With Extinction, #1 New York Times bestselling author Douglas Preston has written an epic thriller in the Michael Crichton mode that explores the very real effort to resurrect the woolly mammoth and other extinct megafauna from the Pleistocene Age.
Erebus Resort, occupying a magnificent, hundred-thousand acre valley deep in the Colorado Rockies, offers guests the experience of viewing woolly mammoths, Irish Elk, and giant ground sloths in their native habitat, brought back from extinction through the magic of genetic manipulation. When a billionaire's son and his new wife are kidnapped and murdered in the Erebus back country by what is assumed to be a gang of eco-terrorists, Colorado Bureau of Investigation Agent Frances Cash partners with county sheriff James Colcord to track down the perpetrators.
As killings mount and the valley is evacuated, Cash and Colcord must confront an ancient, intelligent, and malevolent presence at Erebus, bent not on resurrection―but extinction.
The series
In the Cash & Colcord series, the wilderness is not a backdrop. It is an active force, patient and indifferent, waiting for human ambition to overstep.
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Created by Douglas Preston, this emerging thriller series blends crime investigation with speculative science and environmental tension, carving out its own space within contemporary techno-thriller fiction. While newer than some of his long running franchises, these novels quickly establish a distinct identity, grounded in the stark landscapes of Colorado and charged with the consequences of scientific risk.
At the center are Frances “Frankie” Cash, a sharp and disciplined Colorado Bureau of Investigation agent, and Sheriff Jim Colcord, a seasoned lawman whose authority is rooted in the rhythms of mountain towns and hard winters. Their partnership is not effortless. It grows out of friction, professional pride, and a shared recognition that the cases confronting them are unlike anything in standard criminal procedure.
The opening novel, Extinction, introduces a remote luxury resort built on a radical promise, the resurrection of extinct species through advanced genetic engineering. What begins as an investigation into a disappearance unfolds into something darker and far less controllable. The premise taps directly into contemporary anxieties about de extinction science, corporate secrecy, and the ethical limits of innovation. Yet the real tension lies in the human response to that power, fear, greed, denial, and the stubborn belief that nature can be managed.
Across the series, the atmosphere leans toward high altitude suspense. Snowbound forests, isolated research facilities, and rugged terrain amplify the sense of vulnerability. The mysteries combine procedural detail with speculative elements, creating a hybrid of crime thriller and science driven suspense. The stakes feel both immediate and existential, a missing person, a violent death, a breakthrough that may not remain contained.
What sets these books apart within the modern thriller landscape is their balance of grounded investigation and unsettling possibility. The science is plausible enough to feel real, yet strange enough to hint at catastrophe. The partnership between Cash and Colcord anchors the narrative, providing emotional continuity as each case peels back another layer of ambition and unintended consequences.
For readers searching for a Colorado set thriller series that merges eco thriller themes, genetic engineering, and atmospheric crime investigation, this series offers a compelling blend of realism and dread. The mountains keep their secrets well. Cash and Colcord are simply the ones tasked with uncovering them, and surviving what they find.
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