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Natasha A. Salnikova was born in ex-Soviet Kazakhstan where she wrote and hosted two TV shows. At the age of 24 she moved to Moscow (Russia) to chase her screenwriting dream. Soon she became a writer for the national prime-time talk show "Tema" and soon also was writing for national sitcoms and dramas.
At that time a publisher hired her to adapt a popular TV series into a novel, and Natasha realized that she could fulfill her writer's hunger better with novels rather that TV scripts.
In Moscow Natasha met an American writer and traveler and in 2001 she made a big decision and moved to America to be with him, leaving behind her career and family. They married in 2001 and she started to build her American dream. She had acting roles in TV commercials, shot photographs for a Knopf/Random House travel guide, studied English and kept wiring.
In 2005 Natasha and her husband David invited into their lives two beautiful girls.
Currently Natasha lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with her kids and her husband. She writes feature stories for a Russian newspaper and teaches yoga. "Quiet River" is her first novel in English.
Reviewed by Lynn Fowlston for Readers' Favorite
Quiet River by Natasha Salnikova is a psychological thriller which reads much like a Lifetime movie. Lisa, Matt and their four year old son, Evan, take a weekend break in small town, Quiet River, a beautiful little town which held evil. Seemingly random events bring the family back to Quiet River. After the loss of their unborn child, Lisa faces deep depression, and Matt turns to his secretary for comfort. He moves his family to Quiet River hoping the change of scenery will pull Lisa out of her depression. Kind-hearted Lisa befriends the strange next door neighbor. Evan is missing and Lisa is pregnant...how could these events all be connected?
Natasha Salnikova offers readers an interesting plot. She includes all the elements necessary in a thriller. The plot was more than a wee bit predictable. I still found it interesting, but I easily guessed at what was coming next. The text needs proofreading. I found numerous mistakes, and while they do not detract from the plot, they should be fixed. The characters are interesting. Trouby is insane. Matt disappointed me. He seemed like a good guy, and yet, he turned to another woman. Lisa faced more trials than many face in a lifetime, and yet, she persevered and came out stronger. Kristin was thoroughly unlikeable and ended up being a mere pawn in the plot to get Evan. The town should have suspected what was going on. If they did, they chose the ignore it, or they decided to hide their heads.
Salnikova has great possibilities in her future. I suggest she hire a good editor to keep her focused and on task. She excels at characterization. She created characters that were realistic and not impossible to believe in. Her descriptions of Quiet River made it a tempting place to visit. She allowed the suspense to slowly build to a crescendo. Fans of psychological thrillers will enjoy Quiet River.
