader truly feels for the plight of the wolves that are the core thread of the story, whilst following the evolving relationships of the characters that live alongside them. A must for anyone who has an interest in wildlife and enjoys a good read.

enjoyable book on an eccological theme
I loved this book, and was gripped by the stories - that of the wolves (and their survival) and the romeo/juliet like love story. I was suprised to find myself sympathetic to the plight of the wolves and shocked by the cruelty of man. I enjoyed the horse whisperer, but preferred this book - perhaps because the eccology of the survival of species makes this book quite topical.