On the Edge [Paperback]

Lynn Erickson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2, 2002

When one of her patients dies in a mountain climbing accident, Aspen psychologist Meredith Greene blames Erik Amundsson, the charismatic leader of the doomed expedition. But as she slowly uncovers his secrets, she realizes that she is risking her life-and her heart.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Set against the rugged beauty of Aspen, Colo., Erickson's latest (after Searching For Sarah) finds staid psychologist Meredith Greene guilt-ridden over the mountain-climbing death of a woman she had recently treated for acrophobia. Furious with her patient's unrepentant boyfriend, world-renowned mountaineer Erik Amundsson, whom she holds partly responsible for the tragedy, Meredith eagerly anticipates a confrontation with the arrogant Norwegian. But when the opportunity arises, she finds Erik sexually irresistible and frustratingly tight-lipped about himself and the accident. Despite Meredith's earlier anger, she becomes involved with and emotionally dependent upon Erik. It isn't until Erik leads an expedition on Mt. McKinley that results in his disappearance and the death of a fellow climber, an Arabian prince who may have had ties to terrorists, that Meredith realizes she never really knew him. She finds comfort in State Department investigator John McCord, who has been called in to protect her from reporters and foreign investigators, but in the end, the biggest threat to Meredith is herself. This is a story about a woman trying to find herself. Unfortunately, Meredith is little more than a cipher who gets swept up in events beyond her control.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Aspen psychologist Meredith Greene is trained to be impartial but finds that impossible when one of her patients dies while climbing a mountain. The young woman sought therapy to cure her fear of heights in order to accompany her boyfriend, world-famous mountaineer Erik Amundsson. Meredith believes that the boyfriend is responsible, and at the memorial service she stares daggers at him, not bothering to hide her animosity. Months later, when she meets Erik at a party, she decides to confront him, but the meeting doesn't go as planned, and she finds herself involved in a torrid affair. Soon Meredith only feels alive when she's in Erik's arms, but she reminds herself that she knows almost nothing about him and that they only associate with people involved with his expeditions, including Kemil, a Saudi prince who may or may not be involved with terrorists. Erickson's suspenseful romance takes readers into the dangerous world of mountain climbing and makes the trip worthwhile. Patty Engelmann
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Berkley; Regular Print/Single Titl edition (July 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425185419
• ISBN-13: 978-0425185414
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,581,949 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars exciting romantic suspense, July 6, 2002

By 

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

This review is from: On the Edge (Paperback)

Initially, psychologist Dr. Meredith Greene blames herself for the tragic death of patient Bridget Lawrence. However, she soon blames the death on Bridget's lover internationally famous mountain climber Erik Amundsson. Bridget wanted Meredith to help her overcome acrophobia so that she could share a passionate key part of the life of her beloved. However, when Erik took Bridget on her first climb onto Colorado's South Maroon Peak, the trek down proved gravity a greater master than he.

Meredith confronts Erik for causing the death of Bridget, but shockingly both feel a powerful immediate attraction to one another. However, he soon becomes the focus of a police investigation and a media circus when a second person dies while climbing with Erik. Since a foreign dignitary is involved, State Department Agent John McCord is assigned the case, but he finds himself desiring Meredith even as he believes that Erik is more sinister than just a misfortunate climber.

Though more a thriller than a romance, ON THE EDGE will excite romantic suspense fans from the first stop on a mountain's side to the final climax. Meredith is an interesting heroine whose pangs of guilt feel genuine, but her reaction formation of blaming culpability on Erik seems unfair and leads to a credibility gap when she confronts him. Those who climb over this flaw will realize that Lynn Erickson keeps fans ON THE EDGE. The reader wonders if Erik has met unfortunate accidents and will make it with Meredith or is he an uncaring killer ready to murder her if John fails to keep his beloved safe?

Harriet Klausner

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Dissapointing..., May 24, 2003

By 

iheartjackbauer - See all my reviews

This review is from: On the Edge (Paperback)

Pyschologist Meredith Greene blames herself for the death of one of her patients. When she dies while climbing a Colorado mountain with her boyfriend, famous climber Erik Amundsson, Meredith constantly questions herself and the advice she gave to her patient. For eight months all she can think of is making Erik admit that it is his fault that she is dead. Her work, her family, and her friends all take the back seat to her need for revenge.

Soon Meredith finds herself in the middle of an affair with Erik that turns her into someone she doesn't recognize. She can't do anything without thinking of Erik. Then she realizes that all they have is a sexual chemistry, and no real intimacy. When Erik leaves with his team for a climb in Alaska, he leaves Meredith with an engagement ring and tells her how much he loves her. Then there is an accident, where one of the crew dies and Erik goes missing.

The events that follow are nauseating to the reader and also unbelieveable. As a psychologist, Meredith had no insight on her own psyche and was a weak woman who let herself be taken over by a man that went from one woman to the next. Never opening himself up, Meredith still convinced herself that she was in love with Meredith which made me want to scream. Then there is the character of John McCord who was from the NSA which is investigating Erik. The whole story was weak and the suspense was lukewarm at best. The romance, while intense, made the heroine out to be a naive and weak woman, where normally they are depicted as strong.

Overall, I wouldn't rush out to get it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Left Me On Edge Too, November 2, 2003

By 

Butterscotch (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: On the Edge (Paperback)

I just finished this book and I'm still trying to decide if I liked it or not! The storyline involved Meredith Greene, a psychologist, and her relationship with Erik Admundssen, a professional glacier trekker/climber. The relationship is doomed from the very start, but unfortunately Meredith is lovesick and completely blind to the faults of Erik. The problem I had with the storyline was (un)believability - Meredith was supposedly a professional psychologist with some intelligence, yet she managed to get involved with a suspected murderer and then continues to cover for him when he is implicated in a second murder. Her relationship with the lead investigator, John McCord, could have been explored a lot more, but his character was introduced very late in the book and didn't have too many opportunities to really get to know Meredith. There were just way too many loose ends in this book that were never tied up and relationships that were left half explored. There was a lot of potential in the storyline but it wasn't realized. There also seemed to be a distinct change in writing from chapter to chapter (like one author wrote the one chapter and then the other took over) - Lynn Erickson is two people for those who didn't know. Anyway, it was o.k.