The Beast in the Garden by David Baron

For book reviewers and blurb writers “gripping” can mean anything from “caught my eye” to something more literal: a book that grabs its readers and does not let them go until the last page. When The Colorado Daily described David Baron’s The Beast in the Garden (Norton, $14.95) as gripping, it was spot on. Boulder, Colorado, prides itself on its green credentials: it has woven the country into the city with the strings of parks that encircle it. Deer thrive in this green belt. What no one had considered was what would happen when the cougar, or mountain lion, arrived.…