Black Mountain

by Les Standiford

Book Overview

A jaded transit cop accompanies the governor of New York on a trek through the Wyoming wilderness-and finds danger lurking at every turn. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0399145842
• ISBN13: 9780399145841
• Release Date: February 2000
• Publisher: Putnam Adult
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

BLACK MOUNTAIN - A heightened wilderness adventure

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.

Black Mountain - - whackos, psychos, egos, and heros.

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.

A PhD in Villainy

Mr. Standiford knows exactly how to staple you to a chair for as long as it takes to finish his equisitely sweaty-palm tour through the dark and dangerous culture of our American wilderness--the exact place we go to find our innocence and, instead, have to squirm in our hero Corrigan's skin through constantly ratcheted-up confrontations with the creepiest, crawliest forms of evil. To quote one of his characters, 'just when you think it can't get any worse..." If you love John Sanford's "Prey" series, you'll find that sweet little thrill of discovery in Mr. Standifornd's with an uptick in literary style. I'm back to the bookstore to check ou the author's "Deal" series, and would suggest that any reader who loves it when bad things happen to good people do the same.

Black Mountain

Les Standiford's books always hit the ground running and Black Mountain maintains that tradition. Corrigan, the Transportation Cop, an unlikely hero, is gritty and gutsy and Dara Wylie is teriffic. Politics, inflated egos, marital discord, complicate a murderous plot and combine for a great story. A NYC subway cop and a reporter pooling their wits to save the day in the rugged Wyoming mountains is unusual and effective. Lots of action; lots of suspense. A couldn't put it down read.

A real page turner. Very imressive work of psychological sus

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