The Mountain Between Us/Charles Martin/329 pages

SCCCLD Book Challenge: The Mountain Between Us/Charles Martin/329pages




WOW!  What a story of survival!  A snowstorm is threatening as Ben Payne is trying to get home after a medical conference/mountain climbing trip and Ashley Knox is trying to make it back home for her wedding.  When their flights are cancelled, Ben hires a private charter and invited Ashley to share the small plane.  Tough pilot, Grover, gets them off the ground and headed in the right direction before the storm hits but then suffers a heart attack and crashes the plane.  Not only is the distress signal equipment disabled on impact but Ben has broken ribs and Ashley has a fractured leg.  Adding to their problems, no one knew they were on the plane, Grover didn't file a flight plan and they are miles off course and literally in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the predicted snowstorm with no food.  You get most of that from the first chapters in the book.  The rest of the story is detailed with what they did trying to survive interwoven with Ben's narratives to his wife, Rachel.  You hear the story of Ben and Rachel from when they met in high school, share moments at lots of track events, medical school and marriage.  From what Ben shares with Ashley, you hear of a loving, caring marriage.  Ben and Rachel seem so perfect for each other that Ashley begins to wonder if she really has met her perfect mate or is she just settling for a trip down the aisle with a good friend.  Meanwhile, back on the mountain, they are freezing, starving and doing a good imitation of being the walking dead trying to find civilization.  Towards the end of the book you start to get the feeling that something is not right with Ben and his wife.  When the "surprise" ending was revealed, I had to go back and re-read portions of the book to see why I hadn't picked up on the details--had I miss read what was written?  But no, Martin has just done a marvelous story telling job.  Parts of the book had me in tears.  Parts of it had me feeling chilly in the middle of August.  Many parts had me marveling that anyone, Ashley or Ben, could have been able to do what they did.  This was a change of pace book for me--not my usual type--but I loved it and recommend it to all.