Black Mountain [Hardcover]

Les Standiford (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 7, 2000

A brilliant thriller of man and nature by "suspense's new champion athlete." --San Francisco Chronicle

Through five Deal novels and a stand-alone thriller, Spill, Les Standiford has acquired a passionate readership of fans, critics, and fellow writers. Nothing in his past work, however, is comparable to the adrenaline rush that is Black Mountain--the story of a Wyoming wilderness trek beset by men of dark intentions, and the extraordinary battle for survival that follows. It is a novel filled with intricate plotting, razor-sharp prose, and surprising characters--but Standiford's colleagues tell it best:

"Black Mountain is a fabulous tale set in the rugged wilderness of the American West. What begins as a simple hike in the woods for a group of city dwellers quickly turns into a perilous trek, where every step is more harrowing than the last. Just when you think it's safe to take a breath, Standiford tops himself with another pulse-rattling surprise. Complex and stylish, Black Mountain makes James Dickey's Deliverance seem like a frolic in the park with the local Cub Scout troop. Featuring the wildest bad guys who ever pulled on hiking boots, this is Standiford's richest and most compelling work yet. And that's saying something."--James W. Hall

"A compelling story, beautifully told by someone who knows the peaks and valleys of Wyoming, and those too of the human soul. Simply wonderful."--Robert B. Parker

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In 1991, before Standiford launched his popular and acclaimed John Deal thriller series (Presidential Deal, etc.), he published Spill, an undistinguished novel about environmental disaster in Yellowstone. Now he's written another non-Deal novel. It, too, is set in Wyoming, in the Absaroka wilderness, and, though it boasts vigorous writing with lots of action, it, like Spill, lacks the pungent edge of the Deal stories. Standiford's new hero is Richard Corrigan, a NYC transit cop who takes down a homeless man apparently threatening New York governor Fielding Dawson. In reward, Dawson invites Corrigan to join him and 15 others, including a film crew and pretty USA Magazine reporter Dara Wylie, on a highly publicized foray into the Absaroka. In Wyoming, meanwhile, a pair of hired killers, one man, one woman, are--for reasons revealed only at novel's end--plotting to wipe out the Dawson expedition. They begin by blowing up the plane that deposits the party deep in the mountains. As expedition members struggle by foot back to civilization, they die a few at a time--two are caught in an avalanche, several tumble into a gorge when a bridge collapses. Each mishap seems accidental, but soon Corrigan and the other survivors suspect they're being stalked. More are murdered during a blizzard, leading to a final confrontation between the killers and Corrigan, and to a poorly contrived twist ending. Standiford makes terrific use of his spectacular setting, and his characters carry some depth despite their familiarity, but the plotline is so linear--now one death, now another--that it approaches tedium, despite tense sequences. This is a respectable thriller, but for Standiford fans it's only a so-so deal. (Feb.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Black Mountain hits the ground running and doesn't let up!" -- Tami Hoag

"Start Black Mountain when you have time to finish it. Standiford gives you no dull spots. It's suspense all the way." -- Tony Hillerman

From "Action and adventure, politicians and psychopathic killers, there's a mountain of nail-biting reading here. Les Standiford is at his best in Black Mountain. It will discourage you for ever going backpacking --- but never mind, it will hold you in your chair so that you won't want to go anyway!" -- Ridley Pearson

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult; First Edition edition (February 7, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399145842
• ISBN-13: 978-0399145841
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,761,078 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A real page turner. Very imressive work of psychological sus, February 7, 2000

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Black Mountain (Hardcover)

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 in 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

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Black Mountain - - whackos, psychos, egos, and heros., March 14, 2000

By 

Gerard C. Smith (Beaufort, SC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black Mountain (Hardcover)

Wow! What a story. Who'd expect a NYC Subway Cop to be the hero in a murderous tale set in the rugged Wyoming mountains.

A hotshot New York Govenor (read presidential aspirant) arranges a wilderness trek in the Rockies. Included in the Gov's entourage are his wife, political sycophants, a political reporter, and a reluctant NYC subway cop the Governor thinks he's rewarding for bravery. The story is chock full of marital discord, politics, and egos, along with infidelity, terror, and murder and the expedition party being stranded in a blizzard. The NYC tunnel cop, John Corrigan, and the political reporter, Dara Wylie, team up to guide a dispirited group back to civilization and safety. A great story. Read it.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BLACK MOUNTAIN - A heightened wilderness adventure, October 21, 2000

By 

Dean Redfern (Indian River Shores, Florida) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Black Mountain (Hardcover)

The governor of New York, contemplating a trek to the Oval Office, decides that a week of Wyoming mountain air, along with a personal film crew and entourage, will give him clarity of purpose. But from the get-go, someone is leading the unhappy campers down a trail of death and destruction. And like all politicians, Governor Fielding Dawson has his share of enemies, as well as future foes. And he probably has his share of unhappy staffers who cannot stand another adventure with a self-absorbed elected official.

New York City subway cop Richard Corrigan, a last minute addition to the wilderness party, does not like politicians or unpaved paths without street signs and sausage vendors. And he does not like what his instincts are telling him about the unexplained events that are happening among his tenting group. He shares his concerns with fellow hiker Dara Wylie, a magazine reporter, whom he enjoys towing the line with.

The race down BLACK MOUNTAIN is a heart-stopping adventure of survival, cunning, political mystery, and romance. The characters have to weather the dark side of nature, and the dark side of man. The ending unearths the truth, in a satisfying way, but leaves open the rhetorical question of which is more vicious: mankind or the BLACK MOUNTAIN.