Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Jan 2017
304 pages
Genre: Thrillers
Publication Information
A high stakes drama set against the harsh beauty of the Maine wilderness, charting the journey of four friends as they fight to survive the aftermath of a white water rafting accident, The River at Night is a nonstop and unforgettable thriller by a stunning new voice in fiction.
Winifred Allen needs a vacation.
Stifled by a soul-crushing job, devastated by the death of her beloved brother, and lonely after the end of a fifteen-year marriage, Wini is feeling vulnerable. So when her three best friends insist on a high-octane getaway for their annual girls' trip, she signs on, despite her misgivings.
What starts out as an invigorating hiking and rafting excursion in the remote Allagash Wilderness soon becomes an all-too-real nightmare: A freak accident leaves the women stranded, separating them from their raft and everything they need to survive. When night descends, a fire on the mountainside lures them to a ramshackle camp that appears to be their lifeline. But as Wini and her friends grasp the true intent of their supposed saviors, long buried secrets emerge and lifelong allegiances are put to the test. To survive, Wini must reach beyond the world she knows to harness an inner strength she never knew she possessed.
With intimately observed characters, visceral prose, and pacing as ruthless as the river itself, The River at Night is a dark exploration of creatures - both friend and foe - that you won't soon forget.
"Set over five days, this adventure tests the women's friendship while also depicting their resilience. Fans of John Dickey's Deliverance will enjoy this current take on the wilderness survival tale." - Publishers Weekly
"The wilderness adventure part of this book is excellent; the heart-of-darkness horror movie in the third act less so. Still, you won't put it down." - Kirkus
"In the tradition of James Dickey's Deliverance, this exciting survival tale by the author of Repeaters hooks from the first page, but it is the strong character development that really stands out. Wini is a compelling heroine, a flawed woman whose fears and regrets are fleshed out by flashbacks throughout the narrative. The friendships among the four women are well drawn and believable." - Library Journal
"The River at Night is both a haunting, twisting thrill-ride through the Maine wilderness, and a story of friendship, humanity, and the will to survive. Terrifyingly real and impossible to put down." - New York Times bestselling author Megan Miranda)
"Raw, relentless and heart-poundingly real, this book knocked me off my feet like a river in spate." - New York Times bestselling author Ruth Ware
"Erica Ferencik expertly captures the wild, untouched Maine landscape and the ferocity of both nature and humankind." - New York Times bestselling author Jennifer McMahon
"Terrifying and wholly visceral, The River at Night will leave you gasping, your heart racing, eyes peering over your shoulder to see what follows from behind. Take a deep breath before you begin because it's the last you'll have until you're through." - New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Mary Kubica
"The River at Night is a dark, twisting, unrelenting thriller that kept me frantically turning the pages well into the night. Erica Ferencik skillfully combines jolting plot twists, lyrical prose, and a beautifully brutal setting, cementing The River at Night as my favorite debut novel of the year." - New York Times bestselling author Heather Gudenkauf
"With a title like The River at Night, the plot had to be swift and twisting, yet what enraptured me completely was Wini's bigger triumph over the wilderness of the heart, a vivid journey amplified by a deeply textured depiction of both the devastating and glorious ways that true friendship can tear us down ... and build us back up again. Ferencik's writing pulses with a dangerous energy akin to the river she depicts." - New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Vicki Pettersson
"The River at Night is a white water thrill ride to be sure. But it's more than than that. Erica Ferencik digs deep into friendship, midlife angst, and how we can surprise ourselves when the worst things happen...I pulled for her the whole way, through all the rapids, all the bends and twists of this terrific debut." - New York Times bestselling author Lisa Unger
This information about The River at Night was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Erica Ferencik is a graduate of the MFA program in Creative Writing at Boston University. Her work has appeared in Salon and The Boston Globe, as well as on National Public Radio. Find out more on her website EricaFerencik.com
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