North of Nowhere kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time! I cannot wait to read more of this author's books.

North of Nowhere is an exceptional, action-packed story that is brimming with shocking secrets and unexpected revelations.

Tony used to be a hit man for the McIntyre mafia family; he wasn’t just an employee but also like a brother to his boss, Boyd. Boyd’s wife, Maggie, was tragically murdered and Tony was blamed for her death. Tony might’ve been Boyd’s right hand man, but he also saw what Boyd’s grandmother, Frankie, was doing to her grandchildren. Tony took the two things that mattered most to the McIntyre mafia family and ran like hell.

Tony has been running for five years with Ryan and Kris. They’re Boyd’s kids, but Tony has raised them as his own and they would rather stay with him than go back to their prison of a home in Los Angeles. Kris is just a teenager; but if she saw Boyd near her, she’d kill him.

After five years of running, Boyd has found his kids; he’ll do anything to protect them, and bring them back home even if it involves killing anyone who stands in his way.

What a rush! Once I started reading this book, I couldn’t stop! I loved all the characters, but I especially loved Kris, because of her protectiveness over Ryan. My eyes were glued to the pages,each chapter ended with a cliffhanger that made you keep reading and never stop until the end.

Read if you like:
❄️Cat and Mouse Game
❄️Winter Survival
❄️Mafia Family

North of Nowhere by Allison Brennan is a domestic horror with the perfect twist of adventure and mystery intertwined. Brennan vividly describes the frozen wilderness through which the group travels. This novel is a must-read for anyone who loves a good mystery with unforeseeable twists and turns throughout. The characters are emotionally torn between love and hate, loyalty and trust for each other. I devoured this chilling tale of family dynamics and redemption at a record pace.
#thankyouNETGALLEYforthisspellbindingARC!

A thriller that takes place in the wild winter of Montana over the period of roughly 24 hours. The pacing moved well throughout, but I just didn't connect to the characters. Like why is an Irish crime family operating out of LA? we don't find out until 90%. I couldn't ever really get why Kristen's grandmother was so set on her taking over the "family business". Everything else made sense, but I understood Nick more than any of the other characters. With all the different perspectives we got, it would have been nice to get a few chapters frim Ryan's perspective.

Thank you @Minotaur_Books and @Macmillan.Audio for the #gifted ALC/ARC of NORTH OF NOWHERE!

Phew this book is nonstop, heartstopping action from the very first chapter.
Set over the course of 24 hours, NORTH OF NOWHERE is the story of the McIntyre children, Kristen and Ryan, who have been living in hiding in Big Sky, Montana with their quasi-father Tony. Who are they hiding from? Their gangster father and drug queen-pin grandmother.

When Tony gets word that Boyd McIntyre’s men have been seen in town, he flees with the children in a small plane. The plane gets shot down stranding the McIntyre children in the middle of nowhere Montana right as a massive winter storm is rolling in.

On top of surviving the elements, Kristen and Ryan must evade their father’s men who are hunting them in the woods. There are others searching for them as well but it's hard to tell who can be trusted.

This book is fast-paced and difficult to put down. It was like reading a tense action movie. I loved how strong and stubborn Kristen’s character was. She would do anything to protect her little brother. It was touching its ferocity.

My one complaint about this book was the sheer volume of character POVs we get throughout the book and who was tracking who in the woods. I was tempted to create a flow chart or something so I could keep track!

NORTH OF NOWHERE is out now!

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5137705812
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CvxMkQCLkKG/

North of Nowhere by Allison Brennan

This is a Lifetime Movie Network type of thriller book and this is not a bad thing! It was quickly paced and had a fantastic plot but like LMN movies, I could see where it was heading from the beginning. This did not dampen my enjoyment in the least.

First off, the setting is fantastic; rural Montana in the midst of a snow storm is catnip to this little kitty heart. I love a remote setting and any survival scenario and NON has this in spades. I loved the back story and the bad guy turned good to care for two kids in need.

The characters were all well developed and the story flowed easily with the just the right amount of tension that kept me invested.

Thoroughly entertaining and packed with thrills and action!

My thanks to St. Martins Press for this gifted copy!

So much action in one book! Two kids escaping a crime syndicate who also happens to be their family in the middle of a Montana blizzard. Loved the fast pace and the characters who made it really easy for you to root for the good guys and really dislike the bad guys. Nothing gory, but lots of bodies hitting the ground. I haven't read anything from Brennan in quite a while and after this, I think I've done myself a disservice! Luckily I have lots to choose from.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a free digital copy of this book in exchange for my review.

Family is complicated on the best of days. Add in a crime syndicate, a kidnapping, and a blizzard and things get REALLY complicated! I thoroughly enjoyed this fast-paced story about two children trying to outrun their family’s plans for their future.

A TOTAL rush from beginning to end as Nick Lorenzo and his son Jason race to save two children lost in a mountain blizzard. Nick’s employee, Tony has “borrowed” his airplane to escape with his two children, Kristen and Ryan. The problem is that they are not his children and the real father and his mafia relatives are in hot pursuit. Tony, who was part of the “family”, took the children after their mother was killed and has been hiding them these past five years. Reckoning is now due and who will survive the mountains and the blizzard? After the plane is shot at upon take off, it goes down near a lake, but can they still make it to the cabin that is waiting for them? The grandmother, Frankie, has total control and though many have tried to take her down, she even has law enforcement on her payroll. The final player in this drama is Frankie’s daughter, Ruby, who escaped the family when she was eighteen and her Army experience will prove invaluable to Nick as they search for Kristen and Ryan and try to eliminate the threat to their lives. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (paytonpuppy)

North of Nowhere by Allison Brennan

Published: August 8, 2023
Minotaur Books
Genre: Disaster Fiction
Pages: 350
KKECReads Rating: 4/5
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Allison Brennan is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling and award winning author of three dozen thrillers and numerous short stories. She was nominated for Best Paperback Original Thriller by International Thriller Writers, had multiple nominations and two Daphne du Maurier Awards, and is a five-time RITA finalist for Best Romantic Suspense. Allison believes life is too short to be bored, so she had five kids and spends all her non-writing time as a sports spectator, chauffeur, and short-order cook for her munchkins. She has a dog, two cats, and three chickens. Allison and her family live in northern California.

“Now she knew what peace truly meant.”

Kristen is told they have to run. She knows the minimum of why that is true, but she also has secrets. Ruby wants to save her niece and nephew. She will stop at nothing to do so. Now, they have to stay ahead of a blizzard.

This was a glimmer into a family, good and bad. Happy and sad. This showcased how complicated relationship dynamics can be and how hard forgiving is.

I liked how the characters were fleshed out, and I felt they were all given distinctive traits. I loved that the women were all intelligent, tough, and resilient. I love a female-led cast.

Knowing how cold the Midwest gets, I could feel the icy snow as it was described. For not having much experience with Montana in the winter, the author did her research.

The pacing is fast, the action is intense, and the build-up will take your breath away. This was a good story with a great cast of characters.

North of Nowhere by Allison Brennan is a doozy of a bookish adventure which practically had me shivering in anticipation for the next paragraph. As someone who lives north of Montana and is no stranger to trampling through deep snow in blizzards I felt I was right there, both stalker and prey.

Siblings Kristen's and Ryan's mobster father Boyd unfortunately knows where they are...and he is keen to get his hands on them. Their aunt Ruby knows her brother's capacity for evil and is desperate to keep them out of his clutches. However, Boyd has hired a professional which makes life a sickening dance. Rancher Nick knows what it takes to survive the demands of Montana, including the wildlife. Not only are there wild animals and blizzard conditions but non-stop action, flashbacks, fear and ingenuity.

Though not a fan of mob themes, the rest of the elements of the story had me in a vise-like grip the entire time. I adore books with enough power to evoke a huge range of emotions and look-over-my-shoulder moments. The feeling of being chased is excruciating yet exciting to the extreme!

Looking for an atmospheric white=knuckle thriller which is almost painfully suspenseful? This is it. My plan is to re-read it in winter darkness for an all-immersive experience.

My sincere thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this phenom!

*****Happy publication day!!!!******


Wow! Definitely no slow burn here, fast paced from the start and several great twists.

For the past 5 years Tony has been hiding Kristen and her brother Ryan on a ranch in Montana, knowing their father Boyd would stop at nothing to find them. The three of them go on the run once they know Boyd is in town, a plane crash in the mountains with an incoming blizzard proves to be a hellacious journey with so much unpredictability. Location matters in this book for sure and if the mountains, snow, wildlife don’t kill them as they try to get out there are very bad people hunting them as well.

My first by this author and loved it!!

Thanks to netgalley, Minotaur books and Allison Brennan for my electronic advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

I actually listened to this but had this as an Earc also-
I enjoyed this Cat and Mouse game that was played in this book. This was a well written thriller that as fast paced and had you guessing what was going to happen.
I enjoyed the little twist that Allison Brennan wrote into this book.
I would recommend it.

Allison Brennan has written a lot of books, and it’s obvious now that if they are anywhere near as good as North of Nowhere I need to read them all. This book was so exciting, so thrilling, so frightening, so totally, completely engrossing and satisfying that I couldn’t put it down, and I can’t recommend it highly enough.

The tension is almost unbearable. The story starts with a situation so impossible you can’t imagine any possible positive outcome. The anxiety, the fear, the dread just keeps building and building and building. You are introduced to characters you immediately like so much you are almost brought to tears by the idea of harm coming to them. There are characters you know you shouldn’t like, who you know have done terrible things and deserve the worst, but you are drawn to them, nonetheless. And there are many characters so loathsome you cringe when they enter a scene. It’s not clear who’s on our side, who’s the enemy, who’s turned – for good or bad – and who can be trusted. Who will let something slip and betray us unintentionally? It’s a high-speed chase, constantly looking over your shoulder, trying to keep up a plan on the run, knowing one little mistake could mean the end.

North of Nowhere is one of those books where you can’t stop turning pages because you must know what happens next, but at the same time you almost can’t bear it. You want to delay the inevitable as much as possible. The plot is logical, perfectly paced and full of twists, turns and surprises. The cast of characters is large: children, parents, spouses, sisters, brothers, good and bad actors. Those who want to do the right thing, those who have been involved in bad business for a long, long time, and those who just want to escape, who’ve already seen more than they can bear but know they must dredge up some more bravery and strength and carry on.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for providing an advance copy of North of Nowhere via NetGalley for my reading pleasure and honest opinion. This story is fast paced, intoxicating and addictive. You’ll hold your breath hoping that Kristen and Ryan McIntyre will finally be safe and can be children again. Again, I can’t recommend this book enough. I voluntarily leave this review; all opinions are my own.

This was a first read for me by this author, and it was a pretty good read! A little predictable in some spots, but it did hold my interest all the way through. I would read another by this author for sure!

Kristin and Ryan are the heir’s to a crime syndicate and have been in hiding for the last 5 years. The man who has been raising them gets the kids out just in time by plane. However the plane was shot at on takeoff and the fuel line is hit along with the pilot. A huge storm is heading their way in the mountains of Montana, and with a crash landing their only hope to survive is to hike to safety.

A local farmer, his son and their Aunt are in a race to find them before the hired hunters find them first.

This is a cat and mouse game of survival with twists and turns and devious motivations. With the incoming storm to contend with it upped the intensity of the race to find the kids and keep them safe from their crime family. A thrill of a ride!

This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart


Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Wow! I started this at bedtime and continued to read until I finished just after 3am. I couldn't put it down. North of Nowhere started off fast and just kept running. When I finished, my jaw was clenched and my whole body was tense. What a fight between good and evil, with children caught in the middle.

Kristen and Ryan have been hiding out with their godfather for five years. Tony has loved them as his own. But now their criminal father has found them. They take off to hide again but it's more than their father after them. And the approaching blizzard is not going to help anyone's safety.

Luckily, Kristen and Ryan have made friends at the ranch where Tony works. Nick and his son, Jason head into the wilderness to find them. He also called their Aunt Ruby, who is retired military, who comes to help with the search. Ruby left the family when she was about Kristen's age, for similar reasons.

I loved this story of survival in the Montana wilderness. Nick, Ruby and Kristen are all really smart and capable. Unfortunately, there are several groups of bad guys. I was in terror for those kids. Kristen is 16 and Ryan is 11. Kristen was already traumatized by their initial escape when her mother was murdered.

Absolutely thrilling, I highly recommend North of Nowhere. There is some law enforcement but not all of them are good guys. We get the point of views from Tony, the godfather; Ruby, the aunt; Nick, the rancher; and Kristen mostly. I will tell you this is not a romance. It's a suspenseful thriller.

North of Nowhere is an intensely riveting drama which plays out in a small Montana town.

Tony Reed has been hiding in a small town with his "children." Every morning very early since they disappeared from the family compound in Los Angeles, Tony checks the town looking for strangers that don 't belong there. Yesterday morning he felt that things were different but couldn't find anything in particular. Today he sees several men looking suspicious and realizes he is a day too late. He races home to wake the kids to tell them they have to leave now, and they grab their go bags. They head to the plane that is owned by Nick Lorenzo in order to escape. But they soon find themselves under attack after Boyd McIntyre tells them to stop the plane and firing a warning shot. But a sniper shoots at the plane and they begin to lose fuel. Tony manages to crash land near the shore of a lake, but he has been mortally wounded. He convinces them to follow the plan they have in place in order to hide from their real father. Montana wilderness. The siblings hike deep into the woods, searching desperately for safety—unaware of the severity of the approaching storm.

Kristen the oldest at sixteen and Ryan, who was born deaf, sadly agree and follow the instructions from Tony. Meanwhile after receiving a call from Tony that he is borrowing the plane, Nick calls Ruby, Boyd’s sister and Tony's emergency contact, to let her know what is happening. Ruby, heads out to help find the kids. He also reaches out to the sheriff before he and his son head out to help locate Tony and the kids.

Meanwhile, a storm is being forecasted for several feet of snow and a blizzard which will put everyone in danger as the temperature and the drama escalates.

I really liked this story. It was a very intense story which occurs over several days. The only thing that I didn't like was, I couldn't picture the lake or the terrain. So, it made is hard for me to envision the location. I finally gave up trying to see it and just focused on the story. I don't think it took away at all, but I think most of us picture it as we read along.

I have read other books by this author that were great, but this is my favorite! I love the setting, and the author makes you care about the characters, especially the ranch owner and his son and the children. It is full of tense moments, and you want to keep reading so that you can find out what happens to everyone. I highly recommend this to anyone who likes a mystery/thriller. I give it a 5/5.