Member Reviews

Another thoroughly enjoyable novel from this author. Yet again I couldn't put the book down and am looking forward to reading more of her work.

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Kendra Elliot never disappoints. Not once. I thoroughly enjoyed this small town mystery / suspense / police procedural. I also really loved the cross over with the Mercy Kilpatrick series which is another favorite of mine from Kendra Elliot. She truly writes such relatable characters & makes you care. Then has you in the edge of your seat to see find out what’s going to happen. Highly recommend this one!

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Reading this book was like watching a movie. It has fbi and forensics, and suspense. It's a book in a series. It was really good and enjoyable. It held my attention the entire book, it had me at the edge of my seat.

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At the River was another fantastic installment in the Columbia River series where we follow Mercy and Truman as they investigate two similar crimes twenty years apart.

Twenty years ago five teenagers disappeared while camping and only two came back with just one surviving the ordeal. As the only survivor, Devin Bonner should have been able to tell the police what happened but Devin has never recovered his memories of that time. When a true-crime podcaster is found murdered at the same location the original teenagers were found at, the local police decide to bring in the FBI. FBI Special Agent Mercy Kilpatrick and her husband, Police Chief Truman Daly begin searching for connections between the two cases leading their family right into the path of a killer.

The mystery in At the River was an interesting one and I wondered how the two cases would be connected. The original case involved five friends who went camping and eventually two of them were left on a riverbank for dead while the other three were never found. The present case is about a true-crime podcaster, who was researching the old case, that was found dead on the same riverbank twenty years later. I enjoyed Mercy and Truman's investigation into both cases as it went in several directions I wasn't expecting. A number of suspects pop up throughout the book and although I was right about some of what happened, I was ultimately surprised by the identity of the killer.

The Mercy Kilpatrick series is my favorite series by this author so I was excited that we got another book following their characters. Mercy and Truman are adorable as a married couple, I love how much they get each other. Their family plays a big role in this book as Truman's adopted son Ollie is heavily involved in the plot. I liked that Ollie got a bigger role in this book as I feel like he hasn't gotten a lot of page time in the last few books. His relationship with Truman is fantastic and it's really showcased in At the River. I also enjoyed the connection he forms with Devin, the survivor of the original case, as it went in several directions I hadn't expected.

Overall At the River was a solid addition to the series and I'm looking forward to reading the next book, The Next Grave, when it releases later this year.

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Kendra Elliot has the ability to create a story and characters that will pull you in and keep you reading late into the night. This is a must read and it is part of a series so I would recommend you start with the first in the series to better understand the characters.
Trust me you will not be disappointed.

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At the River is the 5th book in the Columbia River series and 8th in the Mercy Kilpatrick series. In this book, Police Chief Truman Daly is called when a body is found on the shore of the Columbia River in the Oregon Forest. The man who has been killed was left in the same manner at two bodies found in the same spot twenty years ago. Five teenagers went missing, 3 were never found and of the two found on the shore of the river, 1 survived. Devin Bonner survived but with brain damage. He has no memory of the events after highschool graduation and has developed face blindness. He is the only link to the cold cases, and with nothing else to go on, FBI agent Mercy Kilpatrick and Detective Noelle Marshall contact him and his mother to see if they can help him remember. When the dead man's wife is shot at, and Devin's mother is attacked, the investigation picks up. Ollie and Devin become friends but when they are also attacked, all the local police departments are called in. Can they solve both the cold case and the recent murderer before someone else ends up dead?

In my opinion, At the River is the best book in this series so far. I like that these stories have well developed mysteries/crimes as well as getting to know the main characters and their personal lives. the relationship between Ollie and Truman has grown to the point where Truman wants to adopt the young man and already considers him his son. This means he will pull out all the stops when something happens to him. Mercy is an excellent character with her calm demeanor, intuition, and investigation skills. Truman is the same, and together they are a great team. I liked the addition of Noelle to the team in this book, and she and Mercy played off one another well. At the River is a well-developed and plotted story. It kept my attention from beginning to end and I was anxious to see how this played out. There were several twists in the last quarter of this book, some that had my jaw dropping. An excellent addition to this series.

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I throughly enjoyed this book! I really enjoy any type of thriller. I loved this one because it dealed with cold cases and murders. It quickly pulls the reader in and I could not put this one down. It was well written and flowed really nicely. I highly recommend!

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This is the fifth book in this six book series and the first I'd read, but I didn't feel lost. The author did a great job introducing the characters and giving just enough back story to acclimate new readers. I'm now a fan and plan on reading more in this series.

Truman and Mercy are two of the main characters - Truman is the police chief and Mercy works with the FBI. Another main character is Ollie, who lives by himself since his father disappeared. His parents were survivalists who didn't approve of much education, so Ollie is taking classes at home.

Twenty years before the events of this book, five teenagers disappeared. Some were found murdered. The only current survivor has little memory of what happened and also has a condition that prevents him from identifying people by sight. Now it appears that someone is re-enacting the murders.

I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher Montlake via Netgalley, and voluntarily read and reviewed it.

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This book is full of intense scenes.
The mystery part was pretty good.
I mostly loved how Truman and Mercy gave Ollie a family.
Loved the surprise ending which was a major revelations] for Ollie.
Everybody wants to know they belong somewhere.
I look forward to the next one in the chronicles of this couple.

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Another twisty and fabulous installment from Kendra Elliot! This book was so fun to read, the twists kept me frantically turning the pages. The conclusion was action packed and full of surprises. I enjoyed this one very much!

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I am a big fan of Kendra Elliot and I really enjoy all her series, but the Mercy Kilpatrick series is one of my favorites, so I am so happy that this series included those characters. They are so cleverly written and keep you guessing throughout the story, it is not easy to figure things out early. Elliot does a good job of the reader not knowing things before she wants us to know things.

I enjoy these books so much and cannot wait until the next one is released.

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This is a good continuation to the series. The characters are what make this novel entertaining to read. Truman is a competent police chief of a small community and Mercy an FBI agent. These novels have continued the personal lives of Truman and Mercy with much about Ollie in this one. The mystery plot combined the investigation of a twenty year old murder and a current one very similar. I liked all the investigative procedure. I am not sure, however, that in the end the plot worked out well. It just seemed unreasonable to me.

I like mysteries that take place in the Pacific Northwest with this one being in the central Oregon area. Eliot's writing style is clear and the action moves along at a relatively good pace. I have become invested in the lives of the characters and will be watching for the next in the series.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

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So nice to have another Mercy Kilpatrick book to read. I find her series to be unique, while this is not her series, it has the same feeling to it. This was a captivated from the beginning and could not finish it fast enough. I love that in a book. Looking forward to the next.

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Elliot’s writing takes you into the lives of these characters so you’re right up in the action. She has you guessing from the very beginning. I truly enjoy Mercy as a FMC. I was so happy I received this ARC read as she has always been a favorite.

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This is another stunning addition to the Mercy Kilpatrick series by author Kendra Elliot. With a pulse pounding pace, the action is non- stop until the very last page. Definitely a must read.

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A dead body is found at the river and it's eerily similar to how two people were found twenty years ago. Five teenagers went camping and only two were found, both bound and with their throats slit like the body at the river. One of those teenagers miraculously survived but now it seems like someone may be targeting him for things he can't remember from twenty years ago, or can he?

This was another great story by Kendra Elliot. I love Mercy, Truman, and Ollie. This story kept me guessing until the end and I would recommend it for anyone that likes a good police procedural.

At the River is the 5th book in the Columbia River Series. It also has some characters from Kendra's Mercy Kilpatrick Series. Each book can be read as a standalone, but I'd recommend reading all of them, especially the Mercy Kilpatrick Series.

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Another five star read from Kendra Elliot. I love this series, every book feels like meeting up with old friends. I definately didnt see the twist coming at the end of At the river. Twenty five years ago a terrible crime happened when a bunch of teenagers went missing. Two of the teenagers were found bound and left for dead, at the columbia rivers shore. Fortunately Devin survived although the trauma left him with memory issues. So he couldnt tell anyone what happened. When a true crime podcaster who was investigating the cold case turns up dead at the same spot. Bound and gagged Mercy and Truman are on the case, along with Noelle. When Devins mother is attacked the case hots up.
While at the hospital Mercy and Trueman see how well Devin gets on with Ollie. Its decided that Ollie will stay with Devin in a hotel room for safety. When another podcaster is found dead outside the hotel room. Mercy and Trueman have to work out who wants Devin dead and why.
Kendra Elliot takes the reader on a rollercoaster ride right till the end. With twists galore.

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Absolutely love this books. The character’s was well developed. The story line was good. Although I was able to predict what would happen this good was still good. And the ending to this book was so sweet.

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First Kendra Elliot book for me and looking forward to reading the rest of this series and more!

Keeping track of the characters was slightly tricky, but I enjoyed the multiple POV and timelines.
Plenty of twists and turns to keep me engaged and a WOW ending.
Will be recommending this author and adding more of her work to my TBR immediately.

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At The River is book 8 in the Mercy Kirkpatrick series by Kendra Elliot. I'm not sure how I've missed this series until now, but wow I'm glad I found it! The characters of FBI Special Agent Mercy Kirkpatrick and her husband, Police Chief Truman Daly are memorable and I want more! Truman and Mercy have a daughter, Kaylie and a "son", Ollie. Ollie is an orphan who saved Truman from sure death and the two became quite close. Ollie has lived with Mercy and Truman ever since. The family has never been happier.

Ollie is out snowmobiling when a woman comes running from the woods screaming. He stops to see what she's so upset about. The woman is upset because she says her husband is missing from their home and she found a lot of blood. Ollie puts a call in to Truman once he gets to a spot where he has a signal. Not long after Mercy is out on a call with local police investigating a shooting at a power plant. While there, the policeman gets a call about a body found by the river. Mercy offers to go with the man as he's not used to dead bodies in his small town.

The body found is a true crime podcaster and the woman's husband that waved down Ollie. He was investigating a case from 20 years ago where 5 teenagers who were camping disappeared. Two of them turned up in the exact location the podcaster's body was found. One was dead with his throat slashed and the other was left for dead with similar injuries that weren't as deep. Devin Bonner is the boy that survived. He now lives with his mother, rarely leaves the house, and can't remember anything from the night of the murder or his friends. He has no idea who killed his friend and no idea what happened to the other 3 teens.

When Mercy and Truman question Devin it's obvious he can't remember anything. After the visit to his home, Devin starts having nightmares with glimpses of memory coming through. When he wakes up in the morning he can't remember anything. He's so frustrated as he wants to help. Truman brings Ollie with him to see Devin when Devin's mother is attacked. Ollie and Devin hit it off even though the age difference is 20 years. They both love Star Trek, video games, and movies. Truman has never seen Devin so animated and happy as he is with Ollie. Ollie volunteers to stay with Devin while his mother recovers in the hospital.

Is Ollie safe with Devin? Is Devin telling the truth about not being able to remember anything? Why does Devin never seem to remember anyone from day to day? Is he that good an actor? When attacks continue it becomes clear that someone is trying to eliminate anyone that might know something from 20 years ago. The podcaster stirred up memories from years ago and contacted many people in town. Who did he contact that is now killing people? This book keeps you glued to the pages and you won't be able to put it down when you get closer to the truth. Will Mercy and Truman discover the truth before someone else dies? Will they be able to keep their family safe? I absolutely loved this book and can't wait for the next in the series! I rate At The River 5 stars with my very highest recommendation. I don't think you'll find a series with a family like this and they will suck you in wanting more! I'd like to thank NetGalley and Montlake/Amazon Publishing for an advanced copy of At The River in exchange for a fair review. #AtTheRiver

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