FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Shannon Cook
Email: [email protected]
Website: shannoncookauthor.com

New Novel Set in Lone Pine Brings Family Secrets and California History to Life

Inspired by Real-Life Events, Shannon Cook’s Secrets of Whitney Portal Ranch Debuts This June.

MAY 2025 — Author Shannon Cook is excited to announce the release of her debut novel, Secrets of Whitney Portal Ranch, a family crime drama deeply rooted in the rugged beauty and mystique of the Alabama Hills in Lone Pine, California.

Drawing inspiration from her late father’s life, Cook blends fact and fiction in a cinematic story that follows a retired L.A. detective seeking peace on a secluded ranch near Mount Whitney. But what begins as a second chance soon unravels into a dangerous legacy involving cartel threats, hidden betrayals, and a mysterious inheritance left to his two daughters.

“The landscape around Lone Pine has always felt powerful to me—so raw, so cinematic. My father lived there for decades, and the stories he shared left a lasting mark,” says Cook. “It’s a fictional story, but it’s built around real emotions and real experiences from my dad’s life—and that made it deeply personal to write.”

When tragedy strikes, the detective’s daughters return to the ranch and find themselves caught in a web of secrets that force them to question everything they thought they knew about their father—and each other.

Secrets of Whitney Portal Ranch delivers a gripping thriller filled with emotional depth, a vividly drawn setting, and unexpected twists. It pays heartfelt tribute to a larger-than-life man, while honoring the legacy of family and a landscape that feels like a character in its own right.

Early Praise for Secrets of Whitney Portal Ranch:
“Engrossingly realistic… hard to put down. It lingers in the mind long after its family-reinforcing conclusion.”
“Perhaps one reason why Secrets of Whitney Portal Ranch feels especially compelling is because the novel holds its roots in a true crime scenario… embellished with drama and fictional tension that make the most of emotional ties and dilemmas.”
— D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

The book will be available in paperback and eBook formats starting June 10, 2025, on Amazon. Shannon Cook is a Southern California author, traveler, and creative entrepreneur. She has explored nearly 50 countries and runs a hospitality design firm when she’s not writing fiction. She has long felt a connection to Lone Pine’s dramatic landscape and history.
Learn more at www.shannoncookauthor.com