Books published by Latah Books

After helping solve the Cascade Killer case, Washington State Fish & Wildlife officer Luke McCain thinks life will return to normal: hunting with his Labrador named Jack, policing Eastern Washington's wilderness, and spending time with his girlfriend, FBI agent Sara Sinclair. But when dead bodies are discovered in illegal marijuana fields hidden in the Cascade Mountains, McCain and Jack are thrust into a new investigation. With the help of Agent Sinclair, county law enforcement, concerned citizens, and, of course, Jack, McCain works to discover who is killing workers within the region's drug trade. As illegal marijuana fields continue to appear, and bodies pile up, McCain and the others must run down every lead in the hopes of catching their shooter before the killer exacts more vengeance.

The general public is starting to recognize what parents, teachers and therapists have known for years: we are losing our young men. ∩╗┐∩╗┐Now more than ever, emerging men between 16 and 35 find themselves stuck in limbo between adolescence and adulthood. Addictions, anxieties, egos, and overwhelming expectations leave them trapped in childhood, frustrated with their lives, and feeling forced to cope with drugs, porn, and video games. For too many young men, this vital period has gone from a stage of emergence to a state of emergency.  In The Primal Method, addiction counselor and therapist Gregory Koufacos draws from his extensive background with troubled young men to identify what has gone wrong, why traditional therapy often fails, and how emerging men can break their debilitating cycles. Using vivid examples from his professional career and own life, Koufacos demonstrates the use of the walking cure, Miyagi mentoring, emphatic challenge, and other techniques that harness young men''s primal motivation to live a life of power and purpose.

As a Fish and Wildlife police officer, Luke McCain and his partner -- a yellow Lab named Jack -- spend their days patrolling the rivers, lakes and forests of the wild and scenic Cascade Mountains in Eastern Washington. After hunters discover human remains inside a bear's stomach, McCain is thrust into the investigation. As more dead women are found in McCain's region, authorities suspect a serial killer is prowling the mountains he knows best. McCain will need his knowledge as an outdoorsman, and his instincts as an investigator, to track the psychopathic predator before he kills again.Praise for THE CASCADE KILLER"Phillips tells a masterful tale that is engaging, endearing and suspenseful. It is rich with local knowledge of central Washington and the Cascade Mountains, two places the author is intimately familiar with. Once I started, it was hard to put the book down. A page-turner for sure."--Pat Hoglund, publisher of Western Hunting Journal, Traveling Angler, and Salmon & Steelhead Journal"Real! Captivating! Once you start, you can't put it down! The Cascade Killer is VERY well done!"--Scott Haugen, host and producer of The Hunt and author of numerous outdoor books"Yakima outdoor writer Rob Phillips knows his woods, waters and wardens, and it shows as he weaves them into this fast-paced, gripping murder mystery. You can practically smell the ponderosas and pack horses among pages that seem to leap straight out of the gazetteer. Mixing good old fashioned game wardening with current events, Phillips highlights the complex, often lonely and very vital work Washington fish and wildlife police perform, and a modern nationaltravesty, the high number of missing or murdered native women."--Andy Walgamott, editor, Northwest Sportsman magazine"Rob Phillips' intimate knowledge of Washington State's outdoors scene and recent newsworthy events is on full display in this fast-paced novel. Featuring a smart, hard-working fish and wildlife officer, a demented serial killer, an attractive FBI agent and a scene-stealing Labrador retriever, this is a great read and if you are like me you'll have a hard time putting this book down!"--John Kruse, host and producer of Northwestern Outdoors Radio"The author's knowledge and love of the outdoors and the bounty it provides shines through in this fast-paced, fun and thrilling story. The Cascade Killer captures many of the attributes important to those within the rural, outdoor community."--Buzz Ramsey, author, outdoor personality and Hall of Fame angler"The Cascade Killer is a fun, adventurous, entertaining story. I thoroughly enjoyed accompanying Wildlife Officer Luke McCain, his yellow Lab, Jack, and FBI Agent Sara Sinclair as they pursued a serial killer in the Cascade Mountains of Washington. A great story!"--Steve Raabe, author of Patrolling the Heart of the West, True Tales of a Nevada State Trooper"The Cascade Killer checks all the boxes of a good book. It is entertaining and fast-paced. It also provides a glimpse into the world of today's game warden, from the routine to the spine tingling. This book has it all!"--Rich Phillips, book reviewer for the International Game Warden Magazine"Luke McCain and his lovable sidekick, Jack the yellow Lab, are hard not to love in this fast-paced mystery that you may not be able to put down. I cannot wait for more!"--Vikki J. Carter, host and producer of Authors of the Pacific Northwest Podcast

"Told with great humor and compassion, Raabe's tales show us the heart behind the badge."--Michael Gurian, NY Times bestselling author of The Wonder of Boys"Raabe's stories reflect “the good, the bad and the ugly” aspects of patrolling our highways. Patrolling the Heart of the West will bring a new appreciation for the unique role and responsibilities of state troopers, especially those who work in rural or remote areas."--G Paul Corbin, criminal justice professor and former chief of the Nevada Highway PatrolFrom the back cover:For decades, Trooper Steve Raabe patrolled some of the most desolate and dangerous highways in America. Alone in the remote Nevada desert, miles from any backup, Raabe was forced to contend with murderers, thieves, perverts, dope peddlers, and the occasional runaway train.While often tragic and terrifying, Raabe's true tales also abound with his signature wit and playful good cheer. Policing can be a deadly serious business, but for Raabe it also entailed buying a prisoner an ice cream cone on a hot summer day, or laughing along with some good old boys before booking them into jail, as you'll discover in Patrolling the Heart of the West.In our contentious and politicized era, when police officers are too often portrayed as either infallible superheroes or oppressive henchmen, Raabe's charming collection reminds us that cops are mostly just ordinary men and women who've chosen an extraordinary career.More praise for Patrolling the Heart of the West:"Whether you have an interest in law enforcement, are a fan of all things Nevadan, or just want to enjoy a good book that you won’t want to put down once you start reading it, you’ll find Patrolling the Heart of the West to be a memorable read. Highly recommended."--Excerpt from Readers’ Favorite, review by Kimberlee J Benart“Patrolling the Heart of the West is a quick, entertaining and informative glimpse into an important, sometimes dangerous career spent in a little understood corner of the country.”--Ed Pearce, Senior Reporter, KOLO-TV Reno"Perhaps the most endearing police memoir yet written. As a son and brother of cops, I admire the humanity Raabe brings to each of these stories."--Jon Gosch, author of Deep Fire Rise"Patrolling the Heart of the West is a thoroughly entertaining and enlightening read. With a style reminiscent of the war stories exchanged during a law-enforcement family barbecue, Raabe's skill as a storyteller is evident as he imparts his wisdom and experience with a unique sense of humor, candor, and insightfulness."--Andy Brown, author of Warnings Unheeded: Twin Tragedies at Fairchild Air Force Base"Raabe tells his experiences with excellent accuracy, grace and wit. I couldn’t put the book down!"--Colonel Michael Hood, Nevada Highway Patrol

Ryan Turane, 17 years old, wants to be somebody, wants to make his mark on the world. When he gets the chance to chauffeur his idol, the famous writer Cole Hardt, he can't believe his good luck. Ryan figures that if anyone can teach him how to reach his goals of fame and fortune, it will be Cole.Soon after they meet, Ryan rolls his father’s prized Corvette off the highway and into the woods where no one will spot them. Injured and trapped upside down as the night turns cold, Ryan learns more about the writing life than he ever imagined. But he also fears that he'll forever be known as "The Kid Who Killed Cole Hardt."Praise for The Killed Who Killed Cole Hardt:"Terry Trueman has delivered a novel of uncommon perspective. Encapsulated in the wreckage of modern life, a subtle friendship is formed that transcends generational trauma, releases a heart's-cry elegy to Bukowski and Whitman, and symbolizes the poem that resides in the heart of everyman." --Shann Ray, American Book Award winning author of Balefire, American Masculine, and the poetry chapbook Atomic Theory 432"Every aspiring young author will benefit from this book. Packed with wit and wisdom, The Kid Who Killed Cole Hardt entertains, illuminates and inspires."--Michael Gurian, New York Times bestselling author of The Wonder of Boys"Coming-of-age sometimes takes a knock upside the head, and by the end, Trueman's “kid” is anything but a kid. This book is perfect for that bright, next generation of readers and leaders looking to take the wheel. Literally and metaphorically, Trueman hands over the keys."--Will Weaver, Award-winning Y.A. author of Memory Boy"Another great story by Terry Trueman, whose books always hit squarely on issues of coming of age and learning important life lessons."--Edward Averett, Award-winning Y.A. author of Cameron and the Girls

Praise for The Blind Woman and Other Stories"(Gurian’s) skillful characterizations, convincing dialogue and richdetails make this a worthwhile, entertaining collection.”—Publishers Weekly“Timely . . . a fascinating look into a world that remains impossiblyforeign and opaque to most Americans.”—Kirkus ReviewsFrom the back cover:Within this dramatic and profound collection of stories, New York Times bestselling author Michael Gurian explores the cultural and spiritual gulf between Muslims and Westerners.  From Ankara to Seattle, the West Bank to Manhattan, these provocative stories continually surprise with scenes of shocking brutality and improbable enlightenment.In A Desperate Pride, a Palestinian woman falls in love with Raf Horowitz, an American Jew who arrives in Israel with reckless idealism. In The Reincarnation of Donaldo Fuertes, an elderly writer recruits a young African American Muslim to accompany him on a pilgrimage to his homeland. And in the title story, a young hospice nurse finds her life course completely changed as she fulfills her duties to a Somali woman scarred by her upbringing.With the grace and craftsmanship of a veteran storyteller, Gurian’s collection is an emotional powerhouse filled with animosity and love, heartache and understanding, disillusionment and hope.  Lyrical and absorbing, these stories reveal the humanity of a culture so often in conflict with our own.More praise for The Blind Woman and Other Stories:“Translucent stories! Courageous! While the rest of the world isgearing for war with the Muslims, Michael Gurian is calling forsomething higher, better, the kind of peace that only a first-ratestoryteller can imagine.”—Jim Connor, author of Silent Fire“We could not ask for a more important, true or better book aboutthe ‘politics’ of our world and, far more importantly, about the truthshidden in the human soul than we find in The Blind Woman andOther Stories.—Terry Trueman, Printz Honor author of Stuck in Neutral“These stories immerse us in the mysteries that attract us to, and repelus from, foreign cultures. These are very important narratives for ourtime. In them, individuals of various ages, genders and faiths revealhow culture can save us or fail us, at times simultaneously. I saw thesestories as a narrative bracelet which, once put on, cannot be turnedaway from. Their beauty and unsentimental power are stunning.”—Michael B. Herzog, author of Troilus and Criseyde

Advance praise for Deep Fire Rise:"The greatest geological event of our times finally has the novel it deserves. While the literature of Mt. St. Helens is rich in documentation and description, Deep Fire Rise is the first fiction of note to come out of that earth-shattering eruption. And fine fiction it is, melding Jon Gosch's taut, fresh style with an unforgettable cast and a riveting plot that gathers with all the tension and inexorability of the very eruption itself."  --Robert Michael Pyle, 2x Washington State Book Award winner and author of Wintergreen and Where Bigfoot Walks“Deep Fire Rise is a murder mystery, a character study, and a depiction of place that builds in tension like a swelling volcano. Having covered the eruption of Mount St. Helens as a journalist and ridden with Clark County deputies, I can testify just how impressively Jon Gosch has captured that time and culture.”  --William Dietrich, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and NY Times bestselling author of the Ethan Gage adventure series“Jon Gosch’s Deep Fire Rise rings with authenticity.  The intimate, complicated, and downright strange relationships amongst the people in these small towns are pitch perfect, as is the music of the dialogue and rhythms of the prose."  --Bruce Holbert, 2015 Washington State Book Award Winner of The Hour of Lead"A bright young talent is on display in this vivid, avant-garde take on our local lore."  --Michael Gurian, NY Times bestselling author of The Wonder of Boys"Deep Fire Rise perfectly captures the world of Mount St. Helens at its most terrifying moment. A magnificent read."  --Terry Trueman, Printz Honor Author of Stuck in Neutral From the back cover:It is 1980 and Deputy Wilson has been banished to a backwoods district in the shadow of Mount St. Helens. His duty is to protect a humble rural populace from the miscreants and misfits who lurk at this fringe of society – an all-too-human cast of white supremacists, PCP brewers, Sasquatch hunters, and hermetic schizophrenics.That spring the volcano awakens from its long dormancy. Earthquakes rock the locals in their beds. Plumes of ash blot out the sun. Amidst the rising threat of eruption, a horrific act of bloodshed will propel Deputy Wilson to the very flanks of the smoking volcano on a mission that blurs the line between justice and vengeance.A genre-defying blend of mystery and history, Deep Fire Rise is also an homage to the everyday heroism of a profession so often maligned in America today. Dark yet tender, comedic yet sincere, this carefully crafted novel builds into a climax as shocking and unforgettable as the events of May 18, 1980. Brief passage from the novel:"They had finally begun to run for the truck when a hot black raging smog swept them up like puny ragdolls and body-slammed them into the road.  Wilson hit chest-first with such an impact that his lungs caved.  The cracks he heard seemed to be his ribs, but were in fact the firs crashing around him.  He was gasping for oxygen when a tree fell upon his legs to vise him to the hostile earth.  Next a scalding brew of mud and ash began to cover him and boil his flesh.  He felt his ears stiffen and curl.  So hot was the slurry that he could only imagine it was lava.  Choking and burning and pinned to the ground, Wilson waited for his life to end as missiles of rock and glacial ice detonated around him in that alpine apocalypse."