Red on the River

Written by Christine Feehan

Narrated by Alyssa Bresnahan

#1 New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan goes all in with this sexy romantic thriller set among the dangers—both man-made and natural—of Nevada’s breathtaking landscape.

Vienna Mortenson isn’t your typical gambler. She prefers to stay under the radar, using her poker winnings to support her family and her community, including the local search and rescue team, which she heads up. Out in the backcountry there’s
no time for hesitation when lives are on the line. Vienna prides herself on being tough and decisive. She’s not the sort to make a fool of herself over a guy, especially one who left her high and dry without a backward glance.

Zale Vizzini’s job constantly puts him in harm’s way. Working undercover and disappearing for months at a time isn’t exactly a recipe for a stable relationship.

Despite the challenges and the risks, Zale wants something real with Vienna. He just needed time to figure out how to be in her life without putting her in danger.

Now, he’s determined to win her back, and he’s ready to lay all his cards on the table.

As their friends’ wedding approaches, Zale takes advantage of the festivities to make a play for Vienna’s heart. But there are more deadly forces waiting to strike in the rugged terrain of Nevada and the western Sierras. Soon both of their lives
are threatened, and the odds are stacked against them. …

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 28, 2022
• ISBN: 9781705038895

Christine Feehan

Christine Feehan is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, with over 90 published novels in seven different series: Dark Series, GhostWalker Series, Leopard Series, Drake Sisters Series, Sea Haven Series, Shadow Series, and Torpedo Ink Series. All seven of her series have hit the #1 spot on the New York Times bestseller list.

Reviews for Red on the River

[Yogi · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I really did enjoy the unity between the sister friends. Some of their conversations were truly funny but did they have to be so long. The book was too long because of the exhausting and long dialogues within the sister hood of the friends. I would have preferred less sisterhood dialogue and more romance between our main characters Zale and Vienna. Much more romance, more dialogue and some intimacy for our couple. There was so little intimacy between our characters that I had to keep checking to see who the author was. Maybe Christine is writing this series for the young adult audience instead of the adult women (and men) that she usually writes for. I miss her beautifully written love scenes showing the deep passion between our characters. This was absolutely NOT a romance story. Nope, it is more a thriller within a sister hood of friends.

This book is about a group of women with gifts who are loyal and dedicated to their friendship. When Vienna is threatened, they all come to her defense to protect her from the evils that would kill all of them. Along the way, Vienna reunites with Zale. That's pretty much it.

Did I like the book? Ummm, I didn't hate it but I'm not crazy about it either. Would I read the next book? Yes, but I would get the book instead of the audible because it's easier to skip the pages of a book than to fast forward for an audible book when dialogues become too long and boring Oh, and if you overlook the fact that Vienna's gift allows her to cheat at cards, you may like the card playing details while she was gambling.

[carol420 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It's been ages since I read a Christine Feehan book. I read all of, and absolutely loved her Dark Carpathian series...so was interested to see how this one was going to fare out. Different... but I believe will just as good, eventually. Few characters can match those sexy vampire-like beings from that series, but I did love Zale Vizzini in this one. I said..."will eventually be just as good", so I need to clarify that. About 60% of the book focused on the women bonding. There was so much detail on their group conversations and too much, mostly non-essential to the story detail, about their activities...hiking, kayaking, and climbing. Some of these details about the women were repeated multiple times. It was almost as if the story needed to be stretched out or the author had to account for a certain number of words. I'm used to there being plenty of "spooky activity" in her books and I kept waiting for something, anything other than hiking, climbing and kayaking...to happen. So many of the scenes seemed to have no real purpose. Please don't think that this book didn't have promise and some really good parts, or that it was in any way badly written. Based on her previous work I was just expecting a bit more. Because Christine Feehan has always produced top-of-the-line stories...I will happily read the next book in this series...and I may have to pay the Carpathians a revisit.

[ftbooklover · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

When she isn't hiking, climbing, nursing, rafting, or working search and rescue, Vienna Mortenson is playing poker, using a special ability she has which tells her what cards everyone has. Normally Vienna would play online, but she has been invited by a prestigious casino owner to play in his nationally televised tournament and has waved her entry fee. Vienna is intrigued, and the tournament corresponds with the bachelorette party that she has planned for her friend, Stella, but trouble comes when undercover agent, Zale Vizzini, the man who walked away from her months ago without a backward glance, shows up at the tournament as bodyguard for one of the wealthy players.Red on the River is extremely problematic. One issue is that there are way too many characters, leaving them all underdeveloped. Another issue is that this plot seems to have no focus, making the objectives unclear. The most frustrating issue is the amount of action and story that takes place off page so the reader is overwhelmed with dialogue that goes nowhere, events that seem unimportant and plot points that seem ridiculous. All of these issues could have been acceptable in a humorous, campy story with fun characters who are deeply in love, but the romance is barely included. Overall, Red on the River is a disappointing narrative that offers very little for the reader to enjoy.

[NNEAMAKA PAYNE · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Red on the River by Christine Feehan is another one of her suspense novels. We got to see some of the characters from her Sunrise Lake series. We meet Vienna Mortenson, our heroine, who is in Vegas, participating in a live high stakes Poker tournament; she usually only plays online and rarely loses, but having received an invitation to this tournament, Vienna plans to win. She is one of the best in playing poker, but she also is a nurse, as well as helping in Search and Rescue. Vienna is helping prepare for her best friend, Stella’s upcoming wedding, and this trip is also a bachelorette gathering with a wonderful group of ladies, who love hiking and bouldering. Vienna also wants to repair her relationship with her mother, while in Vegas.

Zale Vizzini, our hero, works undercover on assignment to protect his boss; and is constantly in the middle of danger. He met Vienna months ago, with both falling hard for each other, as they spend weeks together; but one morning he just quietly walked out of her life. Now Zale is Vegas on assignment and determined to win her back. When Zale tries to explain that he left to keep her safe, as his job was dangerous, he now wants her back permanently. Vienna feels her attraction to Zale awaken, but can she trust him?

The tournament was a huge success for Vienna, but threats are made on her life, and Zale knows he needs to protect her from an enemy. At this point of the story, the focus is on Vienna, Stella, and the other magnificent ladies who are part of the bachelorette trip, which takes place in rugged territory in Nevada and the Sierras, as they hike and climb. We get to meet all the ladies, and enjoy their friendship, and bantering. I loved how each of the ladies excels at many things, making them a wonderful group. Not long after they continue on their trek, their lives are put in intense danger, with threats against them; Zale and his partner Rainer push to help the ladies.

What follows an exciting suspenseful mystery romance, with both Vienna, Zale, and her wonderful smart ladies working together to try to find who is truly behind the attempt to kill Vienna and why. As I had already noted, what made this a fantastic story was the amazing fabulous group of friends who were all smart, strong, and savvy, as their friendship was bonded together (Vienna, Stella, Raine, Zahra, Shabina, Harlow). I did like Vienna and Zale and rooted for them to stay together, as they made a great couple. I do see a possible relationship with Rainer and Shabina in future books.

Red on the River was an excellent, fun, and exciting romantic suspense thriller, that was filled with action, suspense, as well as fun bantering with the ladies. Overall, this was a great story, with a terrific couple, fantastic friends, and other secondary characters. I look forward to the next book in this series, which is so very well written by Christine Feehan.

Originally Post By Barb
The Reading Cafe

[kmartin802_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

While not listed as part of a series, RED ON THE RIVER stars many of the same characters as the author's recent MURDER AT SUNRISE LAKE. This time the band of fast friends are getting ready to celebrate Stella's wedding by taking part in lots of outdoor adventures that are on her wishlist. But first, Vienna Mortenson is scheduled to play in a big poker tournament in Las Vegas.Vienna Mortenson is a surgical nurse, head of her county's search and rescue, beautiful and brilliant and has a psychic gift that lets her see what cards her opponents have which makes it easy for her to win big bucks at poker. She usually plays online using the money to support her hospital and the local search and rescue efforts along with building her own retirement nest egg. Zale Vizzini met Vienna during the first case and then they had a six-week romance while spending time camping. Then he disappeared back to his secret life as an undercover operative breaking Vienna's heart. Now he's back investigating in the same hotel where Vienna is and wants to get back together. But he's keeping secrets which doesn't incline Vienna to want to take a second chance on him.However, as Vienna becomes the target of someone who wants her dead, she needs to depend on Zale and her girl pack to survive. It isn't often that one reads a romantic suspense title with a glossary, but this story had two. First of all, there were rather complete depictions of the Texas Hold Em tournament games with its required vocabulary. Second, the specific vocabulary of rock climbing was used when the girls began their outdoor adventures for stella's pre-wedding adventures. Fans of Feehan's work with likely enjoy this story despite the fact that the girl pack is all filled with larger-than-life characters - beautiful, brilliant, talented in many ways but with secrets that give them a hint of vulnerability. I also had a little problem with Vienna's psychic gift. While I could accept her gift in face-to-face poker games, I had more trouble believing that her talent as described would work in an online environment. Suspend disbelief and read this one for the adventure and for the romance.