This was an atmospheric historical thriller featuring three brilliant female leads—each haunted, each hiding something, and each battling more than just the wilderness. The setting was drawn well, offering rich insight into life during the gold rush, especially from the perspective of women.

I found myself struck with gold fever whilst reading The Rush. The atmosphere and sensibilities of the late 1800s Canadian Yukon struck a chord with me. This blend of western/adventure story/mystery hit all the right notes by immersing the reader into this time and place. I was interested in each of three main characters: Martha, who runs the local hotel; Kate, a journalist searching for her sister; Ellen, whose husband is desperate to strike gold being deeply in debt. A mystery brings them together in the quest for the truth.

Living in the Yukon before the turn of the century was not an easy existence, especially for a woman. It was good to view this life through these three people with differing levels of knowledge on how to succeed in this tough, unforgiving man's world. Martha is world weary and has a good measure of all and sundry who she deals with daily. A matriarch, of sorts, she has her smarts and a bit of muscle who help her protect 'her girls'. Ellen is rather jaded by the life she lives as each day proves to her that her husband may be more talk than action, not quite living up to expectations. Kate undertakes the arduous journey from Kansas to the Yukon with her trusty dog aptly named Yukon. She is innocent, but not a fool, and learns how to adapt to this difficult existence.

Life is cheap, here, and justice is unlikely to be found. The Rush gave the unvarnished truth of this age and a real feel for what it would have been like to be in the heart of the gold rush among so many desperate souls. I felt fully immersed by this story and would have loved it to go on and on. Listening to the audio of this story added another dimension that enhanced the narrative. Each of the three narrators gave a terrific performance and embodied the woman they were portraying. Well crafted storytelling at its finest. I loved The Rush.

I didn't know what to expect from this title, but I loved it.
The author paints a vivid picture of life during the Klondike Rush period and even though some of the main characters could feel a little stereotypical (Ellen; the housewife, Martha; the Madam, Kate; the unconventional woman of her time) each of the women feel fleshed out and you can't help root for them.

While the whodunnit plot had a few twists and turns to try keep the reader guessing, I personally felt it was obvious who the culprit was - but it didn't take away any enjoyment from the story.

Thanks to Netgalley and Viper audio for providing me with an ARC. All opinions are my own.

This was a gripping page turner set in a gold tush town, which is a time period I always find interesting. As ever with multiple protagonists, I found myself enjoying one the most (Kate and Yukon), but all three were well written and interesting.

Enjoyed this a lot.

Although this is historical fiction with a few major true events moved to slightly different times, it does a fantastic job of placing the reader smack dab in the middle of the Yukon Gold Rush! Men and women traveled there, experiencing hard travel, and sometimes massive disappointment when the gold did not pan out like they hoped. It turns some into monsters but also can bring out extreme kindness and charity in others. I love that this is from the viewpoint of a few women and their different experiences, one a madam at a hotel taking care of her girls, one the wife of a man bitten by the gold bug but not finding it causing him to make poor choices that would effect both of them, and one a journalist writing about the gold rush and searching for her sister who is in trouble. There is not a slow moment and this story is rife with the troubles, murder, mystery, justice, and of course gold, which hooked me and did not let go until the end of the tale. Kate, Ellen, and Martha are fantastic, strong, and independent by the end, giving them the choice to choose their own futures whether it be finding gold, learning to follow their heart, and finding justice for a sister lost. Helped by a fortune teller who gave them the knowledge they needed, not necessarily what they wanted. And the author's note at the end revealing who the real life people she based her characters on and the true events and timing. It completed the story very nicely and left me even more impressed about strength of the people that were part of that time surviving up there in the Yukon.

The narrators did a fantastic job in bringing the women and the history and adventures of the Yukon Gold Rush to life and enriched the story to high levels. I loved this audiobook and I am very grateful to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a chance to get lost up in the Yukon with its hardships and fortune for the favored few strong enough to find their dreams no matter what is thrown at them!

Well, I'll be blown over - this book was pretty darn awesome and audio was a fantastic medium in which to enjoy it.

Audio Review 🎧
Our three main characters each had their own voice actor. I loved Martha with her beautiful drawl and period-authentic speech patterns. I was never able to set the book down before a Martha chapter. Ellie and Kate were also fine voice actors. Some of Kate's sections felt a little stilted (this could have been the writing, not necessarily the delivery) and Kate's actor did Martha dirty with her in-chapter accent; but, overall this was really well done. Each actor had a fantastic range and delivery that was uniquely their own. I loved spending time in this world. Even though I was hooked on the story, I tried my darnedest to pace myself with it!

Story Review 📖
I recently finished playing RDR2 and this book filled the huge gaping hole the game left in my heart.
💛 The sense of place was fantastically rendered: from the claims to the hotel to the rivers to Dawson, I felt like I was there. I was pulling up internet image searches while I listened too!
💛 The characters were authentically, if sometimes frustratingly, human. Kate's character (and her relationship with her dog, Yukon) was a stand-out for me as a strong, independent woman. She had bravery, honour, and a helluva growth arc. Martha and Molly grabbed me for different reasons. I loved the complexity of these women and their characters really came to life for me. Ellie was a bit trickier to root for (largely because I hate the withholding-information-as-plot-device trope) but I warmed to her over the latter half of the book.
💛 The story was full of adventure and while we sometimes leaned toward melodrama, it wasn't laboured intolerably. I felt that the last 30% was a bit OTT (in terms of suspending disbelief in some places and maybe one 'gotcha' too many) but I was so deeply invested by that point. I did guess Kate's sister's thread early on but it was also revealed pretty early. I had my theories about the murderer but the story did a lot to make me doubt my hypothesis, which was so great.
💛 The writing flowed like the Yukon River. Beautiful turns of phrase, artful illustration of people and place, and a fairly consistent pace made this an immersive read. There were a handful of times dialogue felt stilted (I only noticed this in the Kate chapters) but I'd be curious to see if I felt the if I were to read this book on paper.
💛 No romance thread!

If you like adventure stories, check this out.
If you're curious about Canada in the gold rush, check this out.
If you love strong, human, women characters supporting each other, check this out.
If you want a performance, not just a reading, check this out on audio.

I'm already looking forward to reading this again when it comes out in print! 4.5/5

Thanks to Viper for the opportunity to review this audiobook. 🐍

At its core, The Rush is a historical murder mystery, but Beth Lewis sweeps us back to 1890’s Canada and The Gold Rush in a way that elevates the story and allows it to span several genres, giving voice to the woman of the times who are so often forgotten in the stories. I highly recommend hanging around for the authors note at the end where she shares the inspiration for the story and the characters.

We have 3 main female protagonists to tell this epic tale;

Journalist Kate. Who sets out for the Yukon with her dog aptly named Yukon with the premise of writing the stories of the journey and the miners, but also on the hunt for her sister, who she fears is in danger.

Ellen, who has settled on the land with her husband who is failing miserably in his hopes of striking it rich.

Martha (Ma) the local hotelier and madam who has rightly predicted that the men will be in need of more than one home comfort in a hard land.

When a body turns up, the 3 woman unite to uncover the killer, but along the way, with the guidance of a fortune teller, they discover themselves, their wants and needs and friendship in a hard land.

This is one of my favourite reads in a long time, a big story with big characters, and scenery and story so well written you’ll be sure you’ve hopped back in time. I feel a best seller coming on.

The choice to have 3 separate narrators for the characters was perfect and Deborah McBride, Georgina Sadler and Kate Hanford delivered knockout performances 🎧

4.5 🌟
Huge thanks to Profile Books Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ALC 🎧

🎧4-4.25⭐️

I had the audiobook of this historical fiction set in Canada 1898 read by Deborah Mc Bride, Georgina Sadler and Kate Hanford they do a good job.

It’s the story of three strong women during the gold rush. Kate a journalist and her dog Yukon arrive in response from a letter from her sister, Martha owns a hotel/ brothel and Ellen loses hope as her husband fails to find the promised riches. I liked that it’s the women’s perspectives of the gold rush era giving a fresh perspective.

Trigger warning there’s some descriptions of animal cruelty.

Do read the authors notes as this is inspired by real women of the Yukon.

It’s a slower paced very character driven story I gelled with the characters and their struggles in this extremely hard environment. One of my favourites is the dog Yukon. I found it a bit too slow, if you loved The Frozen River Ariel Lawhon or The Giver of Stare John Moyes give this a go. The Rush didn’t grab me in quite the same way as these two.