I have very mixed feelings about this one - it started out action packed from chapter 1, and I was really into it. (It was giving me Ozark vibes, which I loved!) But 300 pages in still running around from a bunch of big scary dudes (that I couldn’t even keep straight) in a blizzard I just got kind of bored. Also, to be fair I could only read a little of this each day, it might have been better to sit down and read big chunks at a time.

“Is this what Maggie wanted? For Tony to steal their children and bring them north of nowhere to live in squalor?”

This book was just ok for me. I started out with high hopes because one of the main characters shares my name, and it’s even spelled correctly! But besides the two kids (Kristen and Ryan) I didn’t care about any of the characters. And there were a lot to keep track of. The family members were awful people and I couldn’t understand how they actually got that way.

I did like that there was Deaf representation and many references to ASL, but that wasn’t enough to make me really want to keep reading.

Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️

Read if you like:
Deaf representation
Lots of unlikeable characters
A Montana setting

exhilarating and gripping thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. The McIntyre siblings, Kristen and Ryan, find themselves in a life-threatening situation when their murderous father tracks them down. With the help of their guardian and a determined Army veteran, they flee into the treacherous Montana wilderness. As the storm rages on, the stakes rise with each passing moment. Brennan expertly weaves together a tale of suspense, family bonds, and the relentless pursuit of survival. With well-developed characters and a fast-paced plot

Pub date: 8/8/23
Genre: thriller
Quick summary: Kristen and Ryan have been in hiding from their father Boyd and the criminal empire he represents. When Boyd finds them in Montana, they end up in the snowy wilderness, with multiple people racing to find them.

I enjoyed THE SORORITY MURDER by Brennan, so I was excited to try another book by her. I really liked her depiction of the setting - I could feel the cold Montana winter and the desperation of Kristen and Ryan as they fought to survive. Unfortunately, the book was just too over the top for me. There were so many characters - I could not keep them all straight, and I didn't feel like the henchmen contributed much to the narrative. The bad guys felt really stereotypical, and I struggled to stay engaged with the narrative. I think I might have connected more with the book had it been pared down in terms of length and number of characters. The narrator did an okay job with all the perspectives, but she couldn't rescue the book for me.

If you enjoy wilderness popcorn thrillers, you may like this one more than I did!

Thank you to Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio for providing an e-ARC and ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Author, Allison Brennan, takes off at a sprint’s pace with this entertaining, multi-narrative, & well written book.

The reader is able to quickly identify with, relate to, and sympathize with all characters, as you are thrown into the storyline right from the start.

Thank you for providing me the opportunity to review "North of Nowhere” prior to publication. I am appreciative and leave my sincerity review voluntarily.

North of Nowhere by Allison Brennan is a psychological thriller about two kids trying to escape from their crime family.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books (and in particular Stephen Erickson for sending me a widget), and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


My Synopsis:    (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
Kristin (16) and her hearing-impaired brother Ryan (11) have been living with Tom for the last 5 years in a remote Montana town, hiding from their father, Boyd McIntyre, part of an LA crime family.  Now, it looks like they've been found.   Boyd wants his kids back, and he wants Tom dead for his betrayal.  He is determined to take them back to their grandmother, who will do whatever it takes to keep them in line.

Gunfire hits the small plane they are using to escape, but Kristen and her brother hike deep into the woods to escape the people who are following them.  But it's hard to know who to trust.  Boyd and his henchmen are on their trail, as is a police officer.   Nick Lorenzo and his son Jason, who own the ranch that they are renting, and the owner of the plane, are also in pursuit.  Then there is Boyd's sister Ruby, ex-military, and the children's aunt, who is determined to save them.  She knows better than anyone what awaits the children if Boyd takes them home.

But the approaching storm may not even be the worst of their problems.


My Opinions:
This was a great adventure, and the setting of Montana during a snow-storm made it that much more exciting.  Tension built throughout.   Be prepared for a lot of gun-fire and death....and blood.  Also be prepared that the book is about vengeance and retribution.  However, the story was basically about family ties...the good and the bad, good vs evil.  It is about second chances, forgiveness, and grief.

I'm not usually a fan of books about crime families, but this was different.  There was very little time discussing the crime syndicate.  It was basically about two children who were "kidnapped' from the family.

The characters (and there were a lot of them) were deep, and whether you loved them or hated them, they were captivating.  Nature, itself, became an important character in this book.

The plot was good, and although there were a number of somewhat predictable events, I was entertained from start to finish.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book!

Allison Brennan's newest novel has a LOT of action. It is a life and death action thriller that will have you rooting for the good guys, and the bad guys who are trying to be good. Tony taught Kristen and Ryan how to survive for the last five years as they ran from their criminal father, and worse, an evil grandmother. Unfortunately, their luck ran out on the run. Their father found them and wanted them back. Lots of action in the wilderness as Kristen and Ryan try their hand at survival skills in order to get to safety. With a storm coming, and their aunt searching for them to help them to safety, keeping the bad guys away when you really do not know who are the bad guys. I hope to see Ruby, Ryan, and Kristen in another book one day to get an update on how they are doing. If you like action, this one will definitely check the box.

A 16 year old girl and her hearing impaired 10 year old brother are using their survival skills in the mountains of Montana as they try to escape from danger. This book drops us into the action from the first paragraph and the novel doesn't let up in the pacing as we accompany Kristin and her brother Ryan as they try to find shelter and avoid some very dangerous people. Kristin and Ryan are the children of a crime boss named Boyd McIntyre and even more dangerous than Boyd is his mother Frankie, an evil woman who thinks nothing of drugging children into submission or worse. Five years earlier Kristin and Ryan were kidnapped by Tony, a man who used to work with Boyd and has been hiding out with the kids on a desolate ranch. When Tony gets word that Boyd has found them, he borrows a small plane from his employer and tries to escape only to have the plane shot down by an unknown person. Thee children don't want to be brought back to Boyd and his crime family, especially after Kristin witnessed the killing of her mother.

There are a lot of characters in this book and I found it difficult to keep track of all of them. There is Boyd and the hitmen he has brought with him, Nick and Jason, the father son team that owned the ranch where Tony and the kids lived, Ruby, the estranged aunt of the kids, the local sheriff, a cop from LA and many more. If we would have had less people to keep track of, I think the book would have been more exciting. Instead, I felt slowed down every time it switched to yet another person wandering around in the near blizzard conditions and I kept wanted to go back to Kristin and Ryan. I liked how strong Kristin and Ryan turned out to be and I liked the positive representation of disabilities. Some of the characters seemed kind of like stock stereotypes, but others like Nick and Jason were well thought out as people who knew the dangers of getting lost in the mountains. Good ending and overall I enjoyed the book. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a ARC in exchange for a review.

The beautiful cover is what drew me initially to NORTH OF NOWHERE by New York Times bestselling author Allison Brennan, but this sensational standalone thriller did not disappoint. Brennan centers the story on two young people: 16-year-old Kristen and her 10-year-old deaf brother Ryan. On the run for the last five years, they have been living with Tony Reed near a ranch in Montana and the suspense-filled adventures largely take place in the wilderness area near Lost Lake as a storm approaches. The siblings are being hunted by their biological father, Boyd McIntyre; he's deeply involved in organized crime so he is joined by several of his henchmen and a local guide while searching the woods. And that group is being trailed by Tony's employer, Nick Lorenzo, a local rancher concerned about the kids. Nick has alerted their ex-Army aunt named Ruby and she runs into a cop who has been on Tony's trail for years. Yes, it's complicated, full of twists and fatal encounters, but also very exhilarating as the tension mounts and characters, particularly Kristen, draw on inner resources to avoid being captured. Family dynamics are key to this fast-paced mystery which will keep readers up at night. Enjoy!

I read and listened to this story - and it was great. Scary at parts and also predictable. I wanted the characters to be a little more developed and to know more about them and their relationships, but definitely a great read from the start. Two siblings are in the Montana wilderness after a plane crash. They are trying to hide from their father, a murderer and criminal. Can those keeping them safe keep them from their father, avoid the incoming winter storm and a new threat to their lives?

Thank you NetGalley for my advanced reader copies.

Honest review time: this book was really not for me. I thought the premise was great. A man takes two children away from a dangerous home of powerful criminals and raises them as his own for 5 years. But the family catches up to them, so they’re on the run…in dangerous, snowy terrain.

The story immediately starts off with an action-filled plot, and it really doesn’t stop throughout the entire book. I liked that it started off with a bang, but I also felt like I was constantly playing catch-up the whole time. Important details were quickly mentioned when they should have been a major focus at an earlier time in the book. It took away all the impact.

I think my biggest struggle was related to the characters. I didn’t feel that they were real at all. A lot of them felt like cliches that have already been done a thousand times. I couldn’t connect to them or feel any type of emotion towards them. Felt very one-dimensional to me.

All of this made it really difficult for me to work through the story. I did feel that things picked up a bit more closer to the end of the book, but it was too late for me at that point. I needed that kind of momentum earlier.

Although this book wasn’t for me, I still recommend that you check it out if you like books with less of a thriller vibe and more action!

Thank you to Minotaur Books for my gifted copy!

Kristen and Ryan McIntyre have been living for the last five years in Montana under the name Reed. Their father Boyd is an LA crime boss who has been searching for them. Tony Reed was once Boyd’s friend and employee. When he fell in love with Boyd’s wife and she was murdered, he knew that he had to save her children from their dangerous family. When they are found, Tony knows that they must disappear again. Borrowing his boss’ plane to get away, it is damaged in an exchange of gunfire and crashes into a mountain lake. With a blizzard on the way and Tony injured, the children head into the mountains following Tony’s escape plan. Kristen is sixteen and Tony has been training her to shoot and survive, but their father has hired a tracker and weather conditions are worsening. There is also someone else on their trail that would rather that the children not survive.

Nick Lorenzo was Tony’s boss. As a local rancher he is familiar with the surrounding area and how deadly the weather can be. When the plane went down he called Tony’s emergency contact, Ruby McIntyre. Ruby had quit the family and joined the army years ago. She is now an architect with the training needed to help Nick locate the children and keep them safe. Allison Brennan’s story is an edge of your seat story of family and survival. Boyd feels the children should be with him to carry on the family’s business but blood alone does not make a family. Kristen’s determination to keep her brother safe and the actions of Nick and Ruby define what family truly means. North of Nowhere was impossible to put down as Brennan’s narrative allows you to feel the cold and desperation and will leave you breathless. I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur for providing this book for my review.

The premise of this book was so intriguing - I loved the grit, the Montana setting, the dark suspense, the family drama. With bits of outdoor survival, criminal activity, and suspenseful action from page one to the end, this was a fast read. I thought the characters were a little two-dimensional, but despite that, still really enjoyed this story.

3.75 stars
North of Nowhere by Allison Brennan is an enthralling thriller that plunges readers into a chilling winter landscape where suspense and danger lurk around every corner. With a focus on a family entangled in a web of crime, Brennan skillfully weaves a tale of intrigue and survival. The wilderness setting adds an extra layer of tension as characters grapple not only with external threats but also with their own internal conflicts. As the story unfolds and kids are tracked, the tension builds, making it a page-turner that keeps you reading. Frankie is an evil antagonist- truly twisted- while Brennan wisely gives Boyd, another antagonist, some emotional complexity as the father of the children.

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for an Advanced Reader Copy of this book!

I am definitely hooked on this author now, thanks to this book! I was intrigued by the story and was curious about how the ending would answer all the questions posed throughout the plot. The setting was nerve wracking!! I was invested in the characters and found myself wanting to follow their progressions and development throughout the story. Great thrilling read!

This thriller was so good! I loved the Montana setting, the fight to survive the crash and the multiple people searching for the kids and not really knowing who to trust. So good!

"North of Nowhere" by Allison Brennan presents a gripping premise—an escape from a dangerous past into the unforgiving Montana wilderness. However, despite the promising setup, I found myself struggling to connect with the characters and fully engage with the story.

While the survival journey of Kristin and Ryan McIntyre had the potential for emotional intensity, I personally didn't feel invested in their plight. The pacing seemed to drag on, and the story's tension often felt diluted.

Brennan's writing captures the wilderness atmosphere, but I wished for more depth in character development and a tighter narrative. Although the book didn't resonate with me as I had hoped, fans of survival thrillers might still find elements to enjoy.

The synopsis of North of Nowhere billed it as a fast-paced thriller. within a blinding Montana snowstorm. This sounded right up my alley; however, within the first chapter, I knew this book wasn't going to work for me. I never DNF, so I stuck it out through the painfully slow up the mountain down the mountain trek through the Montana woods. Lots of tripping on sticks, sliding on snow, and looking out for moose yet I never felt a sense of fear or dread. The booked opens by dropping the reader fully amidst an action scene, leaving some italicized reminisces throughout to fill in the backstory. As a result, I never really connected with the characters and found myself not caring what happened to them. Filled with third person descriptions and goody-goody dialogue, I found myself more than a bit bored.

2.5 stars, rounded up only because I like when bad characters get their just desserts.

Thank you to #NewGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Grab a cup of hot cocoa and settle in or put in your earbuds while hiking - this is a fantastic outdoor thriller in which nature definitely gets to play her role as a worthy participant in this game of cat and mouse. No matter where you are while reading this book at least you are not stranded on the side of a mountain in a horrible winter storm while knowing your pursuers are behind you. "North of Nowhere" is a fast paced thriller set in the rugged winter landscape of Montana. 16yo Kristen and her deaf 10yo brother Ryan have lived in hiding from their biological father and his crime syndicate family for the past five years rescued by one of her fathers usually loyal servants. But loyalties fractured five years ago when their mother was killed. They have been on the run but now their father has finally caught up with them - and he wants to bring them back in the fold at all costs. After their escape is botched and they find themselves alone in the wintery wilderness they have to use all their skills to survive in brutal conditions. There are several search parties out after them but not all are interested in their survival, not all have their best interest at heart and their is an early winter storm coming in, in just a few hours everything will be covered in snow … and not all search parties have the proper equipment …

This novel was fast paced and filled with quick action but also interesting and developing motives for the different actors leaving the reader guessing. The chapters switched to between different POVs which made for interesting cliffhangers between the continuation of the protagonist’s stories. If you appreciate you psychological thrillers with a touch of family drama, this book is definitely for you.

I received an electronic ARC from St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

North of Nowhere honestly has a bit of everything; organized crime, family drama, and even disability representation. The action starts on the first page, and does not let up until the end of the story. I had to keep reading to see how everything played out. I hope there is a sequel in the near future that continues all of the characters’ stories.