Cold River

Mandy Steenburg thinks her doctorate in education has prepared her to run any school district - until she tangles with the moonshine-making, coon-dog-owning residents of a remote district in Pacific Northwest timber country. She's determined to make a difference, but the local populace still looks to the former superintendent for leadership. When Mandy lands in the middle of an old feud and someone keeps trying to kill her, instinct tells her to run. With the river rising and death a real possibility, will she find a reason to stay and chance the odds?

Part romance, part cozy mystery, part thriller, Cold River, like many of Liz Adair's books, is a novel about family ties and second chances. From The Deseret News: "Cold River" is a light read, with emphasis on romantic entanglements and small-town politics...Readers expecting a complex thriller or a dark suspense book may be disappointed with "Cold River," but those looking for light afternoon entertainment will enjoy it.

The content is family friendly, with no sexual issues beyond a few kisses and a frank discussion about reasons not to let physical intimacy progress. While there is danger and some potentially violent situations, these are neither graphic nor overly threatening. The family relationships are well done. Especially entertaining is the sibling banter between Mandy and her young sister, who joins her in the backwoods and also falls in love ... not with a boy, but with bluegrass.

From Alice Wills Gold's blog: I'm so Funny (Sometimes): Sometimes I wonder where my brain is. It wasn't until I sat down to write this review that I realized how the title Cold River reflects the subject of the book. I swear I am blonde sometimes. The gist of the story-line in Cold River is a gutsy gal takes a job as a superintendent of schools in the small town in the upper mid-west of the US. She has never lived in such a small town and so when she ends up renting a house right on the river, the river and its surrounding landscapes are a comfort to her as she acclimates to the small town life. The river also has significance in one of the main plots, but I hate to give away spoilers in the reviews I write, so you will just have to read the book yourself. I fell in love with the male co-leads, if that's what we can call them. There are three cousins that are completely different yet equally hunky and mysterious. Once the story got going it was fast paced and intriguing and the suspense and romance only grew my interest up until the very end. I loved how the relationships all twist and intervene with one another; the mere idea is so consistent with small town living, especially because everyone is related in one way or another. I didn't guess the villain of the story until they were revealed and that is not easy for an author to do...I always guess what's going on, so I appreciated the surprise. It was a great surprise and I love when an author can get me shaking my head at myself for not guessing what was really going on in the story-line. I am personally connected to the three subplots of music in schools, literacy, and gaining emotional maturity and I agreed with the viewpoint of the author on them all and enjoyed how Adair wove them into the greater story. The end of the story was magnificent. I have a real hard time giving a book a good review if I don't think the end was spectacular. It has to be not only spectacular but real to life and feel-good. I know that limits me, but I don't think I am going to change now, so all you authors out there, write good endings. I like setting a book on the shelf knowing that it left me with a greater expectation from the world around me and the end has to leave me feeling good for that to happen. I highly recommend this book. If I had to describe it in one word it would be adventurous. Get the book, it will take you on an adventure physically and emotionally.