North of Nowhere by Allison Brennan

 

Kristen and Ryan McIntyre have been on the run, hiding from their murderous father for the past 5 years. Now, the day the young kids have dreaded has arrived. Boyd McIntyre has found them. The kids barely get away in a plane flown by the man who helped them escape five years ago. The plane is hit by gunfire and crashes in the middle of the Montana wilderness. Now the race is on to reach the kids before an incoming blizzard makes their situation hopeless. 

Boyd's sister Ruby left the criminal McIntyre clan and joined the Army years ago. She helped engineer Kristen and Ryan's escape but cut off contact with them to avoid them being discovered.  Now she drops everything to go and try to rescue them. Also looking for them is rancher Nick Lorenzo, who only knows them as a couple of sweet kids and can't figure out why they are running.

The race is on between Boyd, Ruby, and Nick to find the kids before the blizzard hits. But unknown to all of them, an even more dangerous threat is lurking. Life and death hang in the balance.

Allison Brennan throws all the balls she can find in the air and keeps you mesmerized as she juggles them from start to finish. The action starts on page one and doesn't let up until she leaves you breathless on the last page. The Montana wilderness comes to life, showing off its beauty and its danger. The threat comes from all sides as these kids are lost and scared in the wilderness, not knowing who to trust. 

What makes this thriller really sing is the strong characters. Each of them has a connection to family which drives them. Brennan gives us flashbacks of these family lives and how it has shaped each of the characters. It doesn't matter if it's a criminal family or a salt-of-the-earth ranch family. There are bonds created that shape how these characters view each other and that have influenced their life choices.

This is a read-in-one-sitting type of book with relentless action and a sense of impending danger on every page. A must-read for thriller fans.

I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher.