RIVER OF WRATH (St. Benedict 2) by Alexandrea Weis and Lucas Astor

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date January 31, 2023

Leslie Moore is struggling to get through her last semester at St. Benedict High. Even her relationship with her boyfriend Derek is falling apart. But after receding floodwaters from the Bogue Falaya River expose the bones of a woman, Leslie becomes obsessed with tracking down the killer.

Sightings of an apparition haunting The Abbey send Leslie and her friends back to the scene of the horrors from last Halloween, but no one is prepared for what they find.

After a stranger—the handsome Luke Cross—arrives in town, another girl goes missing, and the sheriff suspects the newcomer is hiding something. Leslie believes the Devereaux family is connected to everything going wrong in St. Benedict. And she means to uncover the truth, no matter the cost.

Not all secrets can be kept silent. Some eventually find their way home.

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REVIEW: RIVER OF WRATH is the second instalment in the contemporary, adult ST. BENEDICT thriller focusing on a group of high school seniors, and the increasing number of bodies found along the Bogue Falaya River in the small Louisiana Parish known as St. Benedict. RIVER OF WRATH should not be read as a stand alone as it picks up immediately after the events and cliff hanger of book one RIVER OF ASHES.

WARNING : Due to the nature of the story line premise, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from several third person perspectives RIVER OF WRATH focuses on a group of high school seniors who attend St. Benedict High, a group that is slowly succumbing to a possible curse. As more bodies begin to surface in and around the Bogue Falaya River, Leslie Moore, and her friends Sara, Kelly and Taylor begin a search for the truth but the more secrets revealed the possibility increases that Leslie and her friends may suffer the same fate. Having pushed away her boyfriend Derek, in the face of unending guilt and grief, a newcomer to St. Benedict catches the eye of everyone involved, a newcomer with dangerous and dark secrets of his own.

RIVER OF WRATH is an intense, dramatic, graphic and detailed story of horror, vengeance and betrayal, power and control, wealth and madness, obsession and murder. The story line is ensconced in the requisite YA tropes including mean girls and jealousy, as well as the parents fueling or hiding intimate details and history of the St. Benedict Parish. Once again, the premise is haunting and startling; the characters are tragic, desperate, determined and mad. RIVER OF WRATH ends on a cliff hanger-you have been warned.

Click HERE for Sandy’s review of book one RIVER OF ASHES

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

Alexandrea Weis

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From New Orleans, Alexandrea Weis was raised in the motion picture industry and began writing stories at the age of eight. In college she studied nursing and went on to teach at a local university. After several years in the medical field, she decided to pick up the pen once again and began her first novel, To My Senses. Since that time she has published many novels. Infusing the rich tapestry of her hometown into her award-winning books, she believes that creating vivid characters makes a story memorable. Her work has been critically acclaimed and has been continually growing in popularity.

Alexandrea Weis is also a certified/permitted wildlife rehabber with the La. Wildlife and Fisheries. When she is not writing, she rescues orphaned and injured wildlife. She is married; they live in New Orleans .

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Lucas Astor is from New York, has resided in Central America and the Middle East, and traveled through Europe. He lives a very private, virtually reclusive lifestyle, preferring to spend time with a close-knit group of friends than be in the spotlight.

He is an author and poet with a penchant for telling stories that delve into the dark side of the human psyche. He likes to explore the evil that exists, not just in the world, but right next door behind a smiling face.

Photography, making wine, and helping endangered species are just some of his interests. Lucas is an expert archer and enjoys jazz, blues, and classical music.

One of his favorite quotes is:  “It’s better to be silent than be a fool.”  ~Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird)