Joan's picks: Smoke and Everest, Inc.

Smoke by Michael Brissenden. Crime……Detective Alex Markov returns to her hometown of Jasper, California after a stint with the LAPD where she’s been accused of corruption – some good ole boys on the force there want her gone – but her colleagues back at the Jasper precinct don’t want her either. After a wildfire sweeps through the town a body is found in a shed, and the other cops are certain it’s just a casualty of the fire – but turns out the shed was locked from the outside. As Alex investigates she discovers a really dark underbelly to the town which seems to be for sale to the highest bidder, and the authorities are playing games within games, where she’s the prize pawn. 

Everest, Inc. by Will Cockrell. In the 1980s, some entrepreneurial climbers started offering guided tours up Mt Everest – which has ballooned into an enormous industry where today, more than 90 percent of people who go to climb the mountain are clients or employees of guided expeditions. It’s morphed from being a heroic endeavour on the part of individuals, to becoming Big Business. There’s been triumph and tragedy along the way – notably the expedition which included Jon Krakauer (author of Into Thin Air) and during which five people died, among them New Zealander Rob Hall. New Zealand guides have been very active on the mountain, though today several of the big companies operating there are owned and staffed by the Nepalese. The book is subtitled The Renegades and Rogues who Built an Industry at the top of the World – which is exactly what they did. 

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