Murder On The Mount

Jack Prester Mysteries #3

by Sandy Dengler

Jack and his ever-faithful Labrador Retriever, Maxx, spend a cold Christmas on Mount Rainier, trying to find out who killed an enthusiastic environmental activist. With suspects ranging from a druid who believes Mount Rainier is sacred ground to another activist who's campaigning for wheelchair access to the top of the 14,000-foot peak, it should be an interesting case.

Genres: Mystery, Christian Fiction

327 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1994

Reviews

[Glen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Somehow, I got three books in this series in a trade, and of course, accidentally read them in the wrong order.

Jack Prester is a National Parks Ranger who has some sort of investigative powers, and goes from park to park solving murders. In this case, he's in Washington state solving the murder of an "activist" who wanted to stop any visitors from the park, in order to preserve it. There are a bunch of nutty activists around, including a guy who wants to build a wheelchair ramp to the top of Mt. Rainier.

The activist is murdered with an obsidian blade, and it looks like Bigfoot did it. Prester and his partner/love interest/student in Christ have to get to the bottom of things.

Prester is a self righteous jerk. I can't imagine how he would proselytize anybody.

[Bo · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always, Sandy Dengler writes with an appropriately-placed sense of humour, even while dealing with serious topics. I think I appreciate it, because the descriptions of people (and the dog) are so true-to-life, that I find myself chuckling with identification.

Having said that, this was not my favourite book in the series. There were aspects of the plot that I didn't care for (druids and Big Foot), but on the other hand I appreciated that Jack led someone to the Lord.

I felt the ending was a bit slack as well, while revealing the culprit, I just felt there was incompleteness (did the culprit die?) and an unrealistic-ness (Jack & his dog - both wounded, Jack seemingly quite seriously, strolling off into the sunset, so to speak - in this case walking down the mountain, an unknown distance, with nary a concern about the fact he might not make it that distance).

I would probably give this 3 and a half stars, if I could.

[Charlie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy Sandy Dengler's writing style. He quips and expressions make the book. The Gospel was clearly presented and Jack was convicted about his selfishness and bad attitude. The overall plot of the book was good. I didn't like the inclusion of Druid worship or the indication that Big Foot was real. In my opinion, the ending was weak and unrealistic and left some loose ends. I would have given this book a 3.5 if I could have.

[Kevin Findley · Rating 2 out of 5]

This entry in the Jack Prester series is a bit better than the last one I read (A Model Murder). The plot was tighter and the murderer was not really telegraphed at all. That said, the ending just landed with a thud like a wet lump oi clay. If Dengler had 'stuck the landing' as the saying goes, the rating would have been three stars, easy.

Seriously, two or three paragraphs could have made that much of a difference. Still, worth your time; especially if you prefer to have a lead character with a moral compass.

Find it. Buy it. Read it.

[Mark Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enviromentalist John Getz was killed on Mount Rainier, and National Parks investigator at large Jack Prester is called in to help find the killer. But with clues pointing nowhere and one local claiming Bigfoot did it, will Jack solve this case in time to join his family in Hawaii for Christmas?

How having read this book in 20 years, I actually didn’t remember the killer until part way through when I started picking up on the clues. The characters are the strongest in the series to date and not the caricatures they might have been in lesser hands. There are a couple of small things late in the book that don’t sit right with me, but overall this is a fun book to read at Christmas or any time of the year.

NOTE: This book was published 20 years ago in paperback as Murder on the Mount and republished as ebook Mount Rainier.

Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.

[Donna]

Kind of schmaltzy but you do wan to know what happens to Jack because of his huge personal loss