Thrillers & Suspense
![Christine Feehan - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B001H6QA46.jpg)
Red on the River
#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....
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....
Editorial Reviews
"Bestseller Feehan (Murder at Sunrise Lake) fires on all cylinders with this expertly wrought romantic suspense novel...This dazzling thrill-ride proves impossible to resist."-Publishers Weekly, starred review
"A very intense, pull you in from the first page, read."-Fresh Fiction
"An excellent, fun and exciting romance suspense thriller, that was filled with action, suspense, as well as the fun bantering with the ladies."-The Reading Cafe
"A solid must-read...this suspense kept me turning page after page."-La Crimson Femme
"If there's one thing you can count on with a Christine Feehan book is that it will be great, she never disappoints her readers. It's a thrill-ride from the beginning, with characters you care about and root for...You can never go wrong with a Feehan book."-Red Carpet Crash
"A very intense, pull you in from the first page, read."-Fresh Fiction
"An excellent, fun and exciting romance suspense thriller, that was filled with action, suspense, as well as the fun bantering with the ladies."-The Reading Cafe
"A solid must-read...this suspense kept me turning page after page."-La Crimson Femme
"If there's one thing you can count on with a Christine Feehan book is that it will be great, she never disappoints her readers. It's a thrill-ride from the beginning, with characters you care about and root for...You can never go wrong with a Feehan book."-Red Carpet Crash
Readers Top Reviews
Kindle Bingew
Christine Feehan has done an extraordinary job including drama, plot twists, and girl power to this tale. Drama in the form of murder and mayhem. Plot twists in the form of the different senarios, characters and and who is doing what. Girl power in the form of each individual female has her own strengths, characteristics and together form a solid and cohesive unit who take no prisoners.
GibsonKindle
Book was good ,the plot was interesting but there was a lot of description which I got tired of reading.
Maureen GianinioM
Christine brings it all in this Romantic Suspense Mystery. You experience the tension and pull of high stakes poker, exhilaration of bouldering & trail biking in places like Red Rock Canyon, kayaking The Colorado River, &more! If you're looking for adventure, intrigue that keeps you guessing who what where & when, strong women & friendships, & bossy alpha males, it's in there with several OMG moments and paranormal touches of psychic gifts. . “It’s not the cards you’re dealt it's how you play the hand.” Is a quote I’ve seen paraphrased many times. It fits this book and the journey the characters are on figuratively and literally. . Literally by our main character, Vienna, in Vegas for a high stakes poker tournament! And figuratively through out the romantic suspense storyline, navigating their relationship, the mysteries to solve, the dangers to face, action to take, karma to deliver! . Vienna has a knack for knowing how to play her hand, helped along by a psychic gift showing her the best direction to go, weighing the odds. You definitely get the vibe not everyone is thrilled by how well she does. As the reader you’re caught up in the realization Vienna and Zale had a previous romance, the sexual tension and physical attraction heat things up, there’s no conflict in this part of things! The abundance of happens behind closed doors but nothing is missing in the story without it. This second chance romance finds its heart-grabbing internal conflicts in her resistance to trust men, even she’s not sure where it comes from. And his loyalty to almost a fault to his top-secret high-risk job, called a Ghost, that has him wondering how to make a relationship work and keeping secrets, like why he walked off and left her before...and other secrets, I don’t want to spoil, I’ll tell you that it will give you omg moments, which obviously doesn’t make him easy to trust! . The relationship is well written, interactions flow naturally around the suspense plotline, the flow between them fits their circumstances and the conflicts they face, how they try to play their hand because of them, and growth and change fits, isn’t rushed, and has those OMG moments of revelation! You are hoping for their HEA one minute and dropping your jaw yelling at the page the next! I love a storyline that doesn’t make it all easy! . It really doesn’t make it any easier to overcome their internal conflicts with the external conflicts they face in the middle of murders and violence. You start out feeling as if the main danger is tied to our hero…the mystery tied up in his job. Some danger starts targeting Vienna, is it connected to Zale’s assignments or something to do with her victory at the table? Are they connected, how would they be? . Leaving Zale to his assignment after her tournament ends, Vienna connects with her friends fo...
Short Excerpt Teaser
Chapter One
Vienna Mortenson pushed her shiny key into the private elevator to take her to the floor where her suite was located. She had never been impressed with money. Never. She preferred camping outdoors to hotels, no matter how luxurious they were, and casinos were not her thing. Being a nurse and seeing time and again what cigarettes could do to people, she despised the smell of them. Just walking through a casino floor made her want to tell all those people smoking what was inevitably going to happen to them. Yet here she was, being impressed with this particular hotel.
The Northern Lights Hotel and Casino was owned by billionaire Daniel J. Wallin. Vienna was aware that he had partners, but Wallin had started the hotel; it was his concept and he owned the majority of shares. It was rare for a single hotel to do the kind of business that his did. It was popular, full to capacity at all times. The twice-a-year gambling tournaments drew the biggest names and had some of the biggest returns, which was one of the reasons she had decided to participate even though it required her to be there in person.
Normally, Vienna competed online. She'd built her reputation through her username luckypersiancat. She'd managed to pay for her mother's cancer treatments. Her mother still lived in Vegas with her partner, and Vienna paid her rent using her gambling money. She'd put herself through nursing school. She owned a nice house in Knightly, where she resided with her Persian cat, Princess. She'd put quite a bit away for retirement and invested most of the rest of her winnings. She gave a great deal of the money to the local hospital and also invested in search and rescue gear for the county she lived in. She had established a scholarship program for single mothers with children. She'd been careful to stay under the gambling radar, living and working in Knightly at the local hospital. She was also head of Search and Rescue for the county.
"Honey, hold that elevator," a voice called out.
Vienna turned. She didn't particularly like to be addressed as "honey" by total strangers, but the gentleman calling out to her was older. He looked to be about seventy, with thick gray hair and faded blue eyes. He did look fit, even though he walked with a cane. She flicked a quick, assessing glance over him to see what his injury might be. He didn't appear to have one. He wasn't actually limping or even leaning heavily on the cane. He wasn't even walking with it correctly. He did have a key to the elevator in his hand, so she held the door.
She looked past him to the man behind him and her breath caught in her lungs. Everything in her stilled. She nearly let go of the door. Zale Vizzini. The moment she saw him, she could taste him. The way he kissed. Feel him inside her. The way he moved. The way he filled her. No one was like him. No one ever would be again. Her eyes met his, and she caught the little shake of his head. It was almost imperceptible. His hand lifted to his chest and he waved her off-again, the smallest movement.
Vienna flashed a brilliant smile at the older gentleman, who was nearly to the elevator. "You know, if security is watching, I'll probably receive a visit from them."
"And rightfully so," the man said cheerfully. He stepped inside the cedar-scented elevator, hooking the cane over his arm as he did so. "I'm Wayne Forsyne. You're actually more beautiful in person than in your photograph, and I thought that was extraordinary." He completely ignored Zale slipping into the lift behind him and settling against a wall.
The doors slid shut silently and the elevator began to rise. Vienna kept her gaze steadfastly on the older man, although every nerve ending in her body was vividly aware of Zale. It was embarrassing and rather humiliating not only that she could feel his body heat when he was completely across from her but that she could feel her entire body reacting to his presence. That never happened around other men.
Deliberately, she sighed. "I suppose you're referring to that obnoxious wraparound photograph the hotel has of me along with the other tournament players going around and around the outside of the hotel and then in the lobby and again in the casino?"
"You look lovely, even more so in person."
"I think it's a ...
Vienna Mortenson pushed her shiny key into the private elevator to take her to the floor where her suite was located. She had never been impressed with money. Never. She preferred camping outdoors to hotels, no matter how luxurious they were, and casinos were not her thing. Being a nurse and seeing time and again what cigarettes could do to people, she despised the smell of them. Just walking through a casino floor made her want to tell all those people smoking what was inevitably going to happen to them. Yet here she was, being impressed with this particular hotel.
The Northern Lights Hotel and Casino was owned by billionaire Daniel J. Wallin. Vienna was aware that he had partners, but Wallin had started the hotel; it was his concept and he owned the majority of shares. It was rare for a single hotel to do the kind of business that his did. It was popular, full to capacity at all times. The twice-a-year gambling tournaments drew the biggest names and had some of the biggest returns, which was one of the reasons she had decided to participate even though it required her to be there in person.
Normally, Vienna competed online. She'd built her reputation through her username luckypersiancat. She'd managed to pay for her mother's cancer treatments. Her mother still lived in Vegas with her partner, and Vienna paid her rent using her gambling money. She'd put herself through nursing school. She owned a nice house in Knightly, where she resided with her Persian cat, Princess. She'd put quite a bit away for retirement and invested most of the rest of her winnings. She gave a great deal of the money to the local hospital and also invested in search and rescue gear for the county she lived in. She had established a scholarship program for single mothers with children. She'd been careful to stay under the gambling radar, living and working in Knightly at the local hospital. She was also head of Search and Rescue for the county.
"Honey, hold that elevator," a voice called out.
Vienna turned. She didn't particularly like to be addressed as "honey" by total strangers, but the gentleman calling out to her was older. He looked to be about seventy, with thick gray hair and faded blue eyes. He did look fit, even though he walked with a cane. She flicked a quick, assessing glance over him to see what his injury might be. He didn't appear to have one. He wasn't actually limping or even leaning heavily on the cane. He wasn't even walking with it correctly. He did have a key to the elevator in his hand, so she held the door.
She looked past him to the man behind him and her breath caught in her lungs. Everything in her stilled. She nearly let go of the door. Zale Vizzini. The moment she saw him, she could taste him. The way he kissed. Feel him inside her. The way he moved. The way he filled her. No one was like him. No one ever would be again. Her eyes met his, and she caught the little shake of his head. It was almost imperceptible. His hand lifted to his chest and he waved her off-again, the smallest movement.
Vienna flashed a brilliant smile at the older gentleman, who was nearly to the elevator. "You know, if security is watching, I'll probably receive a visit from them."
"And rightfully so," the man said cheerfully. He stepped inside the cedar-scented elevator, hooking the cane over his arm as he did so. "I'm Wayne Forsyne. You're actually more beautiful in person than in your photograph, and I thought that was extraordinary." He completely ignored Zale slipping into the lift behind him and settling against a wall.
The doors slid shut silently and the elevator began to rise. Vienna kept her gaze steadfastly on the older man, although every nerve ending in her body was vividly aware of Zale. It was embarrassing and rather humiliating not only that she could feel his body heat when he was completely across from her but that she could feel her entire body reacting to his presence. That never happened around other men.
Deliberately, she sighed. "I suppose you're referring to that obnoxious wraparound photograph the hotel has of me along with the other tournament players going around and around the outside of the hotel and then in the lobby and again in the casino?"
"You look lovely, even more so in person."
"I think it's a ...
