5 Minutes For Books

As a book reviewer, I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher or author to facilitate this review. I received no other compensation, and all opinions are always 100% my own.

Abbie Bradford has just finished her doctorate in history but is unsure what to do next–she comes from money so doesn’t really need to work– so when she gets the chance to accompany novelist Emma Caulfield as a research assistant on an “atmosphere-gathering” trek to Base Camp on Mt Everest, she signs on. She’s not sure she’s the adventure type, but she joins a gym and buys hiking boots anyway.

Emma writes historical romances, and she’s working on a book about George Mallory–a British mountaineer who died on Everest in 1924. He and his climbing partner both perished, so it’s unknown whether or not he perhaps was the first to summit. However, he climbed up the Tibetan side, not the Nepali one, so why is Emma having them spend 2 weeks at Base Camp in Nepal, which is of course wildly different in atmosphere 100 years on, filled with gore-tex and bright colors and people from all nations. And that’s just one of the questions Abbie has of the frustratingly enigmatic Emma.

Abbie flies into Kathmandu where she stays at the headquarters/guest house of Supreme Summits, and where she begins to meet some colorful characters–from trusted climbing guides to locals pulling all the practical details together. People seem nice, but there’s an unspoken edge, sharpened by events like an unexplained death of a Sherpa, or Emma’s insistence that someone has been rearranging her things. And things keep getting more and more tense. It soon becomes clear that there are 2 mysteries to solve–one ancient and one modern. And on Mt Everest, there are many different ways to die.

The Everest Enigma is a delightful read! I was hooked from the first page. Author Jeannette de Beauvoir has an enticing style that draws you right in. She does a great job creating the colors and feels of Nepal on the page for us, and I appreciated her sensitivity to the realities of the effects–good and bad–of foreign money in the region. I loved Abbie, her blue hair, her fear of suspension bridges, her pluck and willingness to ask questions. Interspersed with the modern story are excerpts from George Mallory’s journal, and that only added weight to the search for answers. I thoroughly enjoyed this book! (An added plus is that it’s a very hot June as I write this, and escaping to mountain heights is welcome, if only in your mind) Highly recommended.

Amazon – https://pictbooks.tours/1OCNtjf9
Goodreads – https://pictbooks.tours/4sDbndhL

Author Bio:

Jeannette de Beauvoir is an award-winning author of historical and mystery/thriller fiction and a poet whose work has appeared in numerous literary journals and anthologies. She has written three mystery series along with a number of standalone novels; her work “demonstrates a total mastery of the mystery/suspense genre” (Midwest Book Review) She’s a member of the Authors Guild, the Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and the Historical Novels Society. She lives and works in a seaside cottage on Cape Cod where she’s also a local theatre critic and hosts an arts-related program on WOMR, a Pacifica Radio affiliate.