Play Book Tag discussion

Under Tower Peak by Bart Paul - 3* - My Review

Set in the Eastern Sierra Nevada mountains, Tommy Smith is working as a wilderness guide after serving two tours of duty as a sniper in Iraq. He and his partner Lester are working on maintaining the high mountain trails when they discover the crashed plane of a billionaire adventurer. The storyline follows the separate conflicts that arise with the man's wife and his estranged son, who has gotten involved with drug traffickers. Tommy gets pulled into a moral dilemma by Lester and his girlfriend’s desire to profit from the discovery and must use his combat skills to defend himself and his friends.

It is fast paced, with scenes alternating between wilderness work and bursts of violence. Tommy is a man who says little but acts decisively when necessary. The plot is over-the-top, but I guess that is to be expected in these types of mystery-thrillers. I picked it up due to the setting. The Eastern Sierras are beautifully described and realistic. I have been to many of these places, which I think helped elevate the book beyond the typical outlandish thrillers that I tend to avoid.

I enjoyed this more than you but I also like thrillers! One of the strengths, I agree, is the setting. It's so well described,

I also enjoyed the feel of a classic western and the Old West yet it is completely set in a contemporary world, a true contemporary western. That balance isn't found too often.

I've read the 2nd in the series not long ago but it really read like a stand alone - it's complete within itself. It's set 2 years later, and the setting - political, geographical - is the key. Central to the plot is water rights, an issue in the west that I've been fascinated by since reading Michener's Centennial many decades ago. I did only give it 3 stars though.