Reviews
“Read effortlessly by T. Ryder Smith, this modern-day Western sounds like a story told around a crackling campfire in the high mountain air. Ryder artfully captures Mack’s Wyoming twang and Vonnie’e educated Eastern speech. The once-married couple catches far more than their share of trouble when they embark on their annual fishing trip one last time. But Mack has a secret, and the plot leads the listener up and down the Wyoming trails as this tale of intrigue and contemporary crime unfolds. Carlson’s adventure plunges the couple into a high-action ending. The glorious mountains that surround Jackson, Wyoming, provide the backdrop. Romance, mystery, and a dash of the new—yet still wild—West make this production compelling.”
– A.D.M., Audiofile magazine
“Well known for his short stories, Ron Carlson’s first novel, “The Signal,” is a compelling tale of a marriage in peril. Beleaguered rancher Mack has taken to crime in order to preserve his family land, and his wife Connie feels her love eroding. Their backpacking trip into the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming is meant to be a farewell from one another. Yet as they wind their way through familiar trails, they begin to see their marriage in a new light. Reader T. Ryder Smith gives a sterling performance.”
– Caroline Jordan, Mining Journal
“Very enjoyable book, tightly written with pitch-perfect dialogue, wonderful description of the Wind River Range in Wyoming and an marvelous narrator named T. Ryder Smith. Evidently this author is more known for short stories, but I hope he has (or will write) more novels.”
– Lynn Pribus, Goodreads
Excerpts
Young Mack on the ranch:
Mack meets Vonnie:
Mack tracks Vonnie in the night mountains:
