“The Girl in the Redwoods” by Karen L. West

The Girl in the Redwoods

Karen L. West            
Independently Published (2026)
ASIN:  B0H7CQVBVW
Reviewed by Terri Stepek for Reader Views (07/2026)

Karen L. West has given readers another uniquely bittersweet tale with The Girl in the Redwoods:  A Rose and Clive Search & Rescue Thriller.   Rose is a dog trainer and SAR (Search & Rescue) specialist, and Clive is her K-9 wingman.  They are a formidable team and have been on many well-known rescue missions.  Having recently returned from a particularly horrible mission in which Clive found the last living child in the rubble, Rose has determined that both handler and hound are in need of some downtime.  She and Clive travel to California to walk the Redwood Forest in tranquility.

Their downtime is abruptly ended when Clive suddenly refuses to stay on the path or listen to Rose’s commands—a highly unusual event for such a well-trained K-9.  But Clive is hearing something Rose can’t, and leads her to a redwood tree intricately carved, with a young girl held captive in a hollow of the tree as if she were a living part of it.  It’s a horrible sight, and the child is barely alive when they find her.  Rose and Clive go into SAR mode and get the help they need to rescue the young girl, Ana.

I had come to the redwoods because I thought their size and beauty might make the world feel less cruel.  Instead, they had hidden cruelty in their shadows.

As horrible as this scene is, it’s the tip of the iceberg. What Ana reveals about a man called The Father pulls Rose and Clive into something far more disturbing. The SUV rolled through the dark, carrying a child who had survived a carved tree, a dog who had found her, a child specialist with a sketch folder, a ranger who drove like the road had personally offended her, and me.

That’s just the beginning.

West has created remarkable characters for this novel.  Rose is capable, strong, independent, and fierce. One of the earliest responders to Ana’s rescue is an enigmatic Chief of Police named Brian Redbird.  He becomes not only a rescuer of several children, but a man so caught in the heinous nature of this mind-blowing crime that he can’t simply return to his police force;  he is compelled to see this manhunt and protection detail through to the end, regardless of where it takes him.

Other amazing characters include an outspoken doctor, Jessie, with her therapy dog, Lucy, and Tia, another strong and outspoken woman who lives and works with Rose.  Both are remarkable women with warrior spirits when it comes to protecting children.  By far the most memorable character, though, in my mind, would be an old horse handler named Gary.  Gary comes in peripherally, yet he and his dog King nearly steal the show for many chapters as he makes it his mission to help these people caught in an inexplicable nightmare.

The villains here—and yes, sadly, The Father is not the only one– are distinctly evil in ways that make your skin crawl and your mind question how any human being could be so vicious to another, especially a child.  The nature of their many crimes against humans felt like it was robbing me of some of my humanity.  I was infuriated, appalled, and mentally fatigued by the viciousness.  The bittersweet nature of so much of this story touched every single emotion I’m capable of, while still showing hope, joy, and the resilience of the human spirit.

As one might expect with so heavy a topic, there needs to be some balance, and that’s well provided with West’s deft turns of phrase and the witticisms of the characters.  “Loose puppies are a trip hazard, noise source, distraction, emotional support variable, and a possible sock theft risk.”  Davie looked up.  “Finally.  Someone appreciates the complexity.”

I find the writing style of Ms West to be very unusual, yet thoroughly enjoyable.  She doesn’t seem to be bound by the normal “rules” of authorship, nor is she interested in following the standard flow prescribed by the masses.  I might have found these to be negative qualities, but in Karen L. West’s case, it’s part of her charm and what makes her books, regardless of genre, so wonderfully different.  While her stories have their own cadence, it’s as honest as a heartbeat and appropriate for the story.

For instance, The Girl in the Redwoods starts at a near-breakneck pace, displaying pure thriller vibes.  But then there’s a point in the story when the subject matter simply demands that the reader slow down, feel the weight of these events, and understand just how devastating these crimes have been to the children who were rescued.  To be sure, all the excitement is not in the first few chapters, as The Father determines to find Rose, Clive, and the rescued children no matter how far away they’ve traveled.  While this tale does not follow the standard ebb and flow of boilerplate thrillers, it does something so much more.  It takes the reader and drags them into the pages with the characters as they struggle to make sense of the abuse, find safe refuge, and begin the healing process.

This is not a read for those with sensitive constitutions.  With gritty subjects such as malicious child abuse, murder, torture, and kidnapping, I urge caution for readers who may feel triggered.  The author’s descriptive writing is not gory, but it does describe brutal and heinous events in ways that the reader can’t help but feel.

Having provided this caveat, I can heartily recommend this amazing work to fans of visceral thrillers with a psychological element.  Those who love suspense will certainly find it within the pages of The Girl in the Redwoods.  They will also find a handful of children who are stronger than they know, an army of adults who will protect at all costs, a pack of amazing animals, especially dogs, horses, and a pony named Daisy with criminal intent who thinks she’s a dragon.  I defy you to find another read quite like this heart-warming emotional rollercoaster of a literary achievement that doesn’t bear the name Karen L. West.