The Bangtail Ghost: A Sean Stranahan Mystery    by Keith McCafferty Order:  USA  Can Viking, 2020 (2020)     Reviewed by Hilary Williamson The Bangtail Ghost is the eighth in Keith McCafferty's mystery series that began with The Royal Wulff Murders (unusual titles!) Its leads are occasional PI Sean Stranahan, his tough fiancée Sheriff Martha Ettinger, and the magnificent state of Montana itself. As the episode opens, a series of deaths, apparently by mountain lions, terrorize the Madison Valley. Sean works for outfitter Sam Meslik who calls for Sean and Martha to join him at a hunting rig where he's found blood on the snow. Martha wears the badge but she defers to trackers like Sean in the mountains. The trailer on the site appears to belong to a Jane Doe prostitute. As they follow the trail, what they find suggests that she was dragged by a mountain lion before being killed and partially eaten. There are more killings (some told from the point of view of the mountain lion) and readers wonder where the mystery lurks inside this story. Well, it turns out that the man-eater is not always a lion, and Sean comes much too close to becoming prey in a dramatic crescendo of a conclusion to The Bangtail Ghost. Read this intriguing mystery to learn fascinating details about the habits and habitats of mountain lions. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Mystery books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews