Kendra Elliot is one of my go to authors and while perusing Kindle Unlimited, I realized that I was behind on this series. I love when KU offers read/listen for books and all three of these gave me that opportunity. Her Mercy Kilpatrick series was one I enjoyed and I love that Mercy is also in this series.

In the Pines (Columbia River, #3; Mercy Kilpatrick, #7) by Kendra Elliot, Teri Schnaubelt (Narrator)

Published August 16th 2022 by Montlake, Brilliance Audio

4.5 Stars:

In the Pines is the 3rd Columbia River book as well as the 7th Mercy Kilpatrick story. An eccentric millionaire died leaving behind clues about a $2 million treasure hidden somewhere in the small town of Eagle’s Nest, Oregon. The town is overrun by treasure hunters and their despicable traits of greed and theft, thus having the police dealing with fights, trespassing and eventually murder. Police chief Truman Daly wants it all to end. When a young man enters the station asking for help to find his mother and baby sister, he calls in his wife, FBI special agent Mercy Kilpatrick to aid in the search. It turns out that the father is also missing. Now they are looking for a murderer as well as a missing baby and her parents.

This was a great crime/mystery/thriller that I have come to enjoy from Kendra Elliot. If you have read any of her books, you know that “preppers” or “survivalists” always play a part in books set in this area. It turns out that the missing woman is using an assumed name and her family have been living off the grid. Once Mercy finds out who she really is, the case moves quickly. Mercy is a great character and I have always enjoyed her stories. She was raised in the prepper environment so has an understanding of how they live. I liked the young family and was rooting for them to find their father, mother and the baby and get back together. Then there is still the treasure hunt with everyone getting involved, including Ollie (Truman’s foster son) and Kaylee (Mercy’s niece) which added another storyline. With two cases going on, Truman and Mercy are often separated so they didn’t necessarily have each other’s back. There were a few twists, and I was pulled in from the first page. This was a quickly moving story, with lots of adventure and I was ready to see what was next for the Columbia River area. I did a read listen and enjoyed the narration by Teri Schnaubelt. She does a great job with both the male and female voices giving them life and adding to my enjoyment of the story. I have listened to the previous books in the series and love that I recognize the voices given. I recommend this book in whatever format you prefer.

The First Death (Columbia River, #4) by Kendra Elliot, Narrated by Teri Schnaubelt and Michael Crouch

Published June 13th 2023 by Montlake, Brilliance Audio

4 Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rowan Wolff was five years old when she, her brother, Malcolm, and their babysitter were kidnapped. The babysitter was murdered, Rowan was saved and her brother was killed and buried in the forest, but his remains never found. The man convicted in those crimes, as well as other murders of several women, refuses to say where he buried the body, also stating that it was an accident. Fast forward twenty-five years, and Rowan is now working with search and rescue, partnered with her dog, Thor. On her down time, she still searches for her brother’s grave. When new murders begin to occur, Detective Evan Bolton is stumped. The murders are identical to those perpetrated by the sociopath that is in prison. Are they copycat killings or was there a partner that has come out of hiding? It seems that there is some connection to Rowan, which pulls her into the investigation.

This is another gripping Columbia River story. Rowan’s story is told in flashbacks and memories, as well as another storyline of a young man who is also a captive. There is sadism and psychopathic behaviour described in those storylines, so fair warning. Rowan is such a strong female character, but I was worried something might happen to her. Rowan and Evan worked well together, and I liked how they investigated and followed the clues. I enjoyed seeing Evan in the main role, as he has appeared in previous books as a secondary character. With the descriptive details from their captivity, I was glad to see that Rowan’s family was supportive and of course, Thor is amazing. This is a story that moves quickly, has several twists and reveals that surprised me and kept me gripped from the beginning until the end. I did a read listen and enjoyed the narration by Teri Schnaubelt and Michael Crouch. With two narrators, they did a great job with both the male and female voices giving them life and adding to my enjoyment of the story. I have listened to the previous books in the series narrated by Teri Schnaubelt and love that I recognize the voices given, but enjoyed the addition of a male narrator. I recommend this book in whatever format you prefer.

At the River (Columbia River, #5; Mercy Kilpatrick, #8) by Kendra Elliot, Narrated by Teri Schnaubelt & Shaun Taylor-Corbett 

Published February 13th 2024 by Montlake, Brilliance Audio

5 Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

At the River is the 5th book in the Columbia River series and 8th in the Mercy Kilpatrick series. In this book, Police Chief Truman Daly is called when a body is found on the shore of the Columbia River in the Oregon Forest. The man who has been killed was left in the same manner at two bodies found in the same spot twenty years ago. Five teenagers went missing, 3 were never found and of the two found on the shore of the river, 1 survived. Devin Bonner survived but with brain damage. He has no memory of the events after highschool graduation and has developed face blindness. He is the only link to the cold cases, and with nothing else to go on, FBI agent Mercy Kilpatrick and Detective Noelle Marshall contact him and his mother to see if they can help him remember. When the dead man’s wife is shot at, and Devin’s mother is attacked, the investigation picks up. Ollie and Devin become friends but when they are also attacked, all the local police departments are called in. Can they solve both the cold case and the recent murderer before someone else ends up dead?

In my opinion, At the River is the best book in this series so far. I like that these stories have well developed mysteries/crimes as well as getting to know the main characters and their personal lives. the relationship between Ollie and Truman has grown to the point where Truman wants to adopt the young man and already considers him his son. This means he will pull out all the stops when something happens to him. Mercy is an excellent character with her calm demeanor, intuition, and investigation skills. Truman is the same, and together they are a great team. I liked the addition of Noelle to the team in this book, and she and Mercy played off one another well. At the River is a well-developed and plotted story. It kept my attention from beginning to end and I was anxious to see how this played out. There were several twists in the last quarter of this book, some that had my jaw dropping. An excellent addition to this series. I did a read/listen with this book, and the narrators, Teri Schnaubelt & Shaun Taylor-Corbett did a great job with this story. The voices and expression were spot on and added to my enjoyment. If you enjoy a good crime thriller, I recommend this book and series in whatever format you enjoy.