This book is a thriller with a heavy dose of man vs nature and deadly family drama. I don’t usually like bad guy POV in these kinds of books, as it’s often a lot of whining about what a victim the bad guy is and everyone’s out to get them – and this one’s no different, but Boyd’s POV does add something valuable to the story. There was something that I think was supposed to be a twist that I saw coming from a mile away, but overall the plot was pretty compelling and the ending was satisfying.

Representation: deaf character

TW: suicidal ideation, nonconsensual drugging of a minor, gaslighting

The action begins quickly in North of Nowhere, with Tony rousing his two kids early in the morning to flee from Boyd, their real father. I thought for quite a while that this must be a sequel, but it is in fact a stand-alone novel set in Montana during a blizzard. A good chilling, non- stop action read for a hot summer day, complete with the worst Irish Granny character you are apt to find in a modern thriller. Don’t drink her tea! 3.5 stars rounded up.

I read this story in one sitting because I couldn’t put it down. From the very first page it becomes a gripping and entertaining drama. The characters are top notch and the plot is intriguing. A family ripped apart due to its violent background. The new people who become involved because they care. There is violence and death as well as redemption for some characters. It is told from the present and the past in a way that draws the reader in. Readers will fall in love for Kristin and Ryan and root for them all the way to the end.

This story sounded like it would keep me on the edge of my seat with excitement, and some parts did, but others didn't. As much as I cared about the kids in the story, most of the rest I couldn't find myself connecting to enough to care about the outcome. That feeling made it difficult to get through because my brain would zone out in boredom.

I loved the premise of this book and enjoyed the first several chapters but found myself skimming the paragraphs. I felt that there were too many names and characters that I had to stop and think about.

I put the book down a few times and kept trying to read it but I sadly did not finish.

How could they have found us after five years...we were well hidden.

Tony knew it was time to run when he saw two strangers at the bottom of his driveway.

Boyd had found them.

Boyd was the father of Kristen and Ryan.

Tony took them from him because of the business Boyd was in.

Tony didn't want them growing up in that family.

NORTH OF NOWHERE takes us on a chase to find Kristen and Ryan with both the good guys and the bad guys in pursuit.

A lot of obstacles get in everyone's way - specifically the snow storm.

Was Tony right in taking the children in the first place? Boyd doesn't think so.

Who will get to the children first?

Will everyone survive?

Lots of characters to keep straight in this thriller with quite a bit of violence and a book that took a few chapters to get me interested.

But...it is worth the read. 4/5

This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.

North of Nowhere is filled with love, connection, and unbreakable bonds. Brennan’s style puts you in the story, on the trail, running from both the storm and the danger lurking right on your heels.

The narration brings out the strong emotion. You can’t help but root for Kristen and Ryan. The storyline captured me from page one and held me to the end.

Another great read by Allison Brennan.

I really enjoyed this book and read it in two days.

It's a story about survival. It's a family drama, a suspense novel and an adventure novel in one.

I really liked the characters and the story and I was sucked right in.

The problem I had was that the "chase" in the snowstorm seemed to go on a long time.. I may or may not have skimmed parts of it *innocent look* . I enjoyed it, I just thought that part dragged on a bit too long.

But for what this book is, it was really enjoyable.

This is the sixth Allison Brennan book that I’ve read. I like Brennan’s work; she’s a good writer and storyteller. Brennan starts the story in one of my fave ways to start a story, adrenaline pumping, at the edge of my seat, with some nail-biting feats. Yeah, scenes like that will beat any slow burn story EVERY SINGLE DAY!!!

The book summary lays out the first 20% of the primary story and introduces the MC’s. What the book summary doesn’t mention is the secondary storyline of the evil grandmother, Frankie, also tracking them down, through her mob family henchmen. There are a boatload of characters that the story flips back and forth with. We have Kristen, and her aunt, Ruby. There is also Nick and his son, Jason. There is Frankie’s son, Boyd, who is Kristen & Ryan’s father, and then there is the local Sheriff, Kate Paxton.

From pretty early in the story, the two kids, Kristen & Ryan (16 & 10), are on their own and hiking their way through the mountains to a town that is a day away. There is a storm on the way so getting search and rescue out looking for them is impossible. To make matters worse, there is a boatload of people looking for them, some good, some not. Most of the story revolves around getting off the mountain alive. However, the danger for the kids doesn’t end there and there is a whole other danger waiting for them. There are some adrenaline pumping, intense scenes where it’s not clear who will make it out of this mess alive.

This was a fast-paced, action-packed story that had me invested from the get-go. I don’t want to say too much because I truly do not want to reveal any spoilers. I want to thank NetGalley and Minotaur Books for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

#NetGalley #Minotaur Books #NorthofNowhere

A mafia-type family run by a matriarch grandmother. “Bad” characters turned “good.” Kidnapped children. A Montana blizzard. Plenty of twists and turns. Who could ask for a better backdrop for a thriller? This was definitely an exciting read, one with plenty of action that should keep you flipping pages as fast as you can. Yes, there are quite a few characters to keep track of, but once the reader is immersed in the fascinating plot, any problem of keeping track of who is who seems to melt away. All in all, this was a very good standalone with a somewhat unique premise that made for an overall captivating read.

ARC received via Netgalley for an honest review

It has been an age since I have read Allison Brennan (way back in the days of the Seven Deadly Sins series - man I wish we got the whole of that series!)

North To Nowhere was a great jump back into the Brennan-verse.

It was a bit of a slow start, but once it got going, it really got going in a Bournesque hunt through the mountains of Big Sky. This Aussie was in Big Sky and Bozeman last October, so I could picture where all this was happening.

Family is not only blood, it is who you choose to be in your life, those that love you no matter what, and that is what Kristen and Ryan have in their lives, if they can get right away from blood family.

It was kept on the edge of my lounge as I was reading, needing to make sure everyone got out of this situation,, and boy did it get the heart pumping.

I really look forward to seeing what Brennan brings us in the future

This thriller is a story of survival as well as a well-orchestrated game of cat and mouse. Children running from their crime boss father and a snowstorm are just part of this heart-pounding rollercoaster ride. This had me on the edge of my seat and gasping for air. To say this story is action-packed is an understatement. Entertaining, suspenseful, and intense describe this family-oriented thriller. Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my copy.

Kristen and Ryan McIntyre have been hiding from their Los Angeles crime family for the past five years and the day they have been dreading is upon them. Their murderous father Boyd McIntyre has found them and is coming to take them home. As the kids flee with Tony Reed (the man who swept them away from their criminal family and has been raising them as his own), their carefully laid plans go up in flames when the fuel tank of their getaway plane is hit and they have to make a crash landing in the woods not far from the small Montana town they have called home for the past five years. With a severe blizzard on the way and Tony incapacitated, sixteen year old Kristen has to take the helm and make sure that she and ten year old Ryan get somewhere safe and stay out of their father's clutches. They know that Boyd isn’t far behind them, but they don’t know that they have allies - their Aunt Ruby (who left the family years before without a backwards glance) and rancher Nick Lorenzo (who Tony has worked for these past five years) - who are out looking for them as well. But the greatest threat is the one no one saw coming.

This is the first novel I have read of Allison Brennan’s and it was a wonderful introduction. I’m grateful I didn’t make the mistake of reading this one just before bed because it would have caused all the anxiety. I don’t know about anyone else, but any stories with a mafia or crime family is elevated in the anxiety department for me, especially when there are kids involved.

There are pieces of the past that are slowly unraveled as the story goes on. Brennan writes in a way that hints towards one thing, but then it turns out to be something completely different once you get the entire picture and that kept me on my toes throughout. The story is told from a third person omniscient POV which allows the reader to follow along with each of the characters as the race to find the kids continues. It felt very much like watching a film, jumping around to different perspectives and seeing clues that make sense only to reader while the characters are unaware of their importance.

Even with all the anxiety and stress, this book included a nice found family element that really tugged at my heartstrings. What was especially endearing was the relationship between Kristen and Ryan (and their respective relationships with Tony) and how solidly they had built their foundation together, even through tough times. There was a lot of nuance to multiple characters that I didn’t expect and that helped to ground the story a little more in reality.

Disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher for free and have voluntarily written this review.

NORTH OF NOWHERE, the latest standalone thriller from the master of suspense author Allison Brennan, is a story about survival - survival from the elements and survival from a past threatening the future. Set in the middle of a harsh Montana winter, Brennan drops her characters into the midst of a mountainous wilderness in a raging blizzard and charges them with surviving. If the catastrophic storm doesn't present enough of a life or death situation, the deranged killer closing in on two scared children lost in the storm will.

Tony Reed's been hiding his two godchildren for five long years, keeping them safe from their crime boss father Boyd McIntrye and their deceptively controlling grandmother Frankie. Eleven-year-old Kristin was traumatized after witnessing the murder of her mother before Tony took her, along with her younger deaf brother Ryan, and disappeared. When Tony awakens now sixteen-year-old Kristin in the middle of the night, she asks no questions knowing immediately they've been found. Grabbing their always packed escape bags, Tony, Kristin and Ryan execute their plan B for escape. Taking his bosses small plane, Tony hopes to get away unseen, but as he attempts takeoff shots are fired hitting him and the plane. He manages to lift off only to crash in a lake a few miles short of their destination. When it's clear he won't make it, Tony quickly improvises and instructs Kristin to take Ryan and their supplies and hike the rest of the way to their secret remote cabin. Time is critical as a massive snow storm is descending on the mountains and their father Boyd and his armed men are coming for them. Tony has trained Kristin in all the elements of survival including how to handle a weapon. She'll kill or be killed before returning to the forbidding prison of her father and grandmother's home.

NORTH OF NOWHERE is a highly atmospheric, fast paced thriller with a large cast of players. The landscape and weather play a starring role in the story as characters are charged with surviving a blinding blizzard in the middle of nowhere in subzero temperatures. Brennan does a fantastic job of pulling readers into said wilderness to join the desperate search for the two missing children in a race against time to save their lives - from both the elements and the various highly motivated people determined to catch them before someone else does. The story is rendered through multiple points of view giving readers a well rounded viewpoint into the motivations driving several key characters. A tension laden plot line is propelled by a dire tone of impending disaster as the story covers a period of only forty-eight hours from beginning to end. During this time, the author accentuates the power of family - whether by blood or choice, control, loss, regret . . . and survival of the fittest.

Brutally harsh at times, NORTH OF NOWHERE is an immensely engaging thriller with enough unforeseen twists and turns to keep fans of the genre turning pages. I enjoyed the audiobook version narrated by Eliza Foss. Highly recommended to readers who love extraordinarily atmospheric suspense thrillers with a heavy side of family drama.

There was a lot of action in this one and it will keep you entertained. I personally had a hard time keeping up with it but I may pick it back up soon. There were a lot of characters. I could have benefited from a list or a tree to reference

This is my first book by this author. The cover drew me in instantly and I'm a sucker for a good wilderness thriller! Starting out I kept feeling like I was missing something. I thought perhaps this was book 2 in a series so I had to go make sure it wasn't. It was certainly captivating and fast paced right out of the gate but it lost me somewhere in the middle. The more I read the more I felt like she probably should have done a book before this one! There were so many people with back stories that I think it would have been much more enjoyable if this were in fact book 2!

This was my first book from Allison Brennan and I loved it. It felt more like a movie than a book. I felt attached to some of the characters which kept my attention and made me want to know everything that was going to happen. At times the story slowed as others have stated but I enjoyed this book.

Tense and at time completely chilling, North of Nowhere is a great read. There were times when the multitude of characters slowed down the story. However, Kristen and Ryan were great characters, and the location was so interesting.

This was my first book by this author. It is about a brother and sister who run away from their criminal father. It was very engaging in the beginning but midway through I really had to struggle to finish this book. It was a wild ride but it really wasn’t for me. I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC I received for an honest review. It was well written so perhaps this type of storyline will appeal to other readers

Excellent, well written stand alone by Allison Brennan with a tight story line. Character interaction showed love and hatred, especially when I was not sure on whose side they were on - family, friend or enemy? Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books for an early copy of this suspenseful book.