Tears of the Mountain is a one-part literary fiction, one-part mystery, and one-part historical fiction. It makes for an interesting combination, albeit a rather slow one. From a historical perspective, the novel is fascinating. From such scenes as crossing the Great Plains on the road from Missouri to Oregon and then down to California via wagon train to the beginnings of the Mexican War and the centennial of the United States, Mr. Addiego places the reader in these historical settings with crisp details and refreshing clarity.

Jeremiah McKinley is a deliberate hero, one who is methodical and slow in all his dealings, and the novel suffers a bit as a result. His plodding through the one day that encompasses the novel drags at times, especially as the story is told through flashbacks of his life. The transitions back and forth between past and present are quite unusual and remain jarring throughout the novel. Yet, the timing of them was masterful as Mr. Addiego builds the suspense between Jeremiah's past and his experiences on this July 4th in 1876. Just as the story gets interesting, Mr. Addiego tears the reader away and switches back and forth, so that the reader is compelled to continue.

The two-stories-in-one is not a new plot device and one that works only partially in Tears of the Mountain. At times, the reader does not care what is happening in the present because the past is so interesting. The present conflict is more a side note to everything that Jeremiah experienced in his youth, and ultimately, this is where the story shines the brightest.

The language alternates between stark and fanciful, and the dichotomy is also a bit jolting. The characters themselves remain stereotypical, with the eccentric but lovable rascally schoolteacher to the beautiful woman whom everyone adores to the thieving Indians and Mexican bandits. However, Mr. Addiego manages to create a novel that highlights the twists and turns life can take and how impossible it is to predict them.

While not for everyone, Tears of the Mountain is a novel that details the hard-scrabble life of living on the frontier in the 1800s. The characters, while predictable, are still memorable, and the story itself is best when the reader is exploring Jeremiah's personal and physical journey across the country. It is not a novel I would highly recommend to others but one for which I am glad I read because of the historical context and learnings.