Beneath the Mountain - by Luca D'Andrea (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

From the Back Cover

New York City native Jeremiah Salinger was once one half of a hotshot documentary-making team. But now Salinger's left that all behind to move with his wife, Annelise, and young daughter, Clara, to the remote part of Italy where Annelise grew up--the Alto Adige.

Nestled in the Dolomites, this breathtaking rural region that was once part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire remains more Austro than Italian. Locals speak a strange, ancient dialect--Ladino--and root for Germany (against Italy) in the World Cup. Annelise's small town--Siebenhoch--is close-knit to say the least, and does not take kindly to out-of-towners. When Salinger decides to make a documentary about the mountain rescue group, the mission goes horribly awry, leaving him the only survivor. He blames himself, and so--it seems--does everyone else in Siebenhoch. Spiraling into a deep depression, he begins having terrible, recurrent nightmares. Only his little girl, Clara, can put a smile on his face.

But when he takes Clara to the Bletterbach Gorge--a canyon rich in fossil remains--he accidentally overhears a conversation that gives his life renewed purpose. In 1985, three students were murdered there, their bodies savaged, limbs severed and strewn by a killer who was never found. Salinger becomes obsessed with solving the mystery and is convinced it is the only thing that can keep him sane. As Salinger unearths the long-kept secrets of this small town, one by one, the terrifying truth is eventually revealed about the horrifying crime that marked an entire village.

Review Quotes

".... D'Andrea's story sweeps away the reader in an avalanche of life-threatening revelations that make Beneath the Mountain a complete success as a debut thriller." -- New York Journal of Books

"Beneath this compelling tale, however, is a far more powerful and emotional study of grief and trauma... Each layer of memory is exposed and explored, and though that stalls the mystery in places, it renders the overall story that much more powerful, forcing readers to grapple with the real-life implications of a story that is rife with supernatural overtones." -- RT Book Reviews

"Beneath the Mountain is a grand tale that appeals on many levels." -- Booklist (starred review)

"D'Andrea is a real master." -- La Stampa

"Can be compared (with no fear of hyperbole) to Stephen King and Jo Nesbø." -- La Repubblica

".... a thrilling narrative that, most certainly belongs on every bestseller list - if not on every thriller lover's bookshelf." -- June's Literary Blog

"A a well-developed and thoughtfully plotted feast of place and words for the reader in search of a thrilling novel that unravels in a different kind of setting." -- JD DeHart Reading and Literature Resources

"I completely loved this story... Luca D'Andrea is a masterful story teller" -- Lacey Does Lit