Deep in the heart of Washington State's Olympic Peninsula lies Temple Grove, one of the last stands of ancient Douglas fir not protected from logging. Bill Newton, a gyppo logger desperate for work and a place to hide, has come to Temple Grove for the money to be made from the timber. There to stop him is Paul, a young Makah environmentalist who will break the law to save the trees. A dangerous chase into the wilds of Olympic National Park ensues, revealing a long-hidden secret that inextricably links the two men. Temple Grove is a gripping tale of suspense and a multilayered novel of place that captures in taut, luminous prose the traditions that tie people to a powerful landscape and the conflicts that run deep among them.
"Elliott layers suspense with Greek myth, native legend, and personal back stories to create an existentialist puzzle. He offers nuanced observations of character, family, and society, lightly seasoned with a Pacific Northwest brand of magical realism."
Barbara Lloyd McMichael
"Temple Grove's geographical backdrop is not incidental but serves as a character itself. Knowledge of the Olympic Peninsula exudes from the pages as though they were printed from an old growth and the trees were speaking for themselves."
