THE AMERICAN

An American woman abroad finds inner strength and new romance in this globe-trotting adventure.

At the beginning of River’s debut novel, Kelly Morrison is at a professional and personal dead end. After almost seven years in low-level jobs at a Minneapolis advertising firm, she realizes that she’s never going to be promoted to copywriter. Kelly is also tired of looking at her handsome boss, Percy Loomis, who lured her into a one-night stand before marrying someone else. So when her best friend, Yang Qing, invites her to his wedding in China, she decides to go early and spend six weeks at a retreat in a castle-turned-monastery. But one day, she stumbles over Li, the 10-year-old son of the monastery’s maid, in a corridor. When she tries to reunite the boy with his mother, she and Li see and hear things that they shouldn’t—and within minutes, they’re both on the run. She manages to meet up with Qing, who introduces her to his Australian friend Durango Trunk, a resourceful—and very attractive—tour guide. Kelly just wants to get to a branch of the American Embassy, but Durango proposes fleeing to India instead. Kelly’s decision kicks off a breakneck international journey, complete with car chases, mudslides, amazing scenery, explosions, and daring rescues—and although she and Durango are keeping secrets from each other, their mutual attraction becomes undeniable. River’s tightly plotted and suspenseful novel is also well researched, with engaging facts about hydroelectricity, chemistry, and Chinese history woven organically into the narrative. Some elements of River’s story feel implausible, however; for example, if all the monks running the monastery’s retreat center were as creepy and hostile as Kelly describes them, few visitors would stay there. In addition, Durango’s backstory seems too good to be true, even for a romantic hero. Still, both leads are so likable, and the plot so exciting, that readers will forgive some far-fetched elements.

A propulsive and compelling international thriller.