From Publishers Weekly
In 1991, before Standiford launched his popular and acclaimed John Deal thriller series (Presidential Deal, etc.), he published Spill, an undistinguished novel about environmental disaster in Yellowstone. Now he's written another non-Deal novel. It, too, is set in Wyoming, in the Absaroka wilderness, and, though it boasts vigorous writing with lots of action, it, like Spill, lacks the pungent edge of the Deal stories. Standiford's new hero is Richard Corrigan, a NYC transit cop who takes down a homeless man apparently threatening New York governor Fielding Dawson. In reward, Dawson invites Corrigan to join him and 15 others, including a film crew and pretty USA Magazine reporter Dara Wylie, on a highly publicized foray into the Absaroka. In Wyoming, meanwhile, a pair of hired killers, one man, one woman, are--for reasons revealed only at novel's end--plotting to wipe out the Dawson expedition. They begin by blowing up the plane that deposits the party deep in the mountains. As expedition members struggle by foot back to civilization, they die a few at a time--two are caught in an avalanche, several tumble into a gorge when a bridge collapses. Each mishap seems accidental, but soon Corrigan and the other survivors suspect they're being stalked. More are murdered during a blizzard, leading to a final confrontation between the killers and Corrigan, and to a poorly contrived twist ending. Standiford makes terrific use of his spectacular setting, and his characters carry some depth despite their familiarity, but the plotline is so linear--now one death, now another--that it approaches tedium, despite tense sequences. This is a respectable thriller, but for Standiford fans it's only a so-so deal. (Feb.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Tony Hillerman
"Start Black Mountain when you have time to finish it. Standiford gives you no dull spots. It's suspense all the way."


Ridley Pearson
From "Action and adventure, politicians and psychopathic killers, there's a mountain of nail-biting reading here. Les Standiford is at his best in Black Mountain. It will discourage you for ever going backpacking --- but never mind, it will hold you in your chair so that you won't want to go anyway!"


Tami Hoag
"Black Mountain hits the ground running and doesn't let up!"

FROM THE PUBLISHER

When New York City subway cop Richard Corrigan saves the life of the state's governor, the undeclared presidential candidate decides to add him to a long-planned wilderness jaunt as a bit of good luck and good publicity. But strange things begin to happen as soon as they hit the wild. Small mishaps escalate into major disasters, and one by one, the members of the expedition die or disappear. If they don't fight back soon, there'll be no one left - but fight back against what? And against whom? It's up to Corrigan to find out, and the answer, when it comes, will be a shock. It may also be too late ...

FROM THE CRITICS

Miami Herald

Standiford has given himself plenty of targets to pick off along the trail, with the aid of a pair of ruthless and rugged murderers. Even nature takes a turn as a killer during a terrifyingly sudden snowstorm that brings back images of Krakauer's true-life Mount Everest tragedy. Standiford seems to know Wyoming as well as he knows South Florida and is as at home under the shadow of perilous peaks as he is navigating our simple but no less dangerous terrain. Like a born backpacker, he steps surely through his newest adventure, never stumbling on the winding path.

Publishers Weekly

In 1991, before Standiford launched his popular and acclaimed John Deal thriller series (Presidential Deal, etc.), he published Spill, an undistinguished novel about environmental disaster in Yellowstone. Now he's written another non-Deal novel. It, too, is set in Wyoming, in the Absaroka wilderness, and, though it boasts vigorous writing with lots of action, it, like Spill, lacks the pungent edge of the Deal stories. Standiford's new hero is Richard Corrigan, a NYC transit cop who takes down a homeless man apparently threatening New York governor Fielding Dawson. In reward, Dawson invites Corrigan to join him and 15 others, including a film crew and pretty USA Magazine reporter Dara Wylie, on a highly publicized foray into the Absaroka. In Wyoming, meanwhile, a pair of hired killers, one man, one woman, are--for reasons revealed only at novel's end--plotting to wipe out the Dawson expedition. They begin by blowing up the plane that deposits the party deep in the mountains. As expedition members struggle by foot back to civilization, they die a few at a time--two are caught in an avalanche, several tumble into a gorge when a bridge collapses. Each mishap seems accidental, but soon Corrigan and the other survivors suspect they're being stalked. More are murdered during a blizzard, leading to a final confrontation between the killers and Corrigan, and to a poorly contrived twist ending. Standiford makes terrific use of his spectacular setting, and his characters carry some depth despite their familiarity, but the plotline is so linear--now one death, now another--that it approaches tedium, despite tense sequences. This is a respectable thriller, but for Standiford fans it's only a so-so deal. (Feb.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

Start Black Mountain when you have time to finish it. Standiford gives you no dull spots. It's suspense all the way. — Tony Hillerman

Black Mountain is a fine, intelligent thriller with sharp detail work and nicely complex characters, innocent abroad in a western landscape as treacherous as a minefield. — James Crumley