Inga is like most girls in the world; she is naïve and goes to an audition then gets kidnapped and becomes a sex slave. Then one day she takes a chance and escapes. As she is running away from her captures, she comes across Alman. He fights off the captures and takes her to his home, but refuses to take her to the sheriff. Inga realizes that she has just left the frying pan and jumped into the fire, Alman and his family are a whole new terror worse than what she just left.

Anthony is an attorney that just finished a rough case and has decided to visit his grandma in Quiet River. But something is going on; everyone is watching him and waiting for him to leave, even grandma. But Anthony is the one chance that Inga has to escape. The question is if he is strong enough.

This is one creepy story. I felt for Inga, she reminds me of so many women currently that just float along not really paying attention to their surroundings. Of course she is kidnapped and made a sex slave. But when she escapes she finds herself in a worse situation. It’s really bad when she escapes that one and gets to the sheriff just to be returned to Alman. I loved how Anthony comes into play in the story.

This has been translated from Russian. You can tell that there is a little something off about the writing, but it’s nothing that really takes away from the story.

This is a great story. Those that like thrillers and horror stories are going to fall in love with it. Now I want to read more books from Natasha A Salnikova.

I received this book a long time ago from the Library Thing Early Reviewer Program in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Initially When I was reading this I though that it was written by someone whose language was not originally English - then I discovered that it was actually translated from Russian and all the little quirks I noticed made much more sense.

That out of the way- this a bit of a gem of a story. I haven't quite read a similar story. It mixes the dark humanity with an element of pure evil and blends them quite well. I also liked how the two main stories "collided". It also raises the concept of those who act as rescuers and questions their ultimate motives. A bit disturbing but good horror read. ( )

From the moment I read the synopsis about this book, I knew I wanted to read it. I just finished it today. Natasha Salnikova really has a wonderful book here. And a little fact about it, it was translated from Russian! That impresses me so much. You can definitely see some of the author’s Russian heritage in the book from some of the names used, foods mentioned.
So from the blurb we learn that Inga was kidnapped and held captive with other girls. But then someone comes along and she is afforded a chance to escape, which she takes. When this happens you are cheering! She runs out into the night, her captors hot on her heels. You think she isn’t going to make it, but then out of nowhere there is a car. It’s driver, Alman, gets out, fends off her captors and saves her. Thank goodness!!

But really? Should she really be so thankful? Alman seems very nice. He offers her a warm shirt to cover with, he fought off the captors. How bad can he be? Except he doesn’t want to take her to the police station, even though she says she wants to go – she wants to contact her mother who is probably worried sick.

But Alman, that man has excuses, and reasons for not taking her. She meets his family; they all seem nice enough for having met a stranger in the dark of night. But something doesn’t add up, something is just a bit….off. And how could any modern family not own a phone in a day and age when even the smallest of children have their own phones?

I really enjoyed reading this book. In the beginning you can see how frail and naïve Inga is. But as the book reads on, she becomes smarter and tougher. And a bit more aggressive and sarcastic (a quality I *always* enjoy!) There were lots of twists and turns, although much of the book takes place in one location. You really get to get inside Inga’s head and feel every feeling, understand every thought. And while on one hand you could criticize her for even getting into the situation she is in in the first place, you realize by her naïveté that she is young and has made the same mistake so many other young adults have made.

We also get a side story of a young man named Anthony. Anthony is battling his own inner demons and just came to Quiet River to relax while visiting his grandmother. Why is every person he meets so interested why he came there and when he is going home? Sure, it’s a small town, but there has to be something more to it. And Anthony is a lawyer, he likes to get to the bottom of things. Let’s hope he can make it out of this vacation alive! ( )