Guest Post: Murder, Mystery, and the Future of Our Public Lands: Writing “A Murder in Zion” Amid Real-Life Threats to the National Parks by Nicole Maggi

We’re excited to welcome Nicole Maggi, author of the new National Park Mystery Series, to the blog today! In her guest post, Nicole shares the inspiration behind A Murder in Zion, a fast-paced mystery set against the stunning backdrop of Zion National Park, and opens up about the real-life issues facing our public lands right now.

From her lifelong love of National Parks and true crime, to the urgent threats posed by recent political changes, Nicole takes us behind the scenes of her writing process, the complex history of our national treasures, and why stories like these matter. Whether you’re a fellow park lover, a true crime aficionado, or just looking for your next immersive read, don’t miss this thoughtful look at the crossroads of fiction, advocacy, and our shared responsibility to protect the wild places we love.

Read on for Nicole’s powerful reflections, and an inside look at the world of A Murder in Zion.

A Murder in Zion: A National Park Mystery

by Nicole Maggi
on March 4th, 2025
Genres: Adult, Mystery, Thriller
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Goodreads

Grief-stricken over her mother' s death and bruised by her failure on her most recent case, Emmeline Helliwell returns to her Utah hometown to heal, regroup, and reconnect with her estranged sister. A special agent with the National Park Service, Emme is determined to turn in her badge and take over her mother' s bakery for a much quieter life . . . until the body of a childhood friend turns up in the Narrows of Zion National Park.

Emme is called in to investigate the death, and the case is too personal for her to turn down. Once the death is ruled a murder, the seemingly simple investigation turns treacherous as clues leading to a dangerous religious cult grow too glaring to ignore.

The pressure intensifies when bodies start to pile up. Emme has to track down the killer before they take more lives, all while juggling a rocky relationship with her sister as they sort through their late mother' s estate.

The beauty of Zion National Park is breathtaking, but it may hide sordid secrets in its depths.

Murder, Mystery, and the Future of Our Public Lands: Writing “A Murder in Zion” Amid Real-Life Threats to the National Parks

A MURDER IN ZION, the first book in the National Park Mystery Series, was born out of my love for National Parks and my fascination with true crime. When I learned that there was a branch of the National Park Service dedicated to investigating crimes on federal lands–the Investigative Services Branch, which my main character, Emme Helliwell, works for–I was immediately obsessed. What would it be like to investigate such ugly crimes in some of the world’s most beautiful places? And who would be the type of person who could balance that juxtaposition? I wrote the book with those questions floating around in the back of my mind.

I set out to write a mystery that readers could escape into, something fun that would make them dream about visiting a beautiful place like Zion. But just before the book was released in March, the greatest threat to our public lands came from the outside, rather than from a killer lurking within their borders. Massive layoffs across several agencies including the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service were ordered by DOGE, the effects of which are still being felt. While it’s true that some of those layoffs were reversed, National Parks and other public lands are in grave danger.

There’s a huge stone arch at the north entrance to Yellowstone. Named after the granddaddy of National Parks, the Roosevelt Arch proclaims that these lands have been preserved “for the benefit and enjoyment of all.” Now, it’s easy to be rosy-eyed about this, but make no mistake–most of the National Parks were created in order to steal land from the indigenous people who originally lived there. It’s a complicated history, and it’s not even that ancient. Alcatraz was made into a National Park in 1972 after Native Americans protested against the U.S. government, who had reneged on the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie that called for any lands to be returned to native tribes after the federal government was done with it. After Alcatraz was shut down as a prison in the 1960s, it should’ve been returned to the Sioux, according to the treaty. Instead, the government offered it up to developers. When Native Americans peacefully occupied the island for 19 months in protest – building schools and hospitals – the federal government violently expelled them, and the “compromise” they made was to turn the island into a National Park.

This is a complicated and often dark history–and while it’s not mine to tell, it is my responsibility to acknowledge and shine a light on it…something I’ve tried to do in A MURDER IN ZION. But for better or worse, these stolen lands now belong to all of us. “For the benefit and enjoyment of all.” Not the privileged few. ALL OF US. And now, these lands are being stolen once again, by those who want to privatize them and develop them, to benefit the very privileged few. Recent executive orders from the current administration and the Project 2025 agenda (that they are following to a T) make it crystal clear that this is their intention.

It’s not the first time that I’ve found myself as an author at the crossroads of history. My 2018 novel WHAT THEY DON’T KNOW is set in a “future America” where Roe v. Wade has been overturned and abortion is illegal in half the states. That “future” came true less than four years after the book came out. And now, my art has once again imitated life, and the responsibility that brings with it isn’t something I take lightly. Since I’m currently writing the second book in the series, I’m adding all of these current events into the book, and I’m using my platform (small as it may be) to advocate for our public lands.

Still, at the end of the day, A MURDER IN ZION is a fast-paced murder mystery set in one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been to. I wrote it for people who love the National Parks as much as me, and for the other weirdos who have my same fascination with true crime…two groups who definitely overlap on the Venn diagram. So while I want readers to escape into the story on their next road trip, I’m now also hoping that they’ll be inspired to stand up for our beautiful public lands and fight to preserve them, for the benefit and enjoyment for all, for generations to come.