Charles Frazier will always be best known for his novel, “Cold Mountain.”

Or so it seems.

The cover of his latest novel, “The Trackers,” still lists him as the “New York Times bestselling author of ‘Cold Mountain.’”

That’s too bad.

He’s written a handful of good novels since “Cold Mountain” was published in 1997: “Thirteen Moons,” “Nightwoods,” “Varina.” and now “The Trackers.”

But none sold like the mega-hit that was “Cold Mountain,” the Civil War saga/love story that captured readers’ imaginations more than a quarter century ago.

“The Trackers” is worthy of readers’ attentions.

Set in the 1930s, Val Welch, an artist, gets a Depression-era New Deal assignment to paint a mural in a rural Wyoming post office.

He stays with a wealthy rancher and his wife while there. John Long is a rancher, a World War I veteran, an art collector and a man with political aspirations to become Wyoming’s senator in Washington, D.C.

Eve, his wife, who is half John’s age, is a former touring singer and beauty of the singing circuit. A trophy wife/entertainer, whom John sees as a helpmate in his political career.

Val also meets a wily, old ranch hand, who could be friend or foe.

Some of what happens is predictable. Val falls for Eve. Eve is not happy being used as a political prop for her husband and when she runs off, John enlists Val to track her down.

Val travels the country from Florida backwoods to a destitute “Hooverville” to San Francisco night clubs, seeking Eve and trying to unravel her secrets.

There are some surprises along the way, though readers will see a lot of what happens coming in advance.

But the joy of “The Trackers” is the journey. The man who wrote “Cold Mountain” which is about a deserting Confederate soldier trying to make his way home on foot knows how to write about a journey.

Readers easily fall into Val’s search for Eve and the search for her secrets and her past.

Frazier mentions James M. Cain’s “The Postman Always Rings Twice,” a 1934 crime noir novel. It’s a good tip of the hat to “Postman.” “The Trackers” is its own book but it has the same sort of style as well as being set in the same time period as “Postman’s” publication.

“The Trackers” is a recent release so it shouldn’t be difficult to track down.