Customer Reviews

White Mountain

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Isabella Abott never questioned the love and trust she felt for her father and six elderly 'uncles' who were fixtures in her life while she was growing up. When her father dies suddenly she is devestated. Being dealt another blow on top of that, she learns that one of her 'uncles' was murdered while he was on vacation in Brighton Beach, where the population is made of of mostly Russian immigrants. When 'writer' Jack Dolan shows up to do research for a book, Isabella is swept away by the feelings she has for the stranger. When her life starts unraveling more than she thought possible, Isabella turns to Jack, instead of one of the uncles.

FBI Agent Jack Dolan came to White Mountain to find answers to why a Russian scientist faked his death more than twenty years ago only to end up on White Mountain as a seemingly respectable doctor. The more questions that Jack gets answered, the more he seems to have as the mystery gets bigger and bigger.

I read the review where it was only given one star and I honestly had no idea what the mystery was early on in the book. The feelings between Jack and Isabella were not superficial as the writer stated, but unexpected and powerful. This is one of the better McCall books that I've read.

Well, after reading good reviews for this book, I bought it hoping for the best. And was disappointed to find a story with a weak female character, sexual tension and attraction that is non-existent between characters who supposedly fall in love, and a ludacrious ending that had me sitting back in my chair going, "What?!?" WHITE MOUNTAIN starts off strong, but the lack of character in Isabella and the secrets revealed at the end are a joke. Don't get me wrong, the idea/concept is great, but the final product left something to be desired.
McCall's STORM WARNING is a beach book worth the effort. Get it instead.

Isabella Abbott has spent her entire life on White Mountain, running Abbott House, and
taking care of her father, and his closest friends, who are honorary uncles. It comes as a complete shock when within the span of a few days her whole worlds changes. Her father passes away, and Frank, one of her honorary uncles, is found murdered in New York.

FBI agent Jack Dolan receives a call to check out what a seems at first to be a small glitch-how was a man who died thirty years ago found murdered in New York city? Setting off to White Mountain to investigate what he's sure is just a defection, Jack find himself floored when he sees a portrait on the wall in Abbott House that seems to be speaking to him. After being told the Isabella in the portrait has long been dead, Jack is shocked once again when he runs into the very image of the portrait on a night forage in the kitchen. He thinks he's a seeing ghost!!

Isabella quickly sets Jack straight, and finds herself drawn to this man who claims to be a writer. It's not long before Jack discovers there is much more to this case than he'd first thought, and that somehow Isabella is a key. What were her remaining four uncles up to here on White Mountain? And just how does Isabella, whom he's quickly falling for, play into the case?

Ms. McCall once again delivers a top notch suspense story, with elements of the paranormal that will in turn shock you, and have you lingering in deep thought over the possibilities. I wish this book would have had a hundred more pages, to we'd have gotten to know the characters a little more in depth, but the story is vibrant and alive, and pulls you right in. Whether writing as Dinah McCall or Sharon Sala, her romantic suspense books continue to thrill and entertain!

I've read books by Dinah McCall that I've liked, but this isn't one of them. The "mystery" is obvious, the characters are uninteresting, and the threat is less than believable.

Isabella Abbott is in her late twenties, raised in a small Montana town by seven now elderly men. She's been coasting along in life, running her family's small hotel, cocooned in the warm love of her widowed father and her elderly "uncles". Shades of Snow White! She is ... romantically awakened from her "slumber" by the presence of FBI agent Jack Dolan, who falls in love with her immediately for no discernable reason. The attraction between them is so superficial that it's laughable.

The evil character is an ex-KGB agent/assassin who for some unexplained reason has been sent by Russia to "bring home" a scientist (one of the elderly uncles) who had faked his own death thirty years ago. A man who for all intents and purposes was believed to be dead until recently. Why Russia would want an old man who's been doing who-knows-what for the past thirty years was never explained. Of course our bad guy makes his way to Montana, figures out that he no longer wants to return to Mother Russia, and decides to kidnap Isabella and hold her for ransom because "something" the elderly uncles are doing must be worth paying blackmail.

I found the story to be more and more annoying as I read it. I felt no connection whatsoever to the character of Isabella (who seems to spend most of her time either weeping over the death of her father and her "uncle", or else being an excessively nice doormat to people who are trying to harm her), and the whole deep, dark secret of the uncles and the fertility clinic was so obvious that both the ex-spy and the FBI agent should be stripped of their credentials for not figuring it out sooner. Don't waste your time with this book.

The concept of WHITE MOUNTAIN was interesting but the delivery and one character missed the mark, but just barely.

Frank Walton is murdered in New York, which leads FBI agent Jack Dolan to Braden, Montana, the last known residence of the murder victim. Jack is trying to find out the identity as well as a motive for this murder. He finds Frank's "niece" Isabella who runs Abbott House, a bed and breakfast near White Mountain Fertility Clinic. Her father and the "uncles" raised Isabella after her mother died in childbirth, which by itself could have made for an interesting story. Throw into the mix the fact that the "uncles" are scientists and doctors who founded the White Mountain Fertility Clinic with Isabella's father and the story takes on a new dimension. As Jack delves deeper into this murder, interesting information surfaces, as does his attraction to Isabella.

Characters are colorful, but while reading about Isabella I shifted to thinking the story took place decades earlier, not in current times. She is mild mannered, only wants to please the men in her life, can't seem to stand on her own - almost like a 50's woman. She's definitely not a woman of today's society and wouldn't last thirty minutes in Los Angeles or New York City. She defers every decision to the "uncles". Jack is well described and comes across as a typical FBI agent and macho man. The "uncles" are charming and each personality becomes vivid and alluring.

As for the story line, well the outline is excellent. The premise is that someone is determined to kidnap Frank Walton, but instead he is killed in the process. The question as to why someone wants an elderly scientist is the focus of this entire story. The White Mountain Fertility Clinic is surrounded in mystery and intrigue. You can speculate (and probably be correct) but the answers don't appear until the very end. But what's more farfetched is the underground system. This clinic was built years ago, and the underground tunnels leading to it and to the labs are incomprehensible. No one knew there was construction of these happening? Come on, give me a break - I can understand some secrecy, but not to this extent! It read like they were going into the Bat Cave.

The ending is suspenseful although unrealistic. I felt like I was reading Escape from Witch Mountain or some other childish tale. It was just a little too pat to suit my taste and I felt a "happily ever after" coming. McCall stopped short of doing that but the ending left much to be desired.

Overall it was a good tale, and would have been excellent except for Isabella's Stepford-wife demeanor and the ending. This is one of the few books by Dinah McCall/Sharon Sala that does fall short of being excellent.

This was a pleasant, readable book.

It has a little bit of everything: mystery, romance, science fiction, cold war spying.

I read it on the train, which it seemed perfect for, something to do that doesn't take up much space and keeps you quiet.

It does drag a bit in some places, though.

Some of the insights into how the cold war has evolved into modern international relations are intriguing.

The ending has a nice twist, but I won't tell you what it is.

White Mountain by Dinah McCall is an excellent must read. It leaves you on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen to the characters. When my boss handed it to me to read at work, I was sure that I wouldn't care for it but it was fantastic. And I am so glad that it had a happy ending where two people found each other. It was well written and the part about the Indian had me guessing until the end. Excellent reading.

I absolutely could not put this book down. I thought it was great! It was mystery and romance mixed together in a perfect combination. There are a few confusing scenes, but for the most part, the flow of the book is excellent. The ending is happy, and all loose ends are tied up. The main female character suffers enormous losses that seem unfair for any person to have to go through. Of course, she needs a strong, handsome man to lean on. Overall, it's a really good book that I would suggest to anyone.

This book annoyed me. Granted, there is a formula to the books in the Mira Romantic Suspense line, but this was too much, even for them.

McCall picks up characters for no reason, gets you into their head for a moment, and drops them like hot potatoes scattered from Brighton Beach to the town under White Mountain. Once they've served their purpose and move the plot along (the cop in Queens, the thieves in Italy), she never feels the need to even give them another moment. That would be fine if she hadn't brought you deeper than necessary in the first place. With others (the couple in Queens), you never quite feel like you know or care enough about them for the (supposed) emotional payoff at the end. Same goes for all of Isabella's "uncles." By the end, I still didn't know who was who.

As for the "mystery," I knew the answer to that almost immediately--she just about hit us over the head with hints to that, which she did explain at the end, but no hints as to why the precipitating event (murder/botched kidnapping) happened to begin with! We are still at a loss, and that leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Back to character development for a moment. Why do Jack and Isabella fall in love? He sees a painting and she sees an unattached male with whom she didn't grow up. There has to be more, you say? So do I, but we're not privy to it. I was also offended that Jack decides to keep some very crucial information about Isabella from her forever; this just adds to my lack of respect for his lack of respect for her as an adult. Yes, it would be hard to hear, but she deserves to know the truth. Or, I should say that she would deserve to know the truth if the author had written her with any kind of self-respect. The woman NEVER stands up for herself, even when crimes are committed against her. She just moans and faints and leans on whatever male is handy. Yes, I understand she was raised by eight older and old-fashioned men, but come on, even when she says she's breaking out of her shell, it is more like knocking on the shell from the inside, and asking for Jack to break it down for her. Ugh.

I got the book for free and it was worth it. The book is like a meal replacement bar: you go through it fast, it doesn't hurt, but in the end, you wish you had taken the time for something more substantial.

I've read books by Dinah McCall that I've liked, but this isn't one of them. The "mystery" is obvious, the characters are uninteresting, and the threat is less than believable.

Isabella Abbott is in her late twenties, raised in a small Montana town by seven now elderly men. She's been coasting along in life, running her family's small hotel, cocooned in the warm love of her widowed father and her elderly "uncles". Shades of Snow White! She is sexually/romantically awakened from her "slumber" by the presence of FBI agent Jack Dolan, who falls in love with her immediately for no discernable reason. The attraction between them is so superficial that it's laughable.

The evil character is an ex-KGB agent/assassin who for some unexplained reason has been sent by Russia to "bring home" a scientist (one of the elderly uncles) who had faked his own death thirty years ago. A man who for all intents and purposes was believed to be dead until recently. Why Russia would want an old man who's been doing who-knows-what for the past thirty years was never explained. Of course our bad guy makes his way to Montana, figures out that he no longer wants to return to Mother Russia, and decides to kidnap Isabella and hold her for ransom because "something" the elderly uncles are doing must be worth paying blackmail.

I found the story to be more and more annoying as I read it. I felt no connection whatsoever to the character of Isabella (who seems to spend most of her time either weeping over the death of her father and her "uncle", or else being an excessively nice doormat to people who are trying to harm her), and the whole deep, dark secret of the uncles and the fertility clinic was so obvious that both the ex-spy and the FBI agent should be stripped of their credentials for not figuring it out sooner. Don't waste your time with this book.