Armstrong, Adam 1962-

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ARMSTRONG, Adam 1962-

PERSONAL: Born 1962, in England; children: two daughters.

ADDRESSES: Home—Norfolk, England. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Random House, 1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019.

CAREER: Guide, explorer, and writer.

WRITINGS:

Cry of the Panther, Bantam (London, England), 2000.

Song of the Sound, Bantam (London, England), 2001.

SIDELIGHTS: Adam Armstrong is a writer, adventurer, and wildlife authority who has traveled extensively through Scotland, New Zealand, and the United States and who maintains homes in both England and the Rocky Mountain region. Armstrong has a particular interest in big cats, as reflected in an article he wrote for the Web site of the Australian Mystery Investigators. He notes that sightings of panthers in Scotland have grown more frequent since passage of the 1976 Dangerous Wild Animals Act that forbids private citizens from keeping large predators unless they construct the required housing and obtain licensing. Rather than comply with the new rules, many British big cat owners simply released their "pets." Armstrong writes that the North American puma, or cougar, has even been sighted in Scotland; he is familiar with this animal, having encountered them in his travels through Idaho and the Black Hills of South Dakota.

Armstrong's novel Cry of the Panther is a love story set against the rugged backdrops of both Idaho and the Scottish Highlands. Eight-year-old Imogen Munro's special gift enables her to lead searchers to the body of her brother, who has drowned in the American wilderness, while her brother's friend Connla McAdam looked on. As an adult, the beautiful and aloof Imogen moves to the Scottish Highlands where she teaches primary school and paints the wild landscape and its creatures. Connla, who becomes a zoologist and wildlife photographer specializing in cats, lives in North Dakota with a pet cougar named Mellencamp. When Connla takes on a temporary position helping two cougars from the United States become settled in their new home in England, he hears of sightings of a black panther in Scotland. While searching for clues to this creature's whereabouts, he and Imogen become reunited and discover the truth about their shared childhood tragedy. Their romance blossoms and their solitude is ended.

A reviewer for Cape Librarian wrote that Cry of the Panther "allows for an absorbing read with a satisfying conclusion." Eleanor Proctor, writing for Varsity.co.nz, noted that, "through the story, both characters gain answers they have been seeking for so long, and as old ghosts are laid to rest, each re-emerges and becomes that much stronger and that much more defined." Proctor called Cry of the Panther "an astounding first book…. It exhibits both a clear and compelling writing style and a vivid imagination. It is one of the most sensitive and touching stories that I have read in recent years. It's simply beautiful."

Armstrong's second novel, Song of the Sound, is also a love story, this time set in New Zealand, where Libby Bass, a marine biologist and expert in dolphin and whale communications, accepts a job. Moving in part because she feels the unspoiled wilderness will be the ideal place to raise her daughter, Bree, Libby meets John-Cody Gibbs. He shares her passion for the wildlife of the area, but he is also grieving his loss of Mahina, the woman who had shown him the magic of the land and its creatures. A voyage and a whale encounter free Gibbs from his past, and his uncovering of a secret enables him to avoid disaster.

Reviewing Song of the Sound, Jenny Muller wrote for Dispatch Online that Armstrong "writes with conviction and gives the impression of being well-researched in the area of boats and sailing."