Buried by the Roan
Fracking ruptures more than the earth.
The spark for Buried by the Roan, the second novel in the Allison Coil Mystery Series, is a dead hunter on the shore of Oyster Lake, deep in the Flat Tops Wilderness. Josh Keating's demise could be a case of a hunter drinking too much and stumbling late at night. Or it could be something much worse. Plenty of other strange things are going on to make hunting guide Allison Coil think the death is no accident.
Someone is lurking around, leaving odd notes and maps. Hunters and guides are turning up violently ill from drinking the Flat Tops water. Four of the buffalo on Keating's ranch are slaughtered. And there's word that Keating and his neighbor were tangled up in a property dispute triggered by a centuries-old Colorado law known as adverse possession.
The future of the way of life in the rugged Colorado mountains is at stake.
Allison picks up the killer's trail but it leads to the simple, wicked device that murdered her client.
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Mark Stevens
Mark Stevens is the author of The Flynn Martin Thriller series including No Lie Lasts Forever (June 2025) and Two Truths and A Lie (April 2026), both from Thomas & Mercer; The Fireballer (Lake Union, 2023), and The Allison Coil Mystery Series including Antler Dust, Buried by the Roan, Trapline, Lake of Fire, and The Melancholy Howl.
Buried by the Roan, Trapline, and Lake of Fire were all finalists for the Colorado Book Award. Trapline won.
Allison Coil Mystery
Allison Coil Mystery consists of five books. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.

