Bittersweet in the Bitterroot

When local journalist and businessman Joe Deerling discovers a dead body while hiking in the Bitterroot Mountains, he does what any good citizen would and calls the sheriff's department. But that one phone call changes his life forever, setting in motion a series of deadly consequences that threaten not only his life, but also the lives of everyone around him.

The next thing he knows, Joe finds himself in police custody...as the number-one suspect in the murder of the girl whose body he found. A determined FBI agent fresh out of training is sent to investigate the case, and when Deerling is released from custody, he becomes her guide through the mountains to hunt down the real killer.

As Agent Maria Hernandez works her way through her first case, and reluctantly falls in love with its initial suspect, she learns that the town has other deep, dark secrets it's trying to hide. Now she's forced to navigate violence, deception, and a trail of dead bodies to uncover the truth.

A thrilling, fast-paced mystery with shocking twists at every turn of the page, Bittersweet in the Bitterroot will leave you guessing until the very bitter end.

Jake Orlo is a free spirit who makes his home in western Montana where he regularly enjoys many outdoor activities with his faithful companion Daisy, his border collie. When asked what he does for a living, he likes to joke that he’s a fly-fisherman, hiker, traveler, and sometimes-writer. Quips aside, this avid outdoorsman and maverick author has been writing fiction for most of his adult life, primarily as a hobby that came second to his career in computers. Orlo left the world of computers and corporate life some years ago to devote most of his time to his storytelling and he hasn’t looked back since. ＂Bittersweet in the Bitterroot＂ is Orlo’s third full-length novel, which he was inspired to write when curiosity, fear, and his active imagination caused him to wonder what would happen if he discovered something sinister while hiking.