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Down River
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Product Description
2008 Edgar Winning Novel Down River.
Everything that shaped him happened near that river….
Now its banks are filled with lies and greed, shame, and murder….
John Hart’s debut, The King of Lies, was compelling and lyrical, with Janet Maslin of The New York Times declaring, “There hasn’t been a thriller as showily literate since Scott Turow came along.” Now, in Down River, Hart makes a scorching return to Rowan County, where he drives his characters to the edge, explores the dark side of human nature, and questions the fundamental power of forgiveness.
Adam hase has a violent streak, and not without reason. As a boy, he saw things that no child should see, suffered wounds that cut to the core and scarred thin. The trauma left him passionate and misunderstood---a fighter. After being narrowly acquitted of a murder charge, Adam is hounded out of the only home he’s ever known, exiled for a sin he did not commit. For five long years he disappears, fades into the faceless gray of New York City. Now he’s back and nobody knows why, not his family or the cops, not the enemies he left behind.
But Adam has his reasons.
Within hours of his return, he is beaten and accosted, confronted by his family and the women he still holds dear. No one knows what to make of Adam’s return, but when bodies start turning up, the small town rises against him and Adam again finds himself embroiled in the fight of his life, not just to prove his own innocence, but to reclaim the only life he’s ever wanted.
Bestselling author John Hart holds nothing back as he strips his characters bare. Secrets explode, emotions tear, and more than one person crosses the brink into deadly behavior as he examines the lengths to which people will go for money, family, and revenge.
A powerful, heart-pounding thriller, Down River will haunt your thoughts long after the last page is turned.
Praise for John Hart and The King of Lies
“Treat yourself to something new and truly out of the ordinary.”
---Rocky Mountain News
“A top-notch debut. Hart’s prose is like Raymond Chandler’s, angular and hard.”
--Entertainment Weekly (grade A)
“A gripping performance.”
---People magazine
“A marriage of carefully crafted prose alongside have-to-keep-reading suspense.”
---The Denver Post
“A masterful piece of writing.”
---The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC)
“A gripping mystery/thriller and a fully fleshed, thoughtful work of literature.”
---Winston-Salem Journal
“The King of Lies moves and reads like a book on fire.”
---Pat Conroy
“John Hart’s debut . . . is that most engrossing of rarities, a well-plotted mystery novel that is written in a beautifully poetic style.”
---Mark Childress, author of Crazy in Alabama
“Grisham-style intrigue and Turow-style brooding.”
---The New York Times
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #3884 in Books
- Published on: 2007-10-02
- Released on: 2007-10-02
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Hardcover
- 336 pages
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Hart surpasses his bestselling debut, The King of Lies (2006), with his richly atmospheric second novel, which offers a tighter plot, more adroit pacing and less angst. Five years earlier, Adam Chase was arrested for murder, largely on the basis of his stepmother's sworn testimony against him. He was acquitted, but nearly everyone, including his father, still thinks he did it, and Adam's deep bitterness has kept him away from home ever since. Now, at the request of a childhood friend, he's back in Salisbury, N.C., where all the old demons still reside and new troubles await. The almost Shakespearean snarl of family ties is complicated by a very modern struggle between economic progress and love for the land, between haves and have-nots. Throughout, Hart expertly weaves his main theme: that by their freedom of choice, humans are capable of betrayal but also of forgiveness and redemption. This book should settle once and for all the question of whether thrillers and mysteries can also be literature. 150,000 first printing; 15-city author tour. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Bookmarks Magazine
John Hart’s 2006 debut, The King of Lies (**** Selection
Customer Reviews
Down River by John Hart
After reading his first book "King of Lies', I instantly became a John Hart fan. I must say that though 'Down River' was not as page turning as 'King of Lies' it is still a great book that I really enjoyed reading. It also helps that some of the scenery and State (NC) that Hart describes are familiar to me. I look forward to reading more books by John Hart.
Just okay, nothing more
This book goes a long way around, not to get very far. The plot is thin and rather predictable and it takes a long way to get there with a rather unlikable and immature lead character who isn't that interesting or real. I found myself skimming over the words near the end and looked forward to it being over with just to begin reading something else. What's more, I never believed any of it--not the characters or their predicaments. Sophomoric effort at best.
Down River
This book was a selection for our local bookclub. The author was so impressive in his writing style that I purchased a previous book by him.
