Just when you think this will just be about teens making bad choices a blood thirsty human like beast makes an appearance. The struggle of keeping alive and away from the beast all while trying to stay alive from the drug loads out to get their money back. This is a very thrilling book that makes you want to keep reading to find out if they will make it out alive or all parish to the beast or the hunters.

When College student Makenna invited her boyfriend Landon and friends Nova, Isaac and Wyatt to their ski cabin in the mountains of Utah, Claw Hard Mountain to be exact. It was more a lavish mansion with a built-in pool then your average cabin in the woods and they were all excited to go. When they were finally driving up Claw Hard mountain they came up on a wrecked vehicle and stopped to see if they could give assistance but instead of finding a injured person they found a pile of money… Millions of dollars and McKenna immediately wanted to take it. Nova was the only one against it and after taking a vote they all put money into their suitcases they had emptied out their belongings. After arriving at the cabin the caretaker son Colton came over and invited them to a bonfire party that night at the overlook. Before they could leave police officers showed up asking them if they seen a wrecked vehicle down the mountain and after they all nervously said no they went to the bonfire party. This is where they learned about a monster name Rafe that haunted the mountain killing people. The next day Colton invited them to tour the closed skiing resort and they all took him up on it this is where they meet the murderous Theodore and their fun vacation turns into a nightmare. I haven’t even mentioned the other murderer who was sent to find them kill them and get the money back. Thankfully Officer Sorenson who was put on leave due to seeing her boss and fellow officer get killed saw a suspicious car on side of the Mountain Road and decided to put our leaves on standby. This college student has danger coming at them from many different directions can officer Sorensen change them from being suspected money thieves to victims in time to save them? This book was total greatness I love horror stories especially those with mystical beast and this definitely had that and ruthless killers to boot. If you love horror you’ll definitely love Claw Hard Mountain unless to the audiobook and although I thought the narrator his voice was way too sweet to be doing a horror story I thought she did a pretty good job so did the guy he was scary sounding and set a great tone. I want to thing the author the publisher and NetGalley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

I received a free audiobook copy of the book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

A group of rich teens (with the exception of one token poor, of course) are on their way to a vacation in the snowy mountains when they find an abandoned, overturned truck filled with $15 million in cash in the back. Together they vote and decide to take as much money as they can carry (lone holdout is the noble token poor of course). Oh no! The money belongs to shady people and they send hitmen out to retrieve the lost cash. Oh and there's a scary supernatural creature stalking everyone.

Well, the basic idea is OK, but the execution is sloppy and weird. Lots of background info on the hitmen, with less on the supposed main characters. The teens were very poorly sketched out, and the deaths that some of them endure are more detailed than the characters themselves.

The supernatural character felt like it was just thrown in there to solve certain plot problems. This story would have been much more interesting if it had been about either the being, or the hitmen, but not both. Maybe the hitmen vs the being? The being vs the teens? I don't know.

In conclusion, this book is a big fat "meh" from me. I don't feel like I was the target audience, and I'm not exactly sure who is.

I'm not...happy with what I got compared to what I expected when I read the description of this book. Sure, it was clear on this being a story about teens finding money and then having to deal with the people who lost it, but it also mentioned something dark in the woods. I didn't expect that dark thing to only show up first halfway through and to have this little actual "screentime". Nothing about this was horror, a lightly fantastical crime book at best, even though even that would fall through...

I can't say I enjoyed any part of this book - I was considering stopping multiple times through, and the only reason I finished it was because it was an audiobook and I could do other things on the side.
I don't know whether it was the narration or the writing that made the characters feel flat. The writing definitely wasn't my thing - the male characters constantly being referred to as "the dudes", the unnecessary hints to one of the female character's butt or general physique when that didn't matter at all. Every reaction felt fake, every choice unnatural.
I don't know, maybe someone else would enjoy this, and it's just not my thing, definitely ended up not being within my usual reading genres, which is often a quick turn-off for me (sorry, my brain won't accept most real-life stories), but then again, I've recently also read a good horror piece that only had a creature in it for the last bits of the book.
Well, as is, I can't recommend reading this, but that's just my opinion.

Thank you for allowing me to listen to this book.
The story was very intriguing and sucked me in from the beginning.
All of the teenagers were were annoying and acted like bunch of children.
The hunter got what he deserved….
The police woman … was the only good lass

Nova and her friends come across such a situation. If they knew that a killer was already looking for the money or that a horrific creature known as the Wraith might be stalking the woods, maybe they would have made different decisions. However the lure of a couple million dollars each is too much and they take the money. And then the horror begins.

This one moved quickly and unfolded about like you’d expect. An enjoyable enough horror/thriller with some paranormal elements. Not a whole lot else to really add to that.

This was really a wild ride and I was totally here for it! But man some of these peeps were ruthless! The moral of the story - there is no such thing as free money! DON'T DO IT! This was my 1st book by David Oppegaard but I am definitely adding all of his books to my TBR! Horror is generally my jam but this was a good mix of mystery, thriller, and horror so I am happy girl!

#ClawHeartMountain
#NetGalley

I don’t doubt that Claw Heart Mountain by David Oppengaard will appeal to fans of Preston & Child or James Patterson. I thought going in that I would like it more since it was categorized as horror, but it seemed like the book waffled between crime thriller and monster horror. Worse than the fact that the book didn’t seem to know what it wanted, there were quite a few moments that are sure to end up in the r/menwritingwomen subreddit. Nova doing naked yoga in front of an open window? Seriously?

The teenagers in the story do not behave like modern teenagers, but the teenagers of maybe the 90s or early 2000s. It was so egregious that it felt anachronistic every time they pulled out their cell phones. If the story was set 15-20 years ago, their lack of pop culture references/Gen Z jokes might be acceptable. Though I’m guessing this book was written with a boomer audience in mind and maybe mentioning TikTok or the social/environmental/economic issues important to Gen Z would cause any reader over the age of 60 to go into an incandescent rage.

There was one scene that I loved: two of the teenagers and a Russian man on a ski lift together while the monster tracks them from below by their scent. Such a terrifying, original premise. I wish the entire book had been that fun.

Finally, I was given the ARC of the audiobook and the narration was, at times, quite ridiculous. There’s a Russian character who delivers a monologue and for whatever reason, the voice actor doesn’t even attempt to affect a Russian accent. Instead, she takes on what sounds quite a bit like a Rez accent–the accent some Indigenous Americans speak with. If it were up to me, all the Russian man’s dialogue would be rerecorded.

Honestly, I was disappointed by this book. The story has been done before, people find a large amount of cash and take it, then violence ensues as the bad guys try to get it back. This one added a monster into the mix to make it more horrific, which sounded like it was going to be fun.
However. These teenagers took annoying to a whole new level. It can be fun in a horror movie or novel to cheer for the next death, but these kids are selfish, immoral, and illogical. It was a miracle that they lived long enough to make it into this book.
I don't usually say anything about the narrator unless I like the narration, but this was so annoying, with the reader using a sing-song voice throughout, even when it was really inappropriate.
There also really needed to be more about the monster not just bad things happening and then no true resolution.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this audio ARC. I did not finish this book and stopped reading very early on. This was childish and offensive in ways that could cause harm. Hard pass.

Thank you Netgalley and David Oppegaard for this ARC of an audio of Claw Heart Mountain.

The Narrators, Aaron Shedlock, Roxana Ortega, LuLu Lam are very well suited to this atmospheric book. They have very distinctive voices which helps distinguish each perspectives of the characters within the story.

The plot line was fantastically paced. Building from the vastness of the mountains and woodlands to the cabin on where the characters reside. To the little details of the trees and how a archers bow feels to be pulled. When a bunch of teens come across a turned over van with a bunch of money, all they could think about was how to spend it, and then to hide it, What they didn't know was the creature, a wraith which was hunting them and a professional killer on their tail.

I bonded with all the main characters in this book, They were well fleshed out with Nova being a moral, kindhearted young lass who grew in strength and Bannock, who despite his talent for killing and inflicting pain. I really liked him.

If you want a good adventure with creepy atmosphere and a great creature feature, this is definitely a good read!

“Human beings were just walking, talking bags of meat, held together by skin and propped up by bone.” 🥩👣

Soon as I started the 1st chapter talking about Bannock I immediately didn’t like him…how he went for that bear family like he did and the way it was described broke my heart. Immediately, you know you aren’t gonna like this guy…he’s bad news buuuut serves his purpose. Bannock has what i can only describe as an anti-Mary Poppins bag filled with all sorts of “fun” accessories for bringing the pain. 😱😬

I liked the MC, Nova from the start. She is the most conscientious and moral of “her group.” Her character was fun to root for throughout the story. There were a bunch of characters in this one but they were really easy to keep straight…kudos on that!

The part where they are on the ski lift and the wraith catches their smell and starts to follow where the ski lift is headed. That had me so stressed. I mean, can you imagine being on a slow ride…like a ski lift and seeing something walking underneath you ready to tear you to bits!?! 😱

In short, Claw Heart Mountain is an atmospheric, creepy, action packed, edge of your seat thriller that you won’t want to miss.

This one is available for purchase on 01/31/2023…so take a deep breath and brace yourself for a wild ride.