Up the Creek

Great book! It was very alert from the beginning. A little girl is found dead and even after many years they did not find the killer. Adam is a cute boy who has nightmares, and his mom can see he is like her. They can see violent acts in their dreams. I don't want to tell more because is nice to find the truth by reading the book.
Well, I knew it from the moment Adam was insisting in keeping the door closed. 🤐
Thank you Netgalley gor this Arc, definitely I am going to read more from Alissa Grosso.

Up the Creek by Alissa Grosso a five-star read that will grip you and never let you go. This is number one on the Culver Creek series and I am excited to read number two as well as more by this author, I don’t know what to write to tell you to read this story as I am terrified that I may give you a tiny hint that as you read may reveal something to you. All I will say is if you are looking for a gripping mystery with characters that will keep you guessing as well as make you care then this is a story for you.

Full of secrets and lies, this one will keep you guessing until the end. It's a bit confusing at the beginning trying to keep all the characters and timelines straight. Keep with it though because about a third of the way through it turns into a page-turner.
This is the first in a new series. While the case revolving around the past and the current case are resolved, there are a few threads left undone. While we will definitely be seeing more of Sage it's unclear if we will see the other characters as well. I hope so because there are definitely some interesting turns that could take.

This book is a murder mystery, a thriller and suspense all wrapped up in one exciting book. As you read you find connections with various characters that weren’t obvious in the beginning. I don’t want to spoil the book so I can’t get into what parts I liked or didn’t like without ruining it for you.

The characters were well developed and it was easy to feel what they were experiencing. The story was told through various characters eyes so you get to see different perspectives of the situation which helped me figure things out quickly.

I will say the ending disappointed me because it have the startling climax that most suspense novels have. To me it seemed predictable and I thought that the ending could have been different. A lot of storylines were left without closure. The married couple seemed unbelievable as a couple because they didn’t share anything and there were obvious things that they should have noticed about each other.

Overall it’s an exciting book with lots of twists and I didn’t want to put it down. I needed to know what the truth was, even if I didn’t like the way it ended.

I received a free electronic copy of this novel on December 9, 2020, from Netgalley, Alissa Grosso, and Glitter Pigeon Press. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. Alissa Grosso writes a tight, compelling story that grabs hold early and doesn't let go. I am pleased to recommend this author to friends and family.

In her youth Caitlin was traumatized again and again by nightmares of horrific murders, making her fearful to go to sleep to the point that she would do anything to avoid it. Her mother, a tired, depressed, and bored woman chooses, once it is obvious that these are precognitions of actual murders, of exploiting her daughter's curse for attention and coin. Once grown, Caitlin works her way through sleeping aids, both prescription and over-the-counter, until she finds one that will give her 8 hours of guaranteed dreamless sleep. And years later, that company has gone out of business, encasing Caitlin in anxiety and a neverending search for outdated pills from any source, measuring her life in the nights of a peaceful sleep she can count on in the future.

She has never talked of that time in her youth with her husband Lance - until their son, Adam begins having horrific nightmares, waking Lance almost nightly with screams and crying. Not aware of Caitlin's history, Lance is of the opinion that these episodes should be ignored. Lance has his own problems that take his focus off of the family, and the sleeping pills put Caitlin too deeply asleep to respond to Adam's cries. While talking Adam through the trauma of another nightmare over breakfast, Caitlin is stunned to realize that some of his dreams are an echo of ones she suffered in her own youth, a series of murders that were never solved despite her assistance to the police. She cannot let her son Adam go through the same torture she suffered in her youth. It becomes obvious that Lance is not going to be able to help them. He has too many problems of his own to work through. But what can she do? Who can she turn to for help?

Slow start, with a can’t put down middle to the end.

Up the Creek by Alissa Grosso was a very good thriller with engrossing characters and an unusual plot. The book starts out a bit slow, and I’ll admit, I almost gave up on it, but then boom.....it took off, and I had a hard time putting it down. The story had several twist and turns, as the author built up to a satisfying ending. I would definitely read another book by Alissa Grosso.

Bottom line: couples should not keep secrets from each other.
Bottom line two: this was a great introduction to a new series! But with such an emphasis on the Walker family, it was hard to see that Detective Sage Dorian will be the going forward center of the series.

Caitlin had prophetic dreams/nightmares as a child. When her son starts to express his, Caitlin is startled and worried. Her husband, Lance, is worried but for a different reason. It is the combination of these worries that propels them in various directions that ultimately bring their family into a decade’s old murder. Ms. Grosso did a terrific job of developing these incredibly flawed characters! If only they had talked to each other! The story line was solidly built, a tad predictable, but sometimes that is okay when you have a good plot coming to fruition. I look forward to learning more about Detective Dorian and hope Culver Creek can keep him busy!

4.5 Stars

Thanks go to the publisher and Net-Galley for the complimentary copy of Up the Creek by Alissa Grosso. I voluntarily agreed to read and review this book prior to publication. My opinions are my own, and no one has influenced them.

Up the Creek is an exciting mystery with complex characters and a gripping plot. The pacing pulled me in from the first page and kept me enthralled until the last. I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery and trying to discover how it was all connected.

Caitlin Walker is the main character in this book, and she is married to Lance. She was plagued by horrific nightmares as a child, and when in college, found a way to silence them. Now her young son is having similar gruesome nightmares. I enjoyed her character a lot and loved her determination to protect her young son.

Lance has several unexplained idiosyncrasies, such as insisting they keep the bedroom locked while they sleep. He never has explained why he needs this to Caitlin. He makes light of their son’s nightmares, but he is actually deeply concerned and takes Adam to a woman who is supposed to be able to end his nightmares. His secrets are eating him alive, but fear keeps him silent. I felt so sorry for his troubled soul as the story plays out and shed a few tears for him, especially at the end.

This is a true phycological thriller that kept me reading as fast as possible, so I could find out how or if they could overcome their issues. This book is far from the light-hearted books I normally read, and I loved it.

If you enjoy thrillers with complex relationships, and a plot that pulls you into the story, then you will love Up the Creek as much as I did. Upon finishing the novel I rated it with 4 Gold Crowns, but as I wrote this review, I decided to give it 4.5 Gold Crowns instead and will round it up to Five stars on the sites where I place my review. Happy reading!

Right from the very start it had me hooked and wanting to know all of the secrets that everyone seemed to be keeping and what really happened to the young girl and who killed her and why, other thing I loved was how complex the characters was and how the plot seemed to flow with the story and made it easy to get lost in, and the pace also help it wasn't to fast or slow it was just right. But the biggest win for me was how it was a murder mystery, a thriller and suspense all wrapped up into one exciting book that kept me setting on the edge of my set.

A very interesting plot. When nightmares become real events, and the people involved all have become a family because of the past. This was an absolute mystifying tale to read.