The mythical beast Bigfoot remains as popular as ever and goes by many different names. In Black Wolf County, he’s called the Ursulina. Now, Brian Freeman has penned the prequel to his Edgar-nominated THE DEEP, DEEP SNOW, a tense mystery/thriller set in the year 1984.

As the book opens, we explore the childhood of our protagonist, Rebecca Colder, who is narrating part of the novel to her unborn daughter. She begins by stating, “I know you’ll never forgive me for what I did.” She then goes on to share an experience she had as a child when she was camping with her older brother and father, her mother having died when she was just three years old. During their excursion, she remembers leaving her tent in the middle of the night and swears she came upon something huge --- at least seven feet tall. No one else saw this creature, but it brushed past her so quickly that its coarse fur drew blood from her arm. She realized that she had come in contact with the Ursulina.

"THE URSULINA is well-plotted, intense and a heck of a fun ride. It also provides some great chills during these long winter nights and does an excellent job of integrating local legend with very human monsters."

Years later, Rebecca is working as a deputy and is married to Ricky, an unemployed loser who only recently has shown signs of becoming an abusive and jealous drunk. It’s Christmas Eve, and all should be quiet in Black Wolf County. That is, until they receive a call from Erica Brink that her husband Gordon, a local attorney, has gone missing. Rebecca, her partner Darrell, and the horny and annoying Deputy Ajax show up at their house to begin asking questions and open a report. Erica takes them to the small cabin that Gordon uses as his personal office.

There in the middle of the bed, bloodied and torn to bits, is Gordon, along with a message written in blood: I am the Ursulina. This reminds Darrell of a cold case involving two men who were killed in a trailer in similar fashion, with those same bloody words adorning the wall. Gordon was not well liked and was working a controversial case involving the local mine workers. He was labeled a “monster,” and one of the many suspects reminds the deputies that he was murdered during a “Monster Moon.”

Rebecca and her colleagues get different information from everyone they speak with. One interesting tidbit is that Gordon and his legal opponent, Norm Foltz, got into a heated argument about the friendship between their sons. There was no love lost between Gordon and his son, Jay.

Meanwhile, Rebecca has her own drama to deal with. Ricky is accusing her of sleeping with Ajax, and the sheriff, who happens to be Ajax’s uncle, is accusing her of acting inappropriately with his nephew and tries to railroad her out of the police department. In the midst of all of this, she kicks Ricky out and has a one-night stand with a visiting sheriff from another county.

Rebecca ends up bungling a very serious incident involving Jay that costs her the deputy role she loves so much. Months later, Darrell comes knocking on her door needing her help. The killer has apparently struck again, and this time the victim is one of their own. Just when you think you might know where things are going, Brian Freeman saves the biggest surprise for last…and it’s a whopper.

THE URSULINA is well-plotted, intense and a heck of a fun ride. It also provides some great chills during these long winter nights and does an excellent job of integrating local legend with very human monsters.