A man. A tiger. A tornado. Jared Montaine owns a big cat rescue in Florida and faces financial pressures, getting over his ex-wife, and the challenge of suburbia creeping ever closer to his enclave for the animals. But when a tornado wrecks part of the refuge, Jared's worst fear comes to life: his Siberian tiger, Sultan, escapes. It's a big cat handler’s nightmare: a tiger on the loose, confused, lost -- and hungry. Jared races against the police, the media, and the hysterical public, all of whom are clamoring for the tiger's hide. He must re-capture Sultan before the cat is killed -- by traffic, by SWAT, or by a civilian who just wants to shoot a tiger. With fellow wildlife handlers at his side, Jared fights desperately to find and capture Sultan before the tiger injures or kills a human. Because that would lead to his worst nightmare -- having to kill the tiger he hand-raised from a cub. Jared’s commitment is tested -- to his animals, his refuge, and his belief that saving the life of even one tiger is worth losing everything.

The Tiger Whisperer

Her voice was quavery and froggy; he could tell she’d been crying. They got through the pleasantries, “how are things”, “busy”, “you’ve got me on that goshdarn machine don’t you?”.


He kept moving around the office, filing papers, straightening up as he listened to the speakerphone. No way was he going to tell his mother what was going on at the refuge this week.


She started weeping again. It sounded dreadful through the tinny speaker. He wished he could hug her and make her feel better.


“Ma, it’ll be okay.” The words sounded stupid and useless. Would he believe Steve or Peter if they just shushed him now with that comment?


“No, it won’t. It will never be okay.” She coughed and Jared felt the pause when she lit up a cigarette. “Doesn’t it bother you? She’s dead!”


“It’s been twenty-five years, Ma. Let her go.”


“You don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re not a parent.”


Chapter 45