Book Review | Return to Dyatlov Pass by J.H. Moncrieff

Return to Dyatlov Pass is a horror novel by J.H. Moncrieff.

In 1959, nine Russian students set off on a skiing expedition in the Ural Mountains. Their mutilated bodies were discovered weeks later. Their bizarre and unexplained deaths are one of the most enduring true mysteries of our time.

Nearly sixty years later, podcast host Nat McPherson ventures into the same mountains with her team, determined to finally solve the mystery of the Dyatlov Pass incident. Her plans are thwarted on the first night, when two trackers from her group are brutally slaughtered.

The team’s guide, a superstitious man from a neighboring village, blames the killings on yetis, but no one believes him. As members of Nat’s team die one by one, she must figure out if there’s a murderer in their midst—or something even worse—before history repeats itself and her group becomes another casualty of the infamous Dead Mountain.

Return to Dyatlov Pass follows a podcaster and a team of people trying to learn what really happened to students who died up in the mountains.

I'm pretty unfamiliar with the true events of Dyatlov Pass. I feel like I'm missing out a bit by not having my own theories to compare against what happened in Return to Dyatlov Pass. This was a fun read, though. Any which way you look at it, I enjoy a good monster story, and I had fun reading this one.

My only complaint regarding Return to Dyatlov Pass was toward the characters and the odd interactions/relationships. I wasn't able to connect to anyone, but I still had a good time.

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