River of Tears is about a woman's struggle as she searches for her missing husband, which leads to shocking revelations about him, his family, and the crime of adult kidnapping.
Abby meets Caiden when she is sixteen years old and knows she has met her soul mate. At nineteen Abby marries the love of her life and together they begin a family of their own. Life gives them a gift, but this gift is short lived. After seven years of marriage it ends.
Abby is left alone with her two children and the bloody clothes that Caiden was last seen in. With the horrifying revelations from her mother in law Abby sets out to prove her husband is indeed alive and that he's been taken against his will by his mother, brothers, and sisters in a sick and twisted game of keep-away.
Knowing her husband isn't dead, Abby, with the help and support of her family, begins a search that takes her from Arizona to Arkansas and lasts for a span of eight years.
On a visit to Caiden's birthplace, Abby and her brother Chase meet with Caiden's best friend who fills them in with the secrets of her husband's childhood and of the hell he endured. He tells them of the nightmares, the deceit, and the abuse Caiden suffered at the hands of his family.
More determined than ever to locate her husband, before his family kills him, Abby hires a private investigator who opens the doors to Caiden's private world of hell and exposes his family for what they are, but will he be on time? Will Abby be on time to save her soul mate? Can she make him want to fight one last time?
River of Tears is a tale of personal triumph over heartbreak, of unconditional love and bravery. It is a compelling modern-day story depicting how the power of love can overcome even the darkest facets of human nature. The story demonstrates how self-determination and loyalty can lead to an unimaginable accomplishment, regardless of seemingly insurmountable obstacles. It is a story of faith in the face of tremendous loss, where fear and discouragement threaten to steal the last glimmer of hope. Will this shred of hope be enough to sustain, or will it ultimately crush Abby's dreams of lasting happiness?
River of Tears will take you on a journey you will never forget, it will make you want to gather all you love close and keep them there, because we never know what's around the next corner of our lives.
Wow . . . how do you put into
words such a chilling story? Michele L. Montgomery’s “River of Tears” is
a story
that will stick with you long after you’ve finished the book. I read
this book
in two days and had a hard time putting it down. I have never read about
a
family so twisted, sickening and hateful as Caiden’s in this story.
Michele
tells her story in a very straightforward manner that makes you feel as
if
you’re going through the hell that Abby is herself fighting. The pain
Caiden
suffers at the hands of his family is utterly inhumane and sadistic and
I’m
surprised he survived at all. But his love for his wife Abby was the one
focal
point of hope that didn’t allow him to give up. Abby too, shows her
devotion to
Caiden by searching for her husband for 8 long years. This book left me
drained
just by experiencing the emotions of sheer inhumanity at the hands of
others.
This book is a great read, but it is not a light read, for sure. I
applaud
Michele for taking on the subject of adult kidnappings, something that
is
overlooked in our society. I also commend her on the content of the book
as I
imagine it could not have been easy to write. This gritty story was well
worth
the read!
Many authors can learn so much from this work. But the main lesson, and the greatest joy for me while reading this, was the emotional depth. A book doesn't have to be set somewhere fantastic or have mythical creatures roaming the pages for it to be considered magical.
"River of Tears" is magical. On so many levels.
Abby, the main character takes us on this magical, emotion charged and at times, harrowing journey. The human Spirit will not be crushed and River of...moreMany authors can learn so much from this work. But the main lesson, and the greatest joy for me while reading this, was the emotional depth. A book doesn't have to be set somewhere fantastic or have mythical creatures roaming the pages for it to be considered magical.
"River of Tears" is magical. On so many levels.
Abby, the main character takes us on this magical, emotion charged and at times, harrowing journey. The human Spirit will not be crushed and River of Tears paints this picture very well. I shall say no more for fear of spoiling what has truly been a wonderful read for me.
Rating: 4 out of 5 Twists (A Recommended Read - Above average story)
Ms. Montgomery uses strong emotions, descriptive passages, faith, and even man's ability to be cruel to man to grab and hold the reader's attention in this unusual tale of a man kidnapped by his own family and the love of his life who relentlessly searches for him. Many paragraphs brought tears to my eyes and others put a smile on my face. I was haunted by the despair of loss and then uplifted by the love of family depicted so believably as I turned the pages. I normally am not caught up in books written in first person, but River of Tears by Michele Montgomery definitely held my attention from the beginning. Not your typical romance by any means, the book is a unique and emotional love story filled with tension and unexpected occurrences. This was an above average story and I recommend it for anyone who wants something a bit different.
RIVER OF TEARS Author: Michele L. Montgomery Source: Author Submission *I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*
MY THOUGHTS:
When you hear of someone being kidnapped, you usually think of children first. In River of Tears we get to learn about adult kidnappings.
I will warn people ahead of time that this is not a light read. You will be amazed at how the author can pull you into this book and make you go through every emotion possible with just words on a page. You will experience pain, sadness, pity, hate and love throughout this book. My heart ached with every word that I read. I couldn't believe what some people could do to family. I had to put this book down several times just to get my emotions back in control. When an author can do that to you with simple words on a page, then you know you have found a great author and book.
This was such a wonderful read for me, that I can say without a doubt, that this is my favorite fictional read of 2009. This is a book that touched my heart so deeply, and one that will stay with me for a long time, that there is no words that can really describe the power of this book. I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a moving read that you will remember long after you finish reading it.
MY RATING:
Outstanding Book That Will Stay On My Bookshelf For Rereading!
Michele L. Montgomery introduces herself beautifully as a first-time
author in her suspenseful romance River of Tears. This modern-day drama
chronicles the relationship of Abby and Caiden, a young couple who
experience love at first sight and eventually marry and begin a life
together. Abby narrates the story and relates a shocking tale of
deceit, betrayal, and what appears to be abandonment. When her husband
suddenly becomes missing and seems to have vanished off the face of the
earth, Abby begins a quest to track him down and get some answers she
desperately needs for herself and her three young children. Caiden's
departure stretches into a period of years, but Abby never gives up.
The journey Abby embarks upon leads her back to Caiden's home
state--Arkansas, and she reluctantly must face head-on the family from
which she'd once before rescued her husband. Will she reach him in
time, or is she already too late?
The book is not a particularly challenging read, written in a
vernacular that is plain and understandable. Montgomery's writer's
voice is very authentic, and her characters are easy to love and easy
to identify with. The text is not without grammatical errors, but the
depth of the story and the genuineness that the author conveys seem to
outweigh any such minor flaws.
Montgomery is a natural story-teller, and she skillfully draws the
reader into her fictional world of suspense and nail-biting drama.
River of Tears will keep you up at night until the last page is turned,
and it is for this reason I proudly award it five stars.
Nikita said:
"I'm
the type of person that finds it very hard to just sit down and enjoy a
book without something popping up in my head and making me forget what
I was even reading. When I picked up "River Of Tears" I couldn't put it
down. The characters ...moreI'm the
type of person that finds it very hard to just sit down and enjoy a
book without something popping up in my head and making me forget what
I was even reading. When I picked up "River Of Tears" I couldn't put it
down. The characters in the book were amazing I could actually picture
each person and see all of them growing up and becoming more and more
stronger. The book shows you a world that a lot of people don't ever
see or even bother to understand. I would suggest this book to everyone
even if your a person that likes to act like the world it perfect
because it isn't and this author isn't afraid to show it to everyone. I
give this book a two tums up, it's a great book. And the author is just
plan out awesome she keep pushing and pushing to make her dream come
true and its finally did. She is the perfect example that dreams can
come true if you really want it bad enough.(less)
"
When
you hear about a kidnapping – the first thing that naturally comes
to ones mind is where, when and how was the child taken, is there a
chance to rescue him/her and you all pray that the child is not traumatized
in anyway possible. But what if the kidnapping is an adult kidnapping,
what if it’s done by a family member and what if no one believes you.
This is where Michele Montgomery pulls me into RIVER OF TEARS. The book
is told in total hindsight and I looking back now, I think that is the
only way I could have handled this book – the stress along would have
made me hyperventilate.
The story revolves around Abby and Caiden – from the moment they met
when they were sixteen the two were inseparably and they had six years
together that saw them learn together, grow together and form friendships
and a family together. The life they lead was the stuff of dreams, they
worked, they played and they loved together, the only fly in the ointment
of these two life was Caiden’s family. Not that Abby didn’t try
to form a bridge between the families and always extend the olive branch,
but with an inbred sense of violence and total lack of self they made
Abby grit her teeth every time they came around.
However in the interest of fostering a relationship between Caiden and
his family, Abby was willing to put up with a lot from them – she
however had to draw the line at some point, after all she had a family
to look out for. Then Caiden did not come home.
This starts a journey that took Abby and her family along with some
ultimately brothers in arms to the dead of beyond, open them up to a
world they never knew existed, hurt unlike any thing they have ever
known and expose then to a crime that so little is known about that
Abby felt like she was the only one fighting the battle to find her
husband at one point.
This my first emotional read in a long, long time. When Michele approached
me to review this book instantly it called to me. From the minimalistic
look of the cover, to the blurb and just something that said take a
chance on this one – it’s time.
I hanged on to this book with my heart in my mouth – it was everything
that I was ready to read. Meeting Caiden and Abby along with friends
and family, I grew to love them, their sprit, their drive and that naive
little quality about them that thought the world would be kind and good
to them if they loved all and played fair.
Abby was clearly the go getter in that family and with a steel to her
spine and a definite moral code, she set the tone of the relationship,
don’t get me wrong Caiden was loved and he loved in returned and all
of Abby‘s family loved him and he revelled in their affection. Caiden
was from a different upbringing and no matter how he naively thought
the love he was now being exposed to would solve all the evils of his
upbringing – he had another thing coming.
With stranger towns and even stranger tales – Abby, her brother, her
family and an officer and an investigator was was worth their weight
in gold went on a eight year journey – that almost sucked the life
out of her and me if truth be told.
This journey with Caiden and Abby is heartbreaking, it brings to light
a matter that I certainly have never thought about. As an adult there
is freedom of choice, freedom of movement – but when you are trapped
and conditioned to a certain way of life – it is the hardest thing
to get away from. I gripped my mouse as I read this, at one point I
just had to stop and go for a walk, I just could not imagine the unbelievable
events that unfolds over a period of eight years.
Ms. Montgomery reigned it all in and did a magnificent job in creating
the balance between, love, affection and this thrilling hunt that saw
me wanting to do bad bad things to these people…. Hope was never lost.
Abby was the corner stone of that search and she did everything humanly
possible to find the man who was everything to her. There are unexpected
twist and turns in this book that had me thinking WOW – I didn’t
see that coming, but it came and it only made the book more of a powerhouse
than it already was.
Bottom line
I am so pleased I jumped in and read this book – right from the outset
I knew it was going to an emotional right, but this was a ride that
I would have regretted not taking. Ms. Montgomery voice is gentle, it
is not forceful and there is a certain firmness to the language that
was the right tone for the type of plot that was revolving around me
– I at no time felt let down by the tone or the flow of this book.
I can’t say how much this book surprised the hell out out of me and
I loved it. RIVER OF TEARS is a book that comes full circle and in that
process held me, wrapped me up in a battle of wills, of heartache and
heartbreak but also of hope, gentleness and the will to survive at all
cost.
River of Tears will take you on a journey you will never forget, it will make you want to gather all you love close and keep them there, because we never know what’s around the next corner of our lives.
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Nikita said:
"
I'm the
type of person that finds it very hard to just sit down and enjoy a
book without something popping up in my head and making me forget what
I was even reading. When I picked up "River Of Tears" I couldn't put it
down. The characters in the book were amazing I could actually picture
each person and see all of them growing up and becoming more and more
stronger. The book shows you a world that a lot of people don't ever
see or even bother to understand. I would suggest this book to everyone
even if your a person that likes to act like the world it perfect
because it isn't and this author isn't afraid to show it to everyone. I
give this book a two tums up, it's a great book. And the author is just
plan out awesome she keep pushing and pushing to make her dream come
true and its finally did. She is the perfect example that dreams can
come true if you really want it bad enough.(less)
"
