Format: Hardcover, 400 pages
Release Date: August 22, 2023
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Source: Library
Genre: Mystery / Thrillers / Suspense
#1 New York Times bestselling authors Preston & Child
return in the latest installment of the bestselling series featuring
renowned archaeologist Nora Kelly and FBI Agent Corrie Swanson, who
investigate a mystery so enigmatic it may have no solution.
In 2008, nine mountaineers failed to return from a winter backpacking
trip in the New Mexico mountains. At their final campsite, searchers
found a bizarre scene: something had appeared at the door of their tent
so terrifying that it impelled them to slash their way out and flee
barefoot to certain death in a blizzard. Despite a diligent search, only
six bodies were found, two violently crushed and inexplicably missing
their eyes. The case, given the code name “Dead Mountain” by the FBI,
was never solved.
Now, two more bodies from the lost expedition
are unexpectedly discovered in a cave, one a grisly suicide. Young FBI
Agent Corrie Swanson teams up with archaeologist Nora Kelly to
investigate what really happened on that fateful trip fifteen years
ago—and to find the ninth victim. But their search awakens a
long-slumbering evil, which pursues Corrie and Nora with a vengeance,
determined to prevent the final missing corpse from ever coming to
light.
Dead Mountain, by co-authors Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, is the fourth installment in the Nora Kelly series. Key characters: FBI Agent Corinne "Corrie" Swanson has spent the past 4 months attending various boards of inquiries, debriefings, and lie detector tests after her last adventure. Nora Kelly, Chief of Archaeology at Santa Fe Archaeological Institute, along with her brother Skip Kelly who is in charge of collections. Supervisory Special Agent Clay Sharp who becomes Cori's mentor but allows her to take lead in a shocking case that goes back 15 years.
In 2008, nine experienced mountaineers failed to return from a winter backpacking
trip in the New Mexico mountains. At their final campsite, searchers
found a bizarre scene: something had appeared at the door of their tent
so terrifying that it impelled them to slash their way out and flee
barefoot to certain death in a blizzard. That has led to a lot of conspiracy theories involving yetis, avalanches, aliens, government coverups, etc. Despite a diligent search, only six bodies were found, three remain missing. The case, given the code name “Dead Mountain” by the FBI,
was never solved.
15 years later, two drunk frat boys seeking shelter in a prehistoric cave, damage prehistoric artifacts and discover two very old bodies. Because this falls on federal lands, Cori and Sharp take lead on the case. Thanks to Cori's relationship with Nora, the two end up taking point on uncovering the bodies, as well as notifying the proper Indian authorities because of the prehistoric Indian ruins. The curious thing about the discovery of these bodies is that they are located a stones throw from Kirtland Air Force base where the largest storage facility for nuclear weapons exists.
The other curiosity is that one body remains missing and finding the body is like searching for a needle in a haystack. Corrie believes the answer lies with finding the ninth backpacker who may hold the answers they need to solve the mystery including the journal and camera said to have been used. No easy task. It has been 15 years, and there are those who appear to be blocking her investigation for fear of national secrets being exposed. While Cori and Nora are working together, things get bad for Nora and her brother thanks to an overzealous Sheriff named Hawley who ends up arresting Nora's brother Skip for assault and battery and other trumped up charges.
So, while Cori is investigating other angles to the Dead Mountain mystery, Nora has to find a lawyer to help Skip, and hope that he doesn't end up going away for 15 years. Later, Corrie, without Sharp around for guidance, is determined to learn the truth about
what happened on Dead Mountain on Halloween 2008 and bring closure for
the families of the nine backpackers. Even if it means taking Nora away from helping her brother stay out of prison. Even if it means exposing national security secrets in the process.
*Thoughts* The premise of the story is closely related to Douglas Preston's "Dyatlov Pass" article, which was called one of the most popular articles The New Yorker published in the year of its release 2021. The story is based on the strange fate of 9 cross country skiers in the Ural Mountains who died in 1959 under bizarre circumstances of a remote masif called Height 1079. The strange fate has generated endless speculation. For decades, conspiracy theories entwined around this incident until 2021, when scientific findings brought the probable solution to the events.
Because of the Russia invasion of Ukraine, the authors decided to change the setting to New Mexico's Manzano Mountains near Kirtland Air Force Base. In the late 1940s a facility began to be constructed inside the mountains on the eastern boundary of Sandia Base that became known as Manzano Base, or Site Able, one of six such sites located around the US built to stockpile the nation’s nuclear weapons arsenal. After the Russians exploded a bomb called Tsar Bomba, the most dangerous nuclear weapon ever created, the Government shuttered the bunker which was supposed to protect the US President.
No comments:
Post a Comment