Set against the rugged beauty of Aspen, Colo., Erickson's latest (after Searching For Sarah) finds staid psychologist Meredith Greene guilt-ridden over the mountain-climbing death of a woman she had recently treated for acrophobia. Furious with her patient's unrepentant boyfriend, world-renowned mountaineer Erik Amundsson, whom she holds partly responsible for the tragedy, Meredith eagerly anticipates a confrontation with the arrogant Norwegian. But when the opportunity arises, she finds Erik sexually irresistible and frustratingly tight-lipped about himself and the accident. Despite Meredith's earlier anger, she becomes involved with and emotionally dependent upon Erik. It isn't until Erik leads an expedition on Mt. McKinley that results in his disappearance and the death of a fellow climber, an Arabian prince who may have had ties to terrorists, that Meredith realizes she never really knew him. She finds comfort in State Department investigator John McCord, who has been called in to protect her from reporters and foreign investigators, but in the end, the biggest threat to Meredith is herself. This is a story about a woman trying to find herself. Unfortunately, Meredith is little more than a cipher who gets swept up in events beyond her control. (July 2)
Forecast:The many passages chronicling Erik's perilous climb up Mt. McKinley may hold a few thrills for fans of high-risk adventure stories, but the book's muted, pastel cover is more likely to attract romance readers.
