Mountain Peril (White Mountains Mysteries)

By Tom Eslick

Book Overview

Rising to a height of more than 6,200 feet, New Hampshireas Mount Washington is the tallest mountain in the northeastern United States. The weather is often horrific, the terrain treacherous. Add a lurking homicidal maniac to this dramatic setting and you can count on one thing: a gripping, action-packed read from Tom Eslick. When a boy is reported missing on Mount Washing-ton, Will Buchananahigh school science teacher and part-time search-and-rescue volunteerasprings into action. The search takes a surprising turn when Will spots a torn piece of red shirt fluttering on a tree just off the trail. It belongs, he soon discovers, to a woman lying in a shallow grave nearby, the second woman to be found murdered on the mountain in the last month. Is there a connection between the two deaths? As Will and Laurie, his girlfriend and the local sheriff, begin their investigation, they discover something much more sinister was going on than theyad ever imagined. A blend of a brilliantly rendered setting and expert storytelling, Mountain Peril is another exhilarating mystery told with Eslickas own brand of white-knuckle suspense.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0670033863
• ISBN13: 9780670033867
• Release Date: March 2005
• Publisher: Viking Adult
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.9" x 5.8"

Customer Reviews

vivid and colorful thriller

Climbers love to challenge New Hampshire's Mount Washington, New England's tallest mountain. When they get in trouble a search and rescue is mounted; one of the volunteers is high school teacher Will Buchanan. When it is thought a boy is lost on the mountain Will and others in SAR go looking for him but instead find the body of a dead woman. A month ago another woman was also murdered in roughly the same area. Will and his girlfriend Sheriff Laurie learn the deceased is Samantha Rayley, who used to hike and rock climb on Mount Washington but was caring for her son who has cancer and the bills are astronomical. The police think she came back to town to blackmail the father of her child into paying some of the medical bills. Suspicion falls on Mr. Carpenter who had an affair with her years ago. A search of his house finds Samantha's wallet, the gun that was used to shoot Laurie, a fair amount of pot and a pile of money. Not content to let the police take care of it, Will goes after Carpenter, but when his target has the chance to kill him he does not. Will reconsiders Carpenter's guilt and intends to find out who the real perpetrator is. The vivid and colorful description of the mountain makes it easy to understand how crimes can be committed in areas so isolated that the bodies are never discovered. The protagonist is a strong yet vulnerable hero whose love for Laurie is touching and is the reason he feels he has to personally find out who the killer is. Tom Eslick is a very visual writer; whose eye catching MOUNTAIN PERIL would make a great movie. Harriet Klausner