Book Review: Black Mountain

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Black Mountain     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Les Standiford
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Thriller
Series: John Deal # 6
Putnam, Feb 2000, $23.95, 336pp.

A transit cop receives a respite from patrolling the subways of New York when the brass assigns him to guard the state governor who is making a speech Central Park. He sees a suspicious character approaching the governor and chases the individual into the nearby subway. Corrigan fails to apprehend the suspect. A train hits the fleeing villain when he falls onto the tracks. The governor and the media hail Corrigan as a hero. Governor Dawson invites Corrigan to accompany him on a wildness expedition in the Ansaroka National Forest, Wyoming.

Corrigan accepts, but the expedition goes bad. The seaplane that is to pick them up explodes in mid-air, forcing the group to hike back to civilization. A series of accidents occur that leads to people dying. Corrigan knows this is not coincidental misfortune, but a cunning killer eliminating each one of them, one person at a time.

BLACK MOUNTAIN is a free following, fast-paced suspense thriller that will send adrenaline racing through the bloodstream of fully absorbed readers. The story line is filled with a gritty, atmospheric novel that focuses on survival in a harsh wilderness. The characters (the good, the bad, and the ugly) are fully developed so the audience knows what they are dealing with. Reminiscent of Deliverance, Lee Standiford has written a work that will prove to be a yardstick for future works of suspense.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner