Dead Mountain

By: Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child

Narrated by: Cynthia Farrell

The latest pulse-pounding thriller from New York Times bestsellers Preston & Child

In Colorado near the Cheyenne Mountains, a team of topflight engineers venture on an ambitious cross country ski trip, using their newly invented outdoor equipment. The strapping group of young people are having the adventure of their lives—skiing, laughing, playing in the snow, and mugging for the camera. But when the gang was expected to arrive back from their trip—no one ever returned.

Nora's excavation skills and Corrie's investigative talents are put to the test as they try to uncover what happened to the promising skiers on this cold and isolating mountain. But as more speculations and theories come to light, they fear this may be the hardest case to crack yet.

©2023 Splendide Mendax INC and Lincoln Child (P)2023 W. F. Howes Ltd

Meh. Not so promising after first chapter

The story meanders and the Skip role was unnecessary to the plot. Plus, seriously Watts and Sharp arriving at exact time to save the agent ? I understand it’s a novel. But it could have better written.
A poor example of a story that could have been handled much better. Authors are losing their touch.

Another great story, but for the profanity

Preston and Child have once again delivered impressive writing with Dead M. Personally, I've found myself drawn into the Nora Kelly series to an extent that's almost on par with their renowned Pendergast series—well, almost.

It is noteworthy that, despite the series bearing Nora Kelly's name, the recent books have showcased Corrie Swanson in a more prominent role. This shift has been rather welcome, as I have found Nora's character a tad irksome while rooting for Corrie.

The pacing seemed a little slower than their usual tempo, but it only added to the charm of the mystery. Furthermore, the storyline was fairly original, albeit with some resemblances to the Dyatlov Pass incident.

The character portrayals were generally well-executed, although Agent Sharp came across as somewhat uninspiring. It's worth mentioning that many of us have been hoping for the occasional appearance of Pendergast, the one who first "discovered" Corrie during her youth.

Now, regarding the overall rating of 4 stars instead of 5—here's the crux of the matter. I couldn't help but notice that this novel featured a noticeably higher use of profanity and even blasphemy compared to the authors' previous works. One of the aspects I've always appreciated about the Pendergast series was the judicious use of strong language. The authors possess such remarkable storytelling prowess that they don't need to resort to edgy language to give their characters depth. While I understand that Pendergast's character was averse to such language, it seemed out of character for the others too, including well-established figures like Nora and Corrie, to engage in profanity and blasphemy. Frankly, I find it off-putting, and I genuinely hope that the authors won't continue down this path. Setting aside this singular grievance, the book would have easily earned a 5-star rating from me.

Cynthia Farrell's narration, while not as good as Rene Auberjonois, who read many of the Pendergast series, was still outstanding.