Cover Image: Dark Rivers to Cross

Dark Rivers to Cross

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

I did not finish this one, it was not for me, I couldn't relate to the characters, and just did not care for the story.

Was this review helpful?

DARK RIVERS TO CROSS by Lynn Reeves

This emotionally charged thriller explores long-buried family’s secrets absdvthe deadly reckoning that often follows their explosive reveal,

I loved this novel. What a woman will do to protect her children. A lot of adventure, and suspense. I recommend this book.

Was this review helpful?

for almost twenty years Lena had kept his boys by herself, telling them that though they are much loves, they're adopted, and everything is fine until one of the boys fells the need to find his birth parents. Lena reacts almost irrationally to this news and finds her perfect and quiet life at the edge of collapsing. so what is her secret and why boys should not dig up the past?

the thriller of the book was good but the logic was way off for me. while reading it I kept saying, why? why did you? why didn't you? WTF? so, yeah. kept my adrenalin up, but in an unrealistic way.
but seriously why she kept that secret from her boys? she could tell them. she could!

Thanks to NetGally for providing my copy of the book.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me advance access to this title. I really enjoyed reading this story and look forward to reading more from this author. As a reader, I am really motivated by character driven stories and I found myself quickly becoming immersed in these characters’ lives. Full review to come.

Was this review helpful?

How far would a mother go to protect her children?

I’m sure any mother would tell you, they would stop at nothing, including murder to protect their children . Lena, is no different.

Lena adopted Luke and Jonah as babies and raised them alongside her business at a lodge in Maine.

Some secrets should remain buried.

When Jonah expresses interest on meeting his biological parents. Lena knows this can’t happen.

Dark Rivers to Cross, is a highly suspenseful thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Jam packed with secrets, lies, and ties that bind, you’ll never be bored. Told between dual timelines (my favorite) you’ll have a front row seat to the secrets exposed.

Don’t take my word for it, pick up your copy now. Here is a bit of a teaser :

For two decades, Lena Blackwell has kept her sons at her side, teaching them everything she knows about running their successful river lodge in Northern Maine. But what she really wants is to keep her boys in the dark about their tragic past.

Her son Luke is right where he belongs, working at the family inn sheltered by acres of pine forest that stretch along the Penobscot River. So when his adopted brother, Jonah, threatens to upend their peaceful life by searching for his biological parents, Luke refuses to help.

Lena is determined to thwart Jonah’s search to uncover his own history. But the unexpected arrival of old friends at the inn for a weekend off the grid throws her plans into disarray. Little does she know, Jonah has already gleaned enough information to set in motion a deadly reckoning.

Luke may not want to know anything about his family, but he’s caught between the hard truths his brother is determined to expose and the devastating secret his mother is desperate to keep—at any cost.

Dark Rivers to Cross sensitively explores inherited trauma and the stories we tell the ones we love. It’s about what one mother is willing to sacrifice for her children.

Was this review helpful?

A story with family secrets, Lena has hidden her past from her boys for twenty years in order to keep them safe.
This book was excellent with the twists and the turns. When you think you have figured it out. You haven't. This was a very easy read for me and very enjoyable. However I do feel the author tried to hard with this book to try and make it reach a thriller and I didn't get that thriller vibe from this book. I feel this is a 3.5 🌟 rating.

Was this review helpful?

I flew through this book. I loved the twists and turns and the writing is stellar. Complex characters and a morally fascinating conundrum. Five stars for sure! Highly recommend!

Was this review helpful?

Lena has hidden her truth about her past from her sons for the past twenty years, but she still doesn't feel safe. She worries constantly that they will find out the truth, and is worried about how that will affect them, and their relationship with her. Reeves takes the reader down a twisting and convoluted path as she tries to ensure that her secrets will not be revealed.

This book has a good story at the base, but I felt that the author was trying too hard to take the book up to a thriller level. Some of the twists were unnecessary. The characters felt flat and two-dimensional to me. The story has the potential to be a strong dark suspense, if the characters were a bit more developed, and if there were fewer twists for the sake of twists.

Thank you to Crooked lane Books and NetGalley for providing me with a digital advance reading copy in exchange for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Very twisty and I loved the plot.
Many thanks to Crooked Lane Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Was this review helpful?

This book was intense. I had to take a breather from time to time because the suspense of the "family secret" left me feeling some type of way for most of the book. Its always interesting to me when a storyline speaks of kids being raised in such a secluded bubble because you just know some crazy stuff is about to explode. The intensity of this book kept me going and the ending did not disappoint! Highly recommend!

Was this review helpful?

☆☆☆☆
“For women torn between impossible choices”— Dark Rivers to Cross by Lynne Reeves

“Dark Rivers To Cross” is a story that explores the emotional bond between a mother and her children, the lengths she will take to protect her children, and the boundaries children will push to uncover the secrets meant to shield them.

Lena Blackwell has been running a fishing lodge in Maine since her two adopted sons were in diapers. Now they are grown and her older son—Jonah—wants to find his biological parents. Lena needs to find a way to stop him before it ends badly for all of them.

The story covers different timelines, with the main story taking place in the present. The flashbacks fill us in on Lena’s history and some shocking surprises from her past that explain her secrecy.

Sincere thanks to Lynne Reeves and Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read this gifted ARC through NetGalley. The opinions are my own.

#DarkRiversToCross #LynneReeves #crookedlanebooks #netgalley #domesticviolence #mentalillness #trauma #Maine #adoption #honestreview #crimeandcocktailsbookcrew #mysteryandthrills #readwithme #bookaddict #thrilleraddict #thrillersofinstagram #bookstagrammer #lovebooks #bookreviewersofinstagram #lovetoreadbooks #cantstopreading #fortheloveofbooks #bookrecommendations #juliereadzintherockies #justfinishedreading #coloradoreader #bookreels #igbookreels #booksbooksandmorebooks

Was this review helpful?

3.5 rounded up to a 4- TW: domestic abuse, loss of pregnancy and murder. the story is about a mother who is on the run with her two young boys trying to hide the details of her past to keep her boys safe. the story is good, but man, it was SLOW. Also felt like once the boys were older and started to figure out their moms past - it was immediate and no build up or anything. I didnt get much of a "thriller" vibe ,but it was a good story. Thank you Netgalley and crooked lane for the ARC !

Was this review helpful?

Lena has kept a secret from her boys all of their lives. Adopted at a young age and growing up in a secluded campground, Jonah and Luke know little about their previous life. Questions asked as they grew up were quickly averted. Jonah is now in college making a documentary about his life, digging for answers, answers Lena doesn’t want to answer. The deeper he digs the more he finds out about a life Lena has tried to hide for years. Lena had gone to great lengths to protect Jonah and Luke, but life as they know it is about to come crashing down on them, are Jonah and Luke ready for the answers? Will Lena be able to protect them if the truth comes out? A story of family and the depths a mother will go to protect her children. While a short read, the story just didn’t have the impact it could have. The characters felt like cardboard cutouts and lacked the depth necessary for such an emotion packed plot. An OK read, but not as good as it could have been. Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

Was this review helpful?

Searching for Answers

A story of one family with secrets, one mother's attempt to ensure the safety of her sons and one son's quest to find the truth.

After living in a rental lodge run by their adopted mother Luke and Jonah are finally off to college. They have grown up into young men and are finally looking forward to adulthood. Luke loves the forest and the river and decides not to go to college but to work at the Inn where they rent cabins to those visiting.

Jonah decides he wants to find his real parents being that he is adopted, Luke is not interested in knowing and does not want to hurt his mother's feelings. Eventually he reluctantly helps Jonah in his search.

What they find out endangers both them and their mother. Who are they really? What lies have they been told?

This story had a lot of twists and turns. The ending seemed a bit rushed and not as well put together as the rest of the book. I did not guess the ending it was not as I would have guessed. I really enjoyed the book right up to the last portion which was a bit disorganized in content. It is a good story otherwise.

Thanks to Lynn Reeves for writing the story, to Crooked Lane Books for publishing it and to NetGalley for providing me with a copy to read and review.

Was this review helpful?

For two decades, Lena Blackwell has kept her sons at her side, teaching them everything she knows about running their successful river lodge in Northern Maine. But what she really wants is to keep her boys in the dark about their tragic past.
Her son Luke is right where he belongs, working at the family inn sheltered by acres of pine forest that stretch along the Penobscot River. So when his adopted brother, Jonah, threatens to upend their peaceful life by searching for his biological parents, Luke refuses to help.
Lena is determined to thwart Jonah’s search to uncover his own history. But the unexpected arrival of old friends at the inn for a weekend off the grid throws her plans into disarray. Little does she know, Jonah has already gleaned enough information to set in motion a deadly reckoning.
Luke may not want to know anything about his family, but he’s caught between the hard truths his brother is determined to expose and the devastating secret his mother is desperate to keep—at any cost.

This is a brilliant read.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Great suspense and found myself second guessing every thought I had continuously.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.

I was provided an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. This is my own honest voluntary review.

Was this review helpful?

Lena Blackwell runs a scenic river lodge in rural Maine with her adopted sons, Luke and Jonah. When Jonah starts investigating his past to find his birth parents, Lena's carefully constructed world is in danger of collapsing.

I feel like this book had a lot of potential, especially in addressing the ways people adapt to trauma, but it just didn't pan out. I think Lena sitting down and having a heartfelt and honest conversation with Luke and Jonah, coupled with some family therapy, could have saved everyone a whole lot of self-inflicted, unnecessary drama. I'm not sure if there was supposed to be a twist because the whole story was pretty obvious from the get-go. I appreciated the multiple timelines and varying POVs, but this wasn't a great book for me. Lots of other reviewers have really enjoyed it, so give it a whirl if you are a domestic thriller fan.

Was this review helpful?

3.5 stars

Lena Blackwell has kept a close eye on her two sons while running a successful river lodge in Northern Maine. But it’s their past that she’s really protecting them from. Luke is content with working at the inn and learning the business, but Jonah is determined to find his biological parents, threatening to cause fissures in the peaceful life Lena has worked so hard to give them.
Lena tries to keep the truth under lock and key, but when an unexpected visitor whom Lena knows all too well shows up at the inn, it throws a wrench into her plans. Luke is caught in the middle, wanting to be supportive of his brother while also wanting to trust that his mother knows best, but does she really have their best interests at heart or is she being selfish by keeping them in the dark?

This was a pretty good domestic drama, and I really liked that the story went back and forth from Lena’s past and her whirlwind relationship/marriage to the present day with her sons. It gave a lot of insight as to why she ended up running the inn and why she was so overprotective of her sons. I did find that my attention began to waver later on in the book when the scenes became more “action-packed”, but I think at that point I felt the story was a bit rushed, whereas it was more even paced earlier on. Overall, I think the book had a lot of potential, but it fizzled out at the end for me.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing a copy of this book to review.*

Was this review helpful?

Many thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for gifting me a digital ARC of Dark Rivers to Cross by Lynne Reeves - 4.5 stars!

Lena's past is catching up to her. She is running a successful river lodge in Northern Maine with her two sons, Jonah and Luke. The boys were always told they were adopted and Jonah is desperate to know his true roots, while Luke is content with life the way it is. Jonah's quest threatens to change everything.

I really liked this book and the way it explored difficult subjects. While it's a tense, atmospheric thriller, the beginning dedication says it all - For women torn between impossible choices. What would we do to protect our children? What cost will they pay for those decisions? What toll does trauma take on all parties involved? The story is told in different timelines as we get the backstory of why Lena made the decisions she did. A great read!

Was this review helpful?

Lena Blackwell had to flee her life in Boston due to domestic violence. She moves to Maine and reinvents herself, running a riverside lodge in Northern Maine with her two boys. As her boys reach college-age, one of them begins to ask questions about their father. Stirring up old secrets and potentially fatal futures.

Themes include: domestic violence, mental health, alcoholism, inherited trauma, and the lengths a mother will go to protect her children.

Was this review helpful?

LOVED THIS ONE! The twists, the turns, the amazing characters and the mind blowing ending! This story focuses on a mother who will do absolutely everything to protect her children. Just do yourself a favor and read this book!

Thanks to NetGalley, Lynne Reeves, and the publisher, Crooked Lane Books for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?