Serial killers are my cup of tea. Reading about them,not in any other way! This plot sounded promising: nature who kan kill, a mad serial killer and a naive honeymoon couple. Could it be any better? The premise is good but it lacks in tempo and character development.


Thank you Sourcebooks Landmarks for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Great story, thrilling plot that I could not put down. Well worth a read, and would recommend to others.

A couple on a canoeing honeymoon hoping to connect in the peacefulness of nature. Throw a phsyco killer in the mix and nobody around for miles and you certainly have an interesting plot.
However the book was a bit slow for me and far too descriptive

Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley provided me with an Advanced Reader's Copy of Wicked River. The choice to review this book was my own.

A canoeing honeymoon in the Adirondack forest seemed like a good idea to Natalie and Doug Larson, as the peaceful expanse of wilderness and the isolation from the world ideal. Early into the trip, however, the feeling that they are not alone becomes abundantly clear.

Wicked River features a sluggish plot and characters that are barely lifelike enough for me to care what happens to them. Although other reviewers found the writing style descriptive and moving, the novel to me felt like the author was trying too hard. The story did not flow and the dangers the couple faced were not overly compelling. I am a big fan of mystery/thrillers and suspense, but Wicked River barely measured a blip on the usual radar. For these reasons, I would not recommend this novel to other readers.

Doug and his newly wedded wife Natalie decide that the wilderness is the ideal place for them to connect, learn more about one another and have some adventure and fun times as they begin their married lives together. Little do they know that after spending their honeymoon in a six million acre forest reserve, their lives will never be the same again. This book was well was quite an easy read. It held my interest and certainly was very eerie when suspense and fear were required. At times anticipation built and built and I had to put it down for a moment, such was the atmosphere of suspense it created. There were plenty of twists and turns and I was kept interested throughout. I actually this would work really well as a movie also.

A psycho killer mixed with a couple on a honeymoon is a very interesting plot for a book, and it kept me on the edge of my seat. A few of the plot points were a bit much, but overall, it was a good read.

I had trouble getting into this one to be honest. I wanted to like it but it just didn't hold my interest as much as I had hoped it would.

Wicked River had me hooked throughout.

From the intrigue around why Doug wanted to go into the wilderness for the honeymoon and the secret the groomsmen were keeping, to the tension built once it became clear Kurt was headed straight for them, to the knuckle-biting ending.
The characters were put through tribulations and overcame them in fascinating ways. The prose, though at times a little overwrought, was lush and immersive and I found all of the characters sympathetic in their own ways (at least at first).
I wasn't overly taken by Mia's part in the story, and thought the book would have been identical, only shorter, if her P.O.V hadn't been included. I feel that even with her action at the end, she contributed nothing to the plot or outcome.
Kurt became a little too out there for me to really follow psychologically after a time, but I could still believe someone who had his upbringing could feel as he did, so he didn't completely lose me.
In conclusion, survival stories, paired with a madman on the loose, are my kryptonite, so any book in that realm has to be pretty bad for me not to love it. This one was solid, pacey, and though it only had minimal twists and turns, the subject matter was thrilling enough not to need them.

4*

This book kept me on the edge of my seat. It was told from different perspectives. This book could easily be made into a movie that I would go see.

Wicked River was a wild ride. Because I'm absolutely against camping, white water rafting, or anything that could get me mauled by woodland predators, I have very little interest in actually doing the things I read, especially when you add a homicidal naturalist in the mix. This was a very suspenseful book. I had a few eye-roll moments because of character actions and behavior, but it added to the twist and turns of this story. If you like a good suspense fiction, this one is right up your alley.
Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read this book.

This story has a psycho killer and a couple who are on their honeymoon. This story fell flat with sloppy characters and poor execution. There are many other characters but they have actually no contribution whatsoever in the actual plot. Most of them are just useless and I don't understand why they were even created in the first place. What make me keep reading this book was the author's storytelling which was good. But overall this book failed to impress me.

I have loved the opportunity to spend time researching novels to re-stockl our senior bookshelves in the school library that plays a central role in the life of the school. When I first took over the library was filled with dusty tomes that were never borrowed and languished there totally unloved.
Books like this, play a central role in ensuring that the library is stocked with fresh relevant fiction that appeals to the readers. It has a strong voice and a compelling plot that ensures that you speed through its pages, enjoying both its characterisation and dialogue whilst wanting to find out how all of its strands will be resolved by the end.
I have no hesitation in adding this to the 'must buy' list so that the senior students and staff of the school can enjoy it as much as I did. This is a gripping read that will be sure to grip its readers whether they are fans of this genre or coming to it for the first time through our now-thriving school library recommendation system. Thanks so much for allowing me to review it!

Thank you Netgalley, the publisher and Jenny Milchman.
Great thriller which I could not put down. Thank you for this great read.

**I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review**

What can I say? After about one year of waiting on my kindle, I gave this one a try and honestly, it could've waited a few more years. For me, there was too much exposition and not enough dialogue. Too much high concept and not enough action. And then there's the chapters from Mia's POV that made me cringe. I could've done without any of them - they added nothing to the story.

In the end, it wasn't for me. I found the concept intriguing, but the story lacking.

2 stars.

Overwritten and boring with cheesy language describing sexual encounters. The story is too slow moving. I felt like the characters where never getting anywhere. Boring, one-dimensional characters and no plot to speak of. I have never read a book by this author before and I am not sure I am going to pick up another. I don't see why a story should be driven by a 13 year old niece.

I have been a fan of Jenny Milchman since she first arrived on the scene. With every thriller, she ups her game, and with Wicked River, she has pushed the boundaries of suspense and thrillers. A non-stop psychological thriller with characters you'll want to fight for and want to fight.

Not to be missed!

A psycho killer and a couple on a honeymoon are what constitutes this book. The initial chapters didn’t promise anything good, because- sloppy characters, stupid decisions and a killer in the woods. I felt like all the cards being laid in from of me in a game I would rather quit.
Apart from this, there are other characters who have zero contribution to the actual plot and most of they are egoistic or whiny.
Natalie is going for an adventure because she wants to share a life with ‘her husband’ Doug. Even when she knows this isn’t her cup of tea and she is a crybaby at every instant. Doug is shady, basically, everything he does is either creepy or strange. All that and Natalie still can’t believe that Doug is finally ‘her husband’. Or the author things we are not buying their relationship because all we see is a woman unsure of everything she is doing and an over-adventurous husband.
Next, we talk about the psycho killer, who is making elaborate plans and these two married people walk right into it. What happens next is a story I would rather not repeat.
Wicked River was exhausting. Even with good storytelling and crazy characters, the story failed to impress me at a lot of levels. Maybe it's not my cup of tea.

This is a hard one to review for me. It was good as far as thrillers go, pretty tense, and even a bit scary, but I had trouble suspending disbelief quite a lot. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC.

This book gave me another reason to not go camping.

You can feel the tension right from the beginning because you just KNOW that this trip isn't going to end well, even though it seems like a perfectly nice camping trip in the beginning. It is so easy to be immersed in this story, and the pacing makes this an extremely fast read. Once I started this, I couldn't put it down!

Though all the characters aren't likeable, at all, they are still well thought out, and even the ones that I really did like had flaws. I disliked Doug, the husband, from the very beginning, but I still enjoyed him as a character. And the crazy man in the woods? He is such a great antagonist, and it was so interesting to be able to learn how his mind worked, and why he acted the way he did.

If you love thrillers or lots of action, especially in an outdoor setting, this is a book you really shouldn't miss!

Book blurb...
Six million acres of Adirondack forest separate Natalie and Doug Larson from civilization. For the newlyweds, an isolated, back country honeymoon seems ideal: a chance to start their lives together with an adventure, on their own. But just as Natalie and Doug begin to explore the dark interiors of their own hearts, as well as the depths of their love for each other, it becomes clear that they are not alone in the woods.

Because six million acres makes it easy for the wicked to hide. And even easier for someone to go missing for good.

As they struggle with the worst the wilderness has to offer, a man watches them, wielding the forest like a weapon. And once they are near his domain, he will do everything in his power to make sure they never walk out again.

My thoughts…
A novel that keeps you captive until the last page.
This plot is sinister, suspenseful and had me on the trail with Natalie and Doug. It is not unusual for me to wake during the night and reach for my Kindle because I can often ‘read myself back to sleep'. Wicked River is not that kind of book. Once back in the wilderness, there was no sleeping—not until those parts set in the city with Natalie's niece. (I did not like being taken away from the wilderness and the suspense, so I did find myself skipping sections.)
A great read if you are into suspense, but not if you are planning a hike through the wilderness. Schedule this one AFTER your trip!