William Morrow
Published August 18, 2026
Reviewed by Barbara Fister
Liv and Mandy Chisholm could hardly be more different. Liv is cautious, cerebral, and works as a dedicated public servant doing investigations for the State Department. Mandy is mercurial, joyful, and prone to impulsive acts. But every year the two sisters take a trip together. This time, Mandy has organized a rafting expedition through the Grand Canyon. While the title may refer to their mismatched personas and the stress it puts on the relationship, it’s actually someone else who has murder in mind.
Liv learns, to her surprise, that Mandy has been awarded the trip by Babette, the popular cosmetics and wellness maven who is about to launch an amazing new product that will change the world; Mandy was selected as one of Babette’s fans to be an early investor. Others on the trip include Babette’s assistant, her siblings who have reasons to want to wrest the company away from her, a young social media influencer who will share the trip with her followers to drum up enthusiasm for the product launch accompanied by her grandmother, a representative of a major investor, a scientist who used to work for the company, and the rafting guides. Babette is not with them: she will make her entrance later. As the group sets out, they soon learn what the Canyon and its rushing river have in store for them – a challenge made more complicated when the murders begin.
There are three major strands braided together in this mystery. The relationship between Liv and Mandy is one of them. The trip will challenge them to overcome their differences. The murder mystery is another. This is an outdoor variant of the classic mystery trope, where the suspects are assembled in an isolated place surrounded by dangerous natural forces. Finally, there’s the canyon itself, and the physical landscape as the group makes their way through rapids and past whirlpools, relying on one another while knowing there’s a murderer among them.
It’s this last strand that is most vivid, with the canyon assuming, in many ways, the role of the main character, leading to a bit of an imbalance. Those who read for the puzzle will enjoy trying to figure out whodunnit. For the rest of us, the mystery, complex as it is, pales in comparison to the majesty and mystery of the canyon itself.