The proprietor of the bed and breakfast tells Andi that her “Daddy” has left her to run a few errands and will return shortly. She fears that “Daddy” has abducted her from her family, so she escapes to the nearby mountains. For nearly four months she lives alone in a cabin spending her days releasing animals from traps that hunters have set. She makes periodic forays into town for provisions and painkillers for the animals she has found that she is trying to rehabilitate.

Acquiring the food is relatively easy for Andi, since she found money sewn into the pocket of her jacket, but the painkillers which require a prescription, have to be stolen. She has discovered that by hiding in a drugstore near closing time, she can gain access to the medication she needs. This ploy works well until she is caught by Mary Dark Hope, a teenager a few years her junior, who is vaguely related to the drugstore owner. Mary is intrigued by Andi’s story, and together they decide the best way for Andi to avoid being recaptured by her abductor is to go looking for him herself.

Miles away from the traditional mystery story in which a person is murdered, a felony is committed, or company secrets are stolen, Biting the Moon is a coming of age journey of two teenagers as they begin to come to grips with the problems of the adult world. Although disturbed by the possibility of being pursued by a man that probably wants to harm her, Andi is clearly disturbed by man’s inhumanity to other living creatures and takes time to try and right that injustice in her own small way. This theme as well as the growth and learning obtained from the interaction of Mary and Andi are as important in Ms. Grimes new novel as Andi’s desire to discover who she is and why “Daddy” kidnapped her.

The story line, though an intriguing one, has some glaring flaws. The reader must accept some quite unlikely premises. For instance, how easily Andi comes into possession of a firearm, which just happens to be just the thing she needs to survive. In addition, she needs to teach herself how to operate the weapon. She and another teenager, neither of whom knows how to operate a car are able to drive from Santa Fe to Utah without attracting any attention to their lack of driving skills. The fact that Mary can take off for a week without causing any concern on the part of the woman responsible for her caused me to scratch my head in wonder. To her credit, Ms. Grimes makes some attempt to explain these strange situations, but the explanations are weak.

The interplay of the two main characters provides the author with an opportunity to show her gentle, wry sense of humor. Andi, impulsive with little compunction about lying when the situation calls for it, is in direct contrast to the more cautious, straight Mary. I especially enjoyed one scene in which the girls are confronted with the task of erecting a tent. Irrepressible Andi asserts “ I’m sure it’s common sense,” to which Mary replies “Then we’re in trouble.”

Biting the Moon does afford the reader an opportunity to learn something of the geography and wildlife of the southwestern United States. In fact, the title refers to one sort of verbalization of coyotes as they communicate with each other. This information is not really essential to the plot, but an enjoyable plus for the information junkie.

Ms. Grimes does an excellent job creating a sense of foreboding and fear without using much explicit violence, a refreshing change in a book that in its mysterious context could be considered essentially a thriller. However, the actual specifics of the plot are a bit far fetched requiring great leaps of the imagination on the part of the reader.

--Andy Plonka