"Fifteen-year-old Kendal has no interest in climbing Mount Hood, but when her mother asks her to accompany her dad, recently returned from an 18-month naval deployment, she agrees to the trip. On their first evening in the lodge, Kendal finds a book, The Atlas of Cursed Places, and grows fearful after reading the entry titled 'The Curse of Mount Hood and Nellie Bly'. There's little time to dwell on this, as Jeremy, their guide, has Kendal and her father up at five in the morning to train and learn safety maneuvers. After starting their trek in darkness, they successfully reach the summit, but as they begin their descent, a fierce storm moves in. When an accident occurs, Kendal must do things she's never imagined in order to save Jeremy and her dad. Short sentences and chapters, gripping text, teen angst, haunting tales, and dangerous weather make this addition to the Atlas of Cursed Places series a good quick pick for readers after some excitement, or librarians looking to add to their high/low shelves." (Booklist)

"In Deadman Anchor, Kendall would have preferred to go on a beach vacation, but when her Navy father decides that climbing Mt. Hood would be a good way to bond after his last deployment, Kendall cannot say no. The climb quickly turns hazardous, however, when a sudden blizzard turns up and the other climbers are injured. Bonding turns to surviving as Kendall takes the lead to keep their small group alive and break the curse haunting the mountain. The Atlas of Cursed Places is a horror series with suspenseful plots and cliff-hangers at the end of every chapter. Geared toward struggling and reluctant readers and written at a fourth-grade reading level, this six-book series is a good alternative to other hi-lo series such as the Bluford Series. Older readers might find the plots and characters somewhat hollow and unrealistic; however, this series fills a niche for readers who need a stepping-stone series to engage them in reading." (VOYA)