Customer Reviews

The River

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4 star:		(4)
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Anthropologist and professor, Del Hawthorne, is on a mission. It begins the moment, an ill and aged Professor Schroeder - a man she believed had died with her father seven years earlier - stumbles into her classroom to tell Del that her father is alive, but about to be killed by someone bent on destroying humanity. To find her father, Del must reach the Nahanni River where he and Schroeder had originally disappeared. Gathering a small team of people, Del begins a risky, unusual adventure, where she discovers a secret underground river, and far more trouble than she bargained for.

Cheryl Kaye Tardif's cross-genre novel, THE RIVER is an intriguing blend of mystery, action-adventure, thriller, and science fiction. Vivid descriptions, realistic dialogue, and persistent tension kept me turning the pages to find out if Del and her friends survive the dangers not only of the Nahanni River, but of the evil man has created. The novel's theme is a dark reminder that there are still people out there who want power over life and death, to dominate others, and who believe that science and technology will accomplish this mission.

My only quibble is a couple of unanswered questions at the end that I wish had been answered. Still, if you're looking for an entertaining read, then THE RIVER is a great choice.

Mix some Michael Crichton with a touch of Dean Koontz, add a generous dash of sci-fi and then distill the resulting mixture until all you have left is the good stuff. That, in a nutshell, is "The River".

The Nahanni River holds many secrets, but the headless bodies that occasionally appear on the shores and the people who vanish without a trace certainly weren't telling any tales. Del Hawthorne's father is part of a group that mysteriously goes missing, but when one of his supposedly departed friends returns with the news that her father is still alive, Del sets off on the adventure of her life, against all odds, to discover the truth. Her companions are an intriguingly mixed bunch of brains, brawn and raw animal magnetism, and it's not only the river that provides the challenges up ahead.

Thanks to a notebook with coded messages and a cryptic map, they find the secret of the river, but only at great personal cost. What transpires next is a swift and horrific descent into the lowest depths of humanity, the result of pure unadulterated greed and selfishness, combined with a peek into the fascinating world of science and discovery.

Cheryl Kaye Tardif manages to make her stories exciting and thought-provoking without including pages and pages of filler material, making her books ideal traveling and beach companions. Her book Whale Song is also a definite must-read.

Amanda Richards

When I picked this book up at one of Cheryl's signings I knew I would once again be in for a treat and would get a lot of bang for the buck. The River is a awesome story that falls into what I call Sci-Fi Fantasy mixed with a bit of romance, not so much that it scares off the guys. It is a story about a young woman that presumes her father dead until one of his friends shows up and lets her know otherwise. Once she finds this out she takes a dangerous journey into the unknown. I don't like to give away what the story is about, but pick up a copy, you won't be dissapointed. It is one of those novels that is hard to put down.

The River is fabulous! I couldn't put it down! Suspense, great momentum, real characters, and a touch of romance... This is an intrigueing mystery that touches on some pretty big questions without feeling heavey... The perfect book when you just want to disappear for an evening or two, a great adventure... Enjoy!

The River is Tardif’s most exciting novel yet! Full of unpredictable twists and lurching turns, The River is a non-stop adventure into Canada’s mysterious north. When Del Hawthorne is suddenly exposed to the idea that her father did not die seven years earlier, she decides to travel the route that supposedly killed him in search of answers. With a rather motley group, Del discovers much more than she intends to and is soon in way over her head. The story combines technological wizardry, a delectable taste of Canadian nature, and Tardif’s patented ability for incredible storytelling. The River is sure to please.

There are many legends about the Nahanni River in the Northwest Territory, many of them featuring headless corpses and skeletons, and disappearances, a river of ghosts. Cheryl Kaye Tardif has placed her paranormal techno-thriller in this beautiful and awesome part of northern Canada. I love how she describes everything so well that each scene is vividly implanted in the reader's mind, so much so that one can almost hear the falls, the rapids, and boiling currents of the river, the rustling of the leaves in the wind. This descriptive mode is captured throughout the book, even through the horrors to be found when Del, with a team and guide, searches for her father. He was believed dead for several years, after disappearing in the Nahanni area, but now Del has reason to believe he is alive.

It all begins when an elderly man shows up in her classroom with a message and a journal. She recognizes the message as something her father always said, and finally discovers that she has known this man, he is a friend of her father's and he also disappeared from that ill-fated group of men. He appears much older than he should, and very ill, but he says her father is alive and gives her a journal with instructions to "follow" her heart. He is taken away to a hospital where he is rapidly aging and dying. Del turns to the journal and discovers it has been written in some kind of code. There also seems to be a map of some sort. She knows she will do anything to find her father, and her ex-boyfriend is ready to assemble a search team and make the arrangements.

What a mixed bunch of characters make up the team! Del (Delila) Hawthorne is a Professor of Anthropology and her young assistant Peter insists on going along. Jake, who she meets first at the hospital and again at Bio-Tec where her father had worked, and TJ, her ex-boyfriend. Peter brings Miki, who is a math savant and may be able to break the code, and Jake brings his assistant, the fiery and fiercely jealous Italian, Francesca. A lone vacationing computer programmer, Gary, is stranded when his wilderness party doesn't show up, and Hawk, the Dene guide adds him to their party.

It doesn't take long for problems to arise, both natural and man-made. Who is trying to sabotage their trip? When Del's medication for MS disappears, who would have taken it? Was it the feisty Francesca? A romantic connection seems to be building between Del and Jake. Could Gary be someone other than who he supposedly is? Will finding the secret river give them answers, or more questions? The river is very hazardous as they near the falls, but Miki and Del believe they have to pass this spot to arrive at what they think will be the location to find the secret river. Hawk does not believe there is a secret river, but he does recognize what the landmarks are on the map. As they portage up the falls, they think the worst must be over, but will soon rethink that.

A tense, strange trip to destiny lies ahead. Not just their destiny, but the destiny of the human race. Can they stop the inevitable? Layers of horror lead to more danger for the team. I won't tell. This book is character- and action-driven, terrifying, and yet tender at times even in its intensity. Cheryl has a knack for writing the gamut of human emotion, and in this case even inhuman. A good thriller, graphic in some places, but deftly written. A real nail-biter.

I came across an excerpt of Cheryl Kaye Tardif's, "The River," over a year ago while surfing the web. I don't like reading on my computer but thought I'd just skim a few pages. I ended up reading the entire excerpt, and when I finished I was scrambling to find this book. For some reason I got sidetracked and never ordered it, but the bit of the story that I read stayed with me. After a significant amount of searching, having forgotten the author's name, I finally had The River downloaded onto my e-reader.

Cheryl Kaye Tardif puts her readers on the edge of their seat from the first page when her main character, Del Hawthorne, learns that her father, presumed dead for seven years, is alive. Using encrypted messages, she goes in search of him, despite the fact that her health is suffering. Her search takes her to the mysterious and deadly Nahanni River in the Canadian north.

This story really has everything: mystery/suspense, cryptic messages, science fiction, great adventure, and wonderful character development. I had trouble putting this book down and had to cover the parts of the page I hadn't read yet to prevent myself from skipping ahead and spoiling the suspense.

However, this wouldn't be a useful review if I wasn't honest. The last chapter left me extremely disappointed and frustrated. I wasn't given the closure I expected and needed. I wanted a better ending. Despite this, I will continue to read this author's books. Cheryl Kaye Tardif knows how to tell a great story. She writes beautifully and her characters are real and believable.

My advice would be to go ahead and read this book. You will not be disappointed by the measure of suspense, mystery, adventure, and good storytelling that Cheryl dishes out.

This is one of the best books I've read in years. If you like thrills, science, mystery, history and great character development (and who doesn't!) - this book is for you.
I enjoy reading books that are based on actual facts (historic or scientific) with fully developed fictional characters, some science fiction and great suspense. I like to learn something while enjoying a thrill ride.
If you like Michael Chrichton, you will enjoy this book.
I've now read all of Cheryl Kaye Tardif's books and have enjoyed them all.
Read her books now so you can tell your friends that you "discovered" her before the world did (and they will)!

The River was filled with action and suspense on every page. A thrilling adventure that tells what could happen when the wrong people have access to advanced technology and use it for unintended purposes. I will definitely read more.