Before We Died (Rivers, #1)

by Joan Schweighardt

[Eve1972]

First off the cover of this book is awesome. It is what caught my eye right from the start and had me stopping to read the synopsis. However, as we all know a cover (or synopsis) can only carry a book so far. If the story between the pretty covers isn't up to par, then all the book becomes is something nice to look at. Fortunately, the adventure we get here was all kinds of entertaining.



The year is 1908, and two Irish American brothers leave their jobs in Hoboken, NJ and set off on an adventure to the South American rainforest hoping to make their fortune tapping rubber trees. Unfortunately, things don't go quite as they imagined and the two brothers are left fighting sickness, hunger, and the jungle wildlife. Just when they have lost all hope, they are saved by strangest of people.

I found this book to be beautifully written. I especially loved the Irish slang which gave the book a very authentic feeling. It was very well paced with the story moving along at a good clip. The plot was engaging. It was full of mystery, danger, emotions. The characters both primary and secondary were well developed and intriguing. Last, this book ends on what I would call a cliffhanger. The fates of many of these characters are still unknown, and you can bet this reader will be first in line to get her hands on book two...