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.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Minotaur Books for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Look for it now in your local and online bookstores and libraries.

After hiding from their crime boss father in Montana for the past five years, Kristen and Ryan are running again, with a blizzard fast approaching.

This book is non-stop, heart-pounding action, and I flew through it. I wanted to give it five stars, but there were a few things that bugged me. It was a little bit repetitive. You’ve got all of these people tracking the kids, and each time each group comes upon a place where they think the kids have been, they rehash the same observations. I was also more than a little annoyed that these people, who have been hiding from a very powerful crime family, are all using their real names. Like, what? Anyway, normally, those two things would knock a book down to a maximum of three stars, but this one was so good, I had to give it four.

North of Nowhere by Allison Brennan is a very highly recommended race-against-time survival thriller that is compulsively readable.

After five years hiding in Montana with father figure Tony Reed, Kristin (Kris) McIntyre, sixteen, and her ten-year-old deaf younger brother Ryan, have to run again immediately. Tony has spotted men looking for them, sent by their real father, Boyd McIntyre, head of a Los Angeles crime family. The trio barely escape in a plane, which was shot at by his men. Tony is mortally wounded and the plane is malfunctioning from the gun fire but he manages to land the plane up in the mountains. With a blizzard quickly approaching and Tony dying, Kris needs to use all her learned skills to save Ryan from the men looking for them. Kris is old enough to remember what and why they went into hiding from the McIntyre clan.

North of Nowhere is an extremely well-written, compelling, fast-paced thriller that is un-put-downable. You may have to suspend some disbelief, but with an action-packed plot, characters confronting danger at every turn, and no clear outcome it is a pleasure to keep reading. The chapters are short, which keeps the pace moving swiftly and are told through the point-of-view of different characters. This adds complexity to the already tension-filled plot and ensures the just-one-more-chapter response right to the end.

There is a large cast of characters in the novel, but I found it easy to keep them all straight as Brennan takes care to provide them all with some development. The main characters all are fully realized and feel like real people. You will care about many of the protagonists and wish them well. Some characters you will feel uncertain about for a time, while the antagonists, especially a couple of them, will draw your ire.

Allison Brennan has written another complex, exceptional thriller in North of Nowhere.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of St. Martin's Press via NetGalley.
The review will be published on Barnes & Noble, Edelweiss, and Amazon.

Looking for an action packed thriller, than look no further. I have been in a thriller mood and this one was too good.

Kristin and Ryan have spent the last five years hiding from their father. You see he’s a murderer and they don’t want to be found by him. Boyd is skillful at tracking so he’s found his kids, but their escape from him has turned deadly. Now stranded in the wilderness, the siblings must find safety before Boyd finds them again.

Take a father who’s the head of a crime family and take his children who are desperate for escape, add in a plane crash and wilderness survival and boom you’ve got a book. Almost like The River Wild meets Lifetime survival and you’ve got an interesting story. You’ve got nature and wilderness to compete in, let alone a maniac father trying to hunt you down.

This story is survival at its core and it definitely had me on the edge at times.

I had not read an Allison Brennan mystery before, so I’m excited about the opportunity to read and review “North of Nowhere”. This is a fast-paced thriller set in the mountain wilderness of Montana. Kristin and Ryan, sister aged 16 and brother aged 11, have looked up to Tony as their father figure for the past five years. He was a hitman for their real father until he realized their lives were in danger and escaped with the kids; living in hiding ever since.
But Boyd, their true father, has caught on to their trail and is fast behind them as they attempt to escape. Their plane crashes in the wilderness of the mountains, and there’s a severe snowstorm on its way. Also searching for them is the sheriff, Tony’s employer, the kids’ aunt, and a couple more unsavory characters.
The woods are full of hunters, some there to kill, some to save. But in the middle of a blinding snowstorm, it’s impossible to tell who to trust. This is a tensely paced with some heartwarming moments and a few twists that keep you guessing.
Thanks to St. Martin’s Press- Minotaur Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. The publishing date is August 8, 2023.

Kristen and Ryan McIntire were able to escape their crime family with the help of a family friend but now they have been found by their father, Boyd, and during their attempt to allude their father have become stranded in the wilderness during a horrific snow storm but the wildlife and winter conditions are the least of their dangers!

North of Nowhere is a cross between a nature survival story and family drama as Kristen and Ryan battle the dangerous winter conditions while various groups of people are looking for them with different intentions! The story was just okay to me, not terrible but did not hold my interest well! I found most of it predictable but if your looking for a survivalist type story then this could be the one for you! I did enjoy the characters and was vested in their survival.

Thank you Netgally and St. Martin's Press for this E-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a bit different from the usual Allison Brennan titles I've read in the past but I enjoyed it. Action, betrayal, and intrigue, I was hooked from the first page.

Okay, so I have to say that this book kind of drove me crazy. The plot was good. A couple of the characters were great. For some reason, it just didn’t hit for me and I think there are a few reasons why, mostly that I like psychological thrillers more than action thrillers. The book definitely has an audience, but it wasn’t totally me.

Loooooong story short, five years ago, two children named Kristen and Ryan ran away to live with a man named Tony. They lived/hid in Montana, working for a man named Nick, and his son, Jason. They think of Tony as their father; their mother is dead, their biological father is a criminal and their grandmother makes their father look like a saint. Then one day, they are found…and into a blizzard they run. Since this wasn’t really the book for me, I’ll go with what I liked and didn’t.

Cons:
-There were SO MANY CHARACTERS, especially for a story written about people in the middle of nowhere … it’s set during a major storm in one of the most remote states in the country, but somehow about 30 people are involved, all with their own agendas.
-This was a slow burn, of which historically, I’m not a fan.
-The action/crime part of this was huge, when I’d rather have focused more on the core characters.

Pros:
-I thought Kristen, Tony and Nick were fantastic characters.
-The ending was good.
-The writing was good, and I liked the backdrop of a winter storm in Montana.

Overall this was a bit slow and a bit too “action-story” for me, but it was still a decent book, and if you like thriller books about criminal organizations/families, you’ll probably enjoy it! Three stars.

(Thank you to St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books, Allison Brennan, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.)

This book hooks you on the first page and doesn't let go. It's full of non-stop action, drama and suspense and will keep you on the edge of your seat. A word of caution don't start this book at bedtime or you will be up all-night reading, once you start you can't put it down.
I received a complimentary copy from St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books via NetGalley and was not required to write a review. All opinions expressed are my own.

A good book, but just not for me.

A man tries to protect two kids from being captured by their father and grandmother, who run a powerful organized crime group.

Loved the snowy Montana setting, but for me this was just too many people with guns chasing each other around in the snow. I know that many readers will love it - if you're a fan of outdoorsy hard boiled fiction, give it a try.

Not sure if this is typical Allison Brennan, but I'd be happy to try another of her books.