Wicked River

January 1, 2018

There is so much foreboding built into the first half of Milchman's (Cover of Snow) latest thriller that it is almost a relief when the inevitable disaster happens. Even at the very start of their lives together as newlyweds, a shadow is cast over the happiness of Doug and Natalie by the arrival of some shady characters and the odd behavior of Doug's best men. When the honeymoon (a remote Adirondack canoe trip) turns into a survival exercise, it does not come as a surprise. Milchman alternates the narrative points of view from the couple's perspective and that of Natalie's teenage niece, who idolizes her aunt, and that of a survivalist recluse who hungers for human companionship. After the newlyweds eventually meet up with the hermit, what happens next is not unexpected. It is a testament to Milchman's strong writing that the suspense is nonetheless riveting. VERDICT A hybrid between John Fowles's classic The Collector and Erica Ferencik's The River at Night, this novel will appeal to fans of psychological suspense as well as those who enjoy trips to the backcountry. [See Prepub Alert, 11/21/17.]--Sharon Mensing, Dubois, WY

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March 1, 2018
A newlywed couple sets out on an Adirondack canoeing holiday only to discover that the most dangerous thing in the forest is their fellow man.After a quick wedding in upstate New York--where it's obvious that neither the bride nor the groom has many friends--Manhattanites Natalie and Doug Larson strap the canoe to the car and drive off to where they'll leave (most of) civilization behind and bask in the July beauty of the Adirondacks. Milchman (As Night Falls, 2015, etc.) abandons both the suspense narrative and camping principles of "leave no trace" as she and her creations beat a heavy, obvious path through the story, leaving little to the imagination. As Natalie and Doug are floating along blissfully, Kurt, a man who's survived in the woods through nefarious means (any reader will immediately guess what those are), is stalking his human prey. New marriages in thrillers don't often end well, and the Larson union is no exception: It comes to light, in the form of a corpse, that Doug isn't as squeaky clean as he appears, and trust is lost when the pair needs it the most. When Kurt rushes in to save them (read: ensnare them in his survivalist twisted game), none of his machinations take anyone, save the Larsons, by surprise. Kurt's backstory, involving near-sadistic psychiatrist parents, is as convincing as Natalie and Doug's love for each other, which is wobbly from the first paddle stroke.Despite a picturesque setting replete with natural risks, this story is stuffed with unnecessary human drama.

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March 12, 2018
Near the start of this so-so standalone from Mary Higgins Clark Award–winner Milchman (As Night Falls), Doug and Natalie Larson embark on their honeymoon, a canoe trip through the Adirondacks’ six million acres of wilderness. Everything goes swimmingly until Doug loses his GPS unit, causing the couple to lose not only their way but also their supplies. When Doug and Natalie fail to return
to New York City the following week, Natalie’s 13-year-old niece, Mia, sounds the alarm, but what she and the search party don’t know is that a lonely psychopath has already found the Larsons and has his own plans for them. The man-versus-nature aspect of Milchman’s tale thrills, but her characters lack verisimilitude. After a strong start, unearned twists propel the plot toward an abrupt and somewhat arbitrary conclusion that’s action-packed but fails to gratify. Fans will hope for a return to form next time. Agent: Julia Kenny, Dunow, Carlson and Lerner Literary Agency.

March 15, 2018
A kayaking trip into the Adirondacks' remotest corners isn't Natalie's honeymoon fantasy, but she's persuaded by fianc� Doug's vision of idyllic time together in nature. Their first days on the trail follow Doug's scenario pretty closely until he loses their GPS in a hairy section of rapids. Uncomfortable navigating the dense terrain without the GPS, they decide to attempt hiking to a way station. Natalie's fears about the dangers of the wilderness quickly become reality when Doug stumbles into a murder scene and they are forced to flee further into the forest to escape the gunman. Injured and dehydrated, Natalie and Doug struggle to find help, never suspecting that a second predator who has made the forest his own is effortlessly guiding them into his trap. Milchman's fourth Adirondack-centered thriller is a tense exploration of survival and psychological manipulation with a raw, sharply drawn setting sure to please fans of wilderness thrillers like those by Nevada Barr and C. J. Box.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)