COLD RIVER, a book review

Cold River, by award winning author Liz Adair caught my interest from the first paragraph. Along with an expertly woven tale about love, loss, moving on, and hanging in there when things seem impossible, is a story that is both suspenseful and charming.

Mandy Steenburg, hoping to recover from a bad relationship, banishes herself from her comfortable job in New Mexico to a small Washington town as the school district’s new superintendant. Things start off badly when she arrives late and then realizes that none of the staff wants her there.

Although the town is small and her coworkers hostile, Mandy attracts the areas eligible bachelors like flies to honey—or rather like hillbillies to moonshine.

Vince greets her with large bouquets of daffodils, and a private dinner at his new local winery.

Rael, an accomplished musician and the father of two teens, seems to fit easily into her life.

Grange Timberlain is her first and greatest adversary—Mandy took his job—and he has a chip on his shoulder.

Bouquets of yellow daffodils aren’t enough to ward off the sting of rejection, the ache for family and familiarity, and a desire to runaway home. But just as she thinks she might give up the lease a cute little A-frame she rented and move back to New Mexico, her teen-aged half sister Leesie shows up on her doorstep and announces that she will stay the school year.

It’s nice to have someone to confide in and things begin looking up with her friendly and optimistic sister there. While Many tries to take charge of a school district where no one includes her in the district’s daily business, she learns to take the high school kids’ teasing and practical jokes in stride—including their setting a box of stinkbugs on her doorstep, decorating her car like a huge stinkbug, and knowing that they call her Doctor Stinkbug behind her back.

All kidding aside, it seems that someone wants her out of town and will go to great lengths to scare her away. When Mandy gets a bout of food poisoning, she shrugs it off. When a fire starts at her home, it could be an accident due to faulty wiring. She’s lucky she got out safely. When something happens to her car and it careens off of the road, it seems like one too many coincidences and Mandy finally calls in the local authorities.

Just as the puzzle pieces start fitting together, Mandy finds herself knocked out, and kidnapped. When she escapes and discovers who she thinks is the person operating an illegal still in the area, Mandy runs for her life, and realizes a little too late that she trusted the wrong person.

To purchase your own copy of this book, go to:  http://www.amazon.com/Cold-River-Liz-Adair/dp/1599928035/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1322625922&sr=8-1

To get to know the author better, follow her on her author's blog: http://sezlizadair.blogspot.com/