Gold Mountain: A Klondike Mystery

Set in Dawson, Yukon Territory, in 1898, Delany’s rousing third Klondike caper (after 2010’s Gold Fever) offers more adventure than mystery. While Fiona MacGillivray plans to make an honest living from all the men the gold rush has brought to town, gangster Paul Sheridan, who “just wants to marry her,” has other plans as well as a map to a mountain of gold. When Sheridan kidnaps Fiona, Cpl. Richard Sterling of the North-West Mounted Police, who keeps the peace in Dawson, gets on her trail. Fiona’s account of her abductor’s poorly equipped expedition into unmapped wilderness alternates with the efforts of Sterling’s rescue team. Digressions that provide background for the main characters slow the narrative, but hints of romance and the supernatural carry it along as well as vivid descriptions of the region’s spare landscape. The bizarre closing twist will leave readers prospecting for a sequel. (Apr.)