PENNSYLVANIA PARKS · BOOK 3

Grave Consequences Hardback

Name: Grave Consequences Hardback
Author: Elle E. Kay

A ranger with a hidden past and a biologist with a target on her back must survive a hitman in the Pennsylvania wilds. When Ranger Malachi James tracks a poacher in Worlds End State Park, he discovers a mafia hitman running a cult that connects to his own traumatic childhood. He must protect wildlife biologist Cate Garrison from the killer, or the secrets of his past will bury them both.

He thought he was tracking a poacher, but he found a predator far more dangerous than any bear.

A romantic suspense where a ranger tracking a poacher uncovers a trafficking ring led by a hitman turned cult leader.

DCNR Ranger Malachi James knows every inch of Worlds End State Park, but a blood trail in the snow leads him into a nightmare he thought he’d escaped long ago. When he investigates the slaughter of a sow and the theft of her young, he uncovers a wildlife trafficking ring run by Reece Mclean—a man the FBI knows as Maurice Moretti, a ruthless mafia hitman hiding behind the façade of a religious leader. But for Malachi, the threat is personal. Reece is leading Jade, the cult Malachi’s biological father founded, and his return brings Malachi face-to-face with the mother who abandoned him.

Wildlife biologist Cate Garrison is still healing from her traumatic run-in with the Continental Alliance, but she refuses to let fear keep her from saving the missing bear cubs. Teaming up with Malachi, she finds herself targeted by a killer determined to eliminate loose ends.

As a winter storm bears down on the Loyalsock State Forest, Malachi and Cate must navigate a deadly game of cat and mouse. With a hitman on their trail and Malachi’s past threatening to consume his future, they must expose the truth before they become the next victims buried in the woods.
Also available as a paperback, ebook, or audiobook.

Tropes

Park Ranger, Wildlife Biologist, Cult, Found Family, Secret Identity, Forced Proximity, Wilderness Survival

Tone

Suspenseful, Atmospheric, Intense, Emotional, Protective

Setting

Worlds End State Park, Pennsylvania; Loyalsock State Forest; West Virginia

Comparable Titles

Deadly Proof by Rachel Dylan, Blind Trust by Christy Barritt, Fatal Mistake by Susan Sleeman

Director’s Commentary —2024 Angel Award · 3rd Place

This story digs deep into Malachi's origins, forcing him to confront the cult leader father he never knew while protecting the woman he loves. It contrasts the natural danger of the Pennsylvania wilds with the human evil of a mafia hitman hiding in plain sight as a religious leader.

Main Characters