Sleeping Bear by Connor Sullivan was an absolute amazing story!
Sullivan gives us full force action and non stop twists and turns.
The plot is simple but compelling. The character interaction is excellent. And the writing is superb.
An adrenaline-fueled, action-packed thriller that doesn't disappoint.
I loved book and two and I only hope there will be a third!

I can't thank Atria/Emily Bestler Books enough for this title!

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Atria/Emily Bestler Books,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
I will post my review to my blog, platforms, BookBub, B&N, Kobo and Waterstone closer to pub date.

An excellent thrill a minute, page turning thriller that kept my attention from page one. Great characters had me hooked! A superb summer read recommendation. Looking forward to the sequel.

I don’t always care for an espionage book with a political slant, but this one really worked for me. I thought it was a good thriller with strong characters. And what’s a good thriller without a great buildup of suspense! The author did a fantastic job of creating suspense that built over time. I did have a hard time getting into the story at first but once I overcame that I was in and engaged.

It might help that I am a sucker for Alaska. I’ve never lived there but I have visited a couple of times, so the setting is easier for me to imagine. The main protagonist is Cassie Gale. She is in the midst of a kidnapping ring that takes her to the far away country of Russia which I did not expect. I won’t say much more about what happens as her father looks for her but I will say that in my opinion it is a book others would likely enjoy and I recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an e-ARC of this book for my honest review.

Fantastic debut by an author I can't wait to see what he has next. This book was fast paced and easy to follow. Characters were good and easy to root for. I highly recommend this book.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

This was an edge-of-your seat thriller and mystery set in the wilderness of Alaska. The characters were very well drawn and believable. The plot involves kidnapping of US citizens on American soil and bringing them to Russia. The descriptions of Alaska and Kamchatka are vivid and realistic.

I look forward to reading future books by Connor Sullivan.

Started out strong and just when you think the story is resolved, it surprises you with even more intrigue and action. I loved the family dynamics in this book and I would love to see it on the big screen.

The story begins when a thirty year-old woman named Cassie Gale disappears while on a solo camping trip in a remote northern latitude of Alaska, just a short distance over the international boundary line between Canada and the U.S.A.. Because of a lack of resources in the area, her father—a dude ranch operator and former intelligence officer—Jim Gale, organizes search efforts using friends, family and employees. They eventually realize that Cassie was taken by the Russians.
Cassie is in fact being held on the Russian Kamchatka Peninsula where she and other kidnapping victims are being used for medical experiments . . . and in a particularly despicable act . . . pitted against the most violent criminals and psychopaths in lopsided gladiatorial fights to the death for the amusement and wager by certain elite Russian officials. A Russian General named Viktor Sokolov, who’s is the arch-villain of the yarn, as well as a confidante and mentor of Valdimir Putin, is an old adversary and bitter enemy of Jim Gale, who has special plans for Cassie when he learns that his old enemy has a daughter.
The novel begins a little bit slowly but roars to a satisfying and stunning action filled and electrifying conclusion that won’t leave readers hanging. If you like The Bourne Identity you’re gonna love Sleeping Bear. Take our word for it Connor Sullivan is the real deal and we’re personally looking forward to enjoying many more similar yarns from him in the future !!
And hey . . . check out our interview with the author Connor Sullivan which follows the MBR.

What a fantastic thriller! From the opening scene I was both very fearful and intrigued. Connor Sullivan sucked me into a plot so believable I felt I could have been watching it unfold on the nightly news. This book had a cast of very strong, believable characters that I genuinely liked, as well as several that were easy to hate, all wrapped up in non-stop plot twists that made the book incredibly hard to put down. As the book neared the end I couldn't read fast enough and I was biting my nails trying to figure out how it would all play out. The ending was brilliant and helped lighten the intense overall feel of the plot! Sequel, please!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Tense Russian on U.S. soil plot

Cassie Gale heads to Alaska for a few days in the wilderness with her late husband's dog Maverick for some down time before starting a new guide job.

When her father in Montana is notified that Cassie is missing, Maverick is injured and there are no leads he heads up to Alaska to search for her himself. He has a secret past that might aid in the search.

This story was a bit out there but I didn't care - I still enjoyed it very much. I like stories - fiction and non-fiction - set in Alaska, Canada, the Arctic or the Antarctic so this story definitely fit that niche.

I liked Cassie's strong character, that of her father, the storyline, the different settings - actually pretty everything about the book.

I highly recommend this book to readers who enjoy spy thrillers or action thrillers or just a darn good book.

I received this book from Atria Books through Net Galley in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.

Highly entertaining and one of the better thrillers I've read in recent years. A strong debut from Connor Sullivan, I look forward to more of his work.

This is a debut novel from an American author. When former army ranger Cassie Gale goes missing in Alaska, her dad and family stop at nothing to get her back safely. The remote campsite she disappeared from has been staged to resemble a bear attack, but they quickly realize something else is going on. There has been a history of ex-military people disappearing from the area. This is a political/espionage type thriller involving Russia and would be a wonderful recommendation for fans of Gregg Hurwitz, Vince Flynn, Brad Thor, etc. I really enjoyed it and will be looking for more from this author.

DNF'd at 64%. I really tried with this one, but at each turn this felt like something your father-in-law would read on a long flight. That being said, I think this really could be someones jam (and I will infact be recommending this to my father-in-law). Most everyone is familiar with the movie Taken, right? Well, this is in a similar vein. Adult daughter goes missing (but! in the Alaskan wilderness after a personal tragedy) and dad with a very special set of skills is determined to bring her back to safety (but! add in a Russian twist). If that sounds like your thing, pick this up because Sullivan does it well. It just wasn't for me.

I have read Sleeping Bear the first book by author Connor Sullivan. People are disappearing from Alaska. Is it by natural reasons such as I don't want to be found or maybe a bear ate me or is it something entirely different? Cassie is on her way to Alaska to work as a guide but she vanishes, not without a trace. Her father goes to investigate and suddenly we are in a high speed mystery that spans thirty years. This was a quick read but not really my cup of tea. I will still recommend it and I thank @netgalley and @atriabooks for giving me this advance copy and I also must thank the author @connor_sullivan_author for writing it. It's a great first book.

I did not finish this book. While the premise had lots of initial appeal to me, the over-the-top violence set in a Russia of the past did not appeal to me. Thank you to Atria and Emily Bestler Books for the chance to review this title.

#ConnorSullivan #SleepingBear #NetGalley #Atria/EmilyBestlerBooks
I received an ARC of Connor Sullivan’s Sleeping Bear from NetGalley in exchange for my review. Thanks to NetGalley and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for the opportunity.
Sleeping bear really entertained me. I thought it was great. There aren’t many authors in the espionage/military thriller genre that I find excellent. Authors such as Brad Thor, Vince Flynn, Kyle Mills, Ben Coes, Alex Berenson, Jack Carr and Don Bentley, come to mind in that regard. Connor Sullivan is now another author I find top notch.
The story was excellent and perhaps grounded in fact to some degree. Great character development and insight into what drove the different characters to act as they did. Enough technical jargon, but not an overwhelming confusing amount. I was really impressed and I look forward to the next book. I highly recommend this novel for fans of this genre. Happy reading!

Another superb winner from a first-time author!! This was no sleeping bear on my end - it was non-stop action from the start.

Thousands of people go missing each year in the wilderness of Alaska and it appears that not all of them are for the reasons that you might think. Fans of Tom Clancy, Brad Thor, and Vince Flynn will love the mystery and intrigue that follows Cassandra Gale as she finds herself engulfed in an international mystery with spies and spy-masters and the cold war reuniting the US and Russia but in a believable 2021 setting.

A strong female lead supported by family plays out through this novel. You won't want to set this book down because you just have to know what is going to happen next. This is a must-read for the late summer-early fall of 2021 and I certainly hope that Cassandra Gale and her father make future appearances in text again in the not too distant future. I certainly can see a spin off involving Cassandra's father - James Gale and his past adventures.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and Net Galley for the free ARC in return for my honest review.

Sleeping Bear

"How could I take a 'woman goes missing in the woods' plot and turn it into a political/espionage thriller?" Connor Sullivan asks in the book acknowledgments.

Well, he did it...and did so a very entertaining way.

An easy read that got me right into the action with his writing style such that I couldn't stop reading (even though I was able to get an idea of who the bad guys were).

Lots of action, "interesting" characters, exotic local are what I look for in thrillers and that's what I got.

Bravo!

This is a real page-turner of a thriller, high on adrenaline and low on character development. As with all thrillers, I think it's better to go into the book not knowing too much about the plot (the synopsis on Goodreads gives away quite a lot). Cassie is a smart, tough Army veteran who is recovering from personal tragedy with a trip into the wilderness of Alaska. When she disappears, her father and sister go to Alaska to search for her and soon all of them are drawn into a deadly Russian plot. Sullivan weaves an engrossing story with secrets from the past intermingling with machinations of the present. The villains are cartoonishly evil, the writing lacks a certain polish, and there is a little more violence and torture than I'm comfortable with, but overall this is a solid read for readers looking for a slick thriller. Thank you to Atria Books, Connor Sullivan, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. 3.5 stars, rounded up.

Sleeping Bear is an edge of your seat thrill ride from start to finish. Sullivan describes Cassie Gale as a woman who has experienced tremendous loss in her life, and she is trying to deal with that catastrophic loss by hiking into the Alaskan wilderness. What Cassie doesn’t know is that she is going to be involved in a game of revenge that will rear its ugly head from 30 years ago!

Connor’s description of the Alaskan wilderness makes you feel like you are camping in the Alaskan woods yourself as you read this story. Connor ratches up the intensity when Cassie is kidnapped for reasons that are not entirely clear.

As the story proceeds the reader will soon find out that Cassie is a pawn in a much larger scheme to avenge an ex-KBG agent’s son’s death at the hands of a former agent of the CIA. With so many twists, betrayals and “I did not see that coming” moments in this book, this is the perfect read for fans of Brad Thor, Vince Flynn, Kyle Mills and Mark Greaney. Connor Sullivan is a thriller author that everyone needs to be prepared for on July 6th. In my opinion, this is the best espionage book of the year. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes to be kept in suspense until the very last page. Well done Connor, I cannot wait for the next one!

I was hopeful going into it because Sullivan included a lot of initial things that I enjoy: Russia (I was a Russian-language major!), a female protagonist in a non-traditional role, DOGS. But I quickly realized that nothing here was happening that I hadn’t seen a hundred times before. I felt that Sullivan was…maybe not fully equipped to write from a female perspective? Cassie’s POV chapters were awkward to read, and there were several times where I felt that Sullivan was more invested in making the point that she was “tough” rather than treating her with any nuance. I also get very “eye-rolly” when writers try to make their villains Russian and just end up turning them into caricatures.
Again there is absolutely the chance that the book does a 180 and turns itself into the thriller of the year, but it was not for me.