The River [Paperback]

Cheryl Kaye Tardif (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 24, 2005

The South Nahanni River has a history of mysterious deaths, disappearances and headless corpses, but it may also hold the key to humanity's survival... or its destruction.

Seven years ago, Del Hawthorne's father and three of his friends disappeared near the Nahanni River and were presumed dead. When one of the missing men stumbles onto the University grounds, alive but barely recognizable and aging before her eyes, Del is shocked. Especially when the man tells her something inconceivable. Her father is still alive!

Gathering a group of volunteers, Del travels to the Nahanni River to rescue her father. There, she finds a secret river that plunges her into a technologically advanced world of nanobots and painful serums. Del uncovers a conspiracy of unimaginable horror, a plot that threatens to destroy us all. Will humanity be sacrificed for the taste of eternal life?

"Cheryl Kaye Tardif has once again captivated readers in her third novel and latest suspense thriller, The River. Set in the wilds of Canada's north, The River combines intrigue, science, love and adventure and is sure to keep readers clamoring for more."
-Heather Andrews Miller, Edmonton Sun

"Exciting and vivid. Tardif's latest novel sweeps readers along into uncharted, wild Canadian territory. A thrilling adventure where science sniffs harder, desperate to find the fountain-of-youth."
-Christina Francine, Midwest Book Review

"A wild river ride of tension, intrigue and romance as a motley crew of adventurers take you on a search for a man of the past who holds the key to the future, and the secret to eternal youth and power. Hang on--it's going to be a bumpy ride! Excellent read!"
-S.L. Bartlett, Silver Moon Magazine

To view Cheryl's events: www.cherylktardif.com/events.htm

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A gripping combination of suspense, sci-fi and adventure...a cross between Michael Crichton's Timeline and Dan Brown's Angels & Demons." -- Matt Scofield, a fan

"A killer of a thriller...settle in for a wild and captivating ride...a gritty, perfect-for-our-times, bestseller-quality novel. -- Beverly J. Scott ~ Author of Jenafs Choice, Ruth Fever and Righteous Revenge http://www.beverlyjscott.com

A wild river ride of tension, intrigue and romance...Hang on--it's going to be a bumpy ride! Excellent read! -- S.L. Bartlett, Silver Moon Magazine

Exciting and vivid. Tardiff's latest novel sweeps readers along into uncharted, wild Canadian territory. A thrilling adventure... -- Christina Francine, Midwest Book Review

Tardif has...captivated readers...The River combines intrigue, science, love and adventure...sure to keep readers clamoring for more. -- Heather Andrews Miller, Edmonton Sun

From the Author

One of my mother's friends had a dream to travel along a mysterious river in Canada. When my mother told me some of the rumors of this river'the name of which she couldn't remember, I became hooked and a chilling story began to brew in my mind. The search was on to find that river.

The South Nahanni River in Canada's rugged Northwest Territories is one of the most spectacular sights in the world. It is fraught with exquisite beauty and hidden dangers. It is also filled with an abundance of plant and animal life¯not to mention, woven with legends older than dirt, as my husband would say.

This may be the river to which my motherfs friend was referring. Or it may not. Nevertheless, the Nahanni River holds many secrets. Decades ago headless skeletons and corpses were discovered along its banks. Over the years, people have gone missing, and I've heard it referred to as the Bermuda Triangle of Canada.

Although THE RIVER is interwoven with fact, this novel is a work of factcand fiction.

Ifll let you be the judge of which is which.

Take the ride of your life, downTHE RIVER!

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 252 pages
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing (September 24, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1412062292
• ISBN-13: 978-1412062299
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,984,263 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Cheryl Kaye Tardif ~ Canadian Suspense with a Killer Twist

Booklist raves, "Tardif, already a big hit in Canada...a name to reckon with south of the border."

Cheryl Kaye Tardif is a bestselling Canadian suspense author who enthusiastically tackles sensitive questions and terrifying scenarios that most people don't like to even think about. From psychic investigators, abuse in the foster care system, serial killers, fountain of youth serums, nanotechnology, conspiracies, bullying, racism, assisted suicide, child abductions, sexual assault, alcoholism, drug addiction, mind control and more, she delves into the human psyche and picks at our worst fears.

"One doesn't simply read a Tardif story, one experiences it!" --Betty Dravis, author of Dream Reachers

Cheryl's published novels include:

* Divine Justice (2011 ebook & trade paperbcak) TBR
* Divine Intervention (2011 ebook & trade paperback)
* Children of the Fog (2011 ebook & trade paperback)
* Whale Song (2010 trade paperback)
* Skeletons in the Closet & Other Creepy Stories (2010 ebook)
* Lancelot's Lady (2010 ebook)
* Remote Control (2010, ebook)
* The River (2010, ebook)
* Divine Intervention (2010, ebook)
* Whale Song (2010, ebook)
* Whale Song (2007, out of print, trade paperback)
* The River (2005, trade paperback)
* Divine Intervention (2004, trade paperback)
* Whale Song (2003, out of print first edition, trade paperback)

Cheryl's upcoming supernatural thriller Children of the Fog explores a parent's worse nightmare. 'You have ten seconds to make a decision: let a madman take your child, or watch your son die. Choose!'

Divine Justice, the second in the Divine psychic mystery series, is slated for release in May 2011. Cheryl is now working on a new thriller.

In September 2010, Cheryl branched out into the romance genre as Cherish D'Angelo, author of the award winning contemporary romantic suspense, Lancelot's Lady.

Born in Vancouver, BC, Canada, Cheryl Kaye Tardif was a 'military brat' and a 'military wife' who has lived all across Canada and in Bermuda. She now resides in Edmonton, Alberta, with her husband Marc, her daughter Jessica and the family dog.

"Cheryl Kaye Tardif specializes in mile-a-minute pot-boiler mysteries." --Edmonton Sun

http://www.cherylktardif.com
http://www.cherishdangelo.com

http://www.cherylktardif.blogspot.com
http://www.twitter.com/cherylktardif

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Plunge into "The River" for a thrilling adventure! Get carried away by the flow of Tardif's magical prose!, March 15, 2008

By 

Betty L. Dravis "BETTY DRAVIS, author/reviewer" (Silicon Valley, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The River (Paperback)

Before deciding to purchase The River, I read the author's blog. At first I thought this book was a true story because she wrote the blog synopsis in first person, but at the end she admitted this really didn't happen to her; it was simply a clever lure to garner more interest.

And it worked for me! Author Cheryl Kaye Tardif hooked me from the first sentence. I couldn't wait to read it. Having already read and raved over her later release, Whale Song: A Novel, I knew I would like The River, but didn't think anything could come up to Whale.

How wrong I was! This book is outstanding, too, and I'm learning that all of this author's works are brilliant.

The superb writing in The River flowed along smoothly, as naturally as the Mississippi River; then as the story progressed it picked up speed and energy like the turbulent white-water of the Colorado. All of that with some of the exotic features brought to mind by the mighty, mysterious Amazon River. Wow--what a book!

The story opens seven years after Professor of Anthropology Del Hawthorne learns of her father's disappearance and presumed death. Del is stunned when one of the men who went with him on a mysterious mission near Canada's legendary Nahanni River, stumbles into her University office. He's half-dead, but before passing out he manages to give her a coded journal and inform her that her father is still alive.

Even though Del is in remission from multiple sclerosis, she is determined to venture into the rugged territories surrounding the dangerous Nahanni River to find the truth and bring her father and any other survivors home. Along with a sturdy, hand-selected group of brainy men and women, they set off on the adventure of their lives--an adventure which some won't survive.

There are thrills aplenty in this novel: headless corpses on the banks of the Nahanni, hi-tech machinery, underground labs, secret caves, and time-travel into the near future. How does all that affect our brave adventurers? And who is trying to sabotage their rescue efforts? Could there be a spy in their midst? What happens to Del when someone steals her MS medication? What does the "fountain of youth" have to do with her father and his research? Will she find him alive? And how does the year 2031 fit into the scheme of things?

And YES, dear reader, there's a big romance! But is Jake to be trusted? Will they find true love, or is he working with the evil "Director," using Del for his own selfish purposes?

In order to give nothing of the plot away, I always advise you to RFY (and by now you should know that means Read For Yourself). I promise it will be an outstanding reading adventure.

Author Cheryl Kaye Tardif is a true wordsmith, writing fluently while making it seem easy. Her plot is well-paced, with characters so believable the reader cares what happens to them, and above all, her imagination soars. This is a true high-concept story.

I invite you to plunge into this intriguing story ... head-first or feet-first, it doesn't matter. You're in for an absorbing adventure--with more twists and turns than the Nahanni River itself--and a surprising, yet satisfying ending that leaves you gasping for more.

Reviewed by Betty Dravis, 2008
Millennium Babe: The Prophecy

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The chilling secret of the Nahanni, August 20, 2007

By 

Amanda Richards (Georgetown, Guyana) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The River (Paperback)

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, August 20, 2007

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "The River" by Canadian author Cheryl Kaye Tardif, June 13, 2008

By 

Linda Mercier - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The River (Paperback)

Del Hawthorne's dad had been dead these past 7 years. Del believed it. Everyone did! They'd even had a funeral. But when her father's closest friend unexpectedly shows up in her office, and has an incredible tale to tell, Del now knew her father was alive after all! A motley crew: Del's former lover; a handsome doctor and his assistant; Del's assistant; a cryptographer and a computer programmer; their Native guide, and of course, Del herself, travel to the Nahanni River in Canada's Northwest Territories to find her father. From the moment they first arrive at the Nahanni, to the final page, the book is a roller coaster ride, building momentum and going faster and faster. Then there's a loop-de-loop and you're sure the roller coaster has derailed. Nope. Within just a few pages it's back on track, and you're in for an even wilder and more thrilling ride! A definite "must read" from Cheryl Kaye Tardif!