The line between history and legend can be deceptively thin-too thin, perhaps, to maintain the claim that one is exclusively fact and one fiction. Such may be the case with the history of Lewis and Clark-for the fact is that two hundred years after they were handpicked by Thomas Jefferson to lead an extraordinary expedition to the Pacific coast, legends still persist regarding unexplained gaps in the explorers' field journals. Call it legend, call it history, "Cryptid" tells the riveting story of conspiracy theorists who have new evidence of a centuries-old cover-up. When a cryptozoologist, a paleontologist, and a Jefferson descendant begin connecting the dots, they threaten to do more than unveil the well-guarded scientific discovery that lies at the heart of the ancient secret; they threaten to rewrite American history. That is, if they can survive a conspiracy that dates back to the Founding Fathers-the very same one that haunted Lewis to his grave. It may be that one of our nation's first secrets is still being kept. "Cryptid" illustrates how the act of seeking the truth can be the very element that destroys it. Two centuries in the making, "Cryptid" is the final chapter of the Lewis and Clark story. And, as with any good tale, the best secrets have been kept until the end. | Cryptid by Eric Penz, Hardcover | Indigo Chapters