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The Cure

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THE CURE by Athol Dickson
October 3, 2007

Rating: 5 Stars

THE CURE is one of the few times I have given out a 5 star rating. For me, giving out 5 stars doesn't mean that everyone will enjoy the book. It is an opinion that comes from one person. However, a 5 star book has to be well-written, have characters that work in the overall scheme of things, and that all other important parts of the story come together to make it a perfect book. With that said, it also is a matter of taste, and in this case, THE CURE was a book that I particularly enjoyed because I like to read about characters that are down on their luck. THE CURE is not an upbeat story, but it is one about redemption and forgiveness, about a man that is trying to make right something that had gone horrifically wrong in his past.

In THE CURE, Riley Keep is an alcoholic who at one time was a highly respected minister in this small town that he has returned to, after many years living in Florida, living the life of a street person. He returns to the town of Dublin, Maine because of a myth being told on the streets about a cure for alcoholism, and that it has been saving the lives of many. Riley returns to his old hometown with a friend, Brice, who is dying from the affects of alcoholism, and they are in desperate need to find the cure before it is too late.

When Riley thinks he's finally found the cure, given to him on a slip of paper and a bag of white powder while in the church he once preached in, he takes a taste and loses his appetite for alcohol instantly. However, the slip of paper warns that if he drinks alcohol again, his desire for it will increase more than ever.

There is a subplot involving a woman who takes care of the homeless. She has a secret that has led her to this town, and it is connected to Riley and his past spent on a mission in South America. She is somehow involved in the cure, and what she knows about it has endangered her life. She is hiding out in Dublin, but her time may be running out, since the news that Riley has the cure has now spread.

The book moves along at a fast pace when the woman disappears and is thought to be dead, and Riley is accused of murdering her. The men and women on the streets have learned that Riley has the cure. He wants this miracle wonder to be available to everyone and tries to make a deal with a pharmaceutical company who he thinks will be able to reproduce this product and allow rich and poor person alike to utilize it. What happens, however, changes the outcome of what Riley hopes to accomplish, and changes again the course of his life.

Riley is also dealing with his ex-wife Hope, who is now the mayor of the city, and their relationship forms another subplot. What happened between them again is related to the origin of the cure, and their story is told in flashbacks, where they were missionaries in South America.

I don't think THE CURE is everyone's cup of tea. It's not an upbeat happy-ending type of story, but I think the range of emotions that come from the characters that make up the story rings true. I found these characters to be true-to-life realistic persons, and while the actual "cure" is something that doesn't exist in today's world, the main theme of the book is not really about the cure for alcoholism but a need to right a wrong that was done decades ago. It's about a man consumed with guilt for something he thinks he's brought about in his past, and his whole future changes because of what he believes he's done. THE CURE deserves a 5 star rating and will most likely be on my list of favorite books read this year.

Last year, Athol Dickson's "River Rising" won him a "Best Suspense Novel" Award. I disagreed with this pigeonholing of the book, because it was a modern masterpiece that transcended typical suspense. His earlier novel, "They Shall See God," was a more fitting title for such an award.

"The Cure" shows Dickson's mastery of language and characterization. Once again, he transports us to another world--this time, the regions of small-town Maine, as opposed to the southern bayous of "River Rising." The first half of the book is an incredible character study, which kept me turning the pages in empathy for its flawed protagonist. Riley Keep, former missionary, is a man carrying unseen burdens. He returns to his hometown, where he runs across his estranged wife and daughter. Meanwhile, he struggles with a drinking problem and his distance from God. The story centers around "the cure" that Riley discovers in an envelope, a chemical compound which may cure alcoholism, and which is a potential goldmine for those who would use it for personal salvation and/or monetary gain.

At some point, the story shifts focus toward the more traditional plot-oriented aspects of suspense. Some reviewers, including one from Publishers Weekly, have complained about elements that stretch credulity. As a writer myself, I've heard the same thing, and strangely enough the complaints have always been about those parts of my books that are the closest to fact. As they say, fact is stranger than fiction. So, I was willing to allow for some of these things. I had greater trouble, though, with the way in which so much back-story was revealed in one long burst near the end, tying things together nicely, but seeming a bit sudden.

In its conclusion, "The Cure" circles back around to the themes that drew me in at the beginning: human frailty, sin, guilt, and the cure that goes beyond the temporary remedies of mankind's own design. Riley Keep is a memorable character, one that wrestles with honest doubts and fears. Athol Dickson, as always, proves himself a writer of immense talent, and I've already added his next book, "Winter Haven," to my wish list.

There was a time when Riley Keep was a man of supreme confidence: minister, missionary, educator of New England's finest. Then something terrible happened; he came face to face with his humanity and what he saw changed him. Now he returns home years later an abject failure, a ghost moving among the living. By accident he catches his reflection in a mirror and he sees something far different: failed protector of an entire people, weakling of a husband, incompetent father, and drunkard.

Athol Dickson offers us the most unlikely, and to be honest, most unlikeable of heroes. Riley Keep has fallen so far that when he returns to his home town in Maine along with a dying homeless friend no one even recognizes him. Not the church people, not his former friends, and not even the mayor who just happens to be his ex-wife. Through an apparent accident Riley discovers something every person trapped by the demons of their personal sins would give anything to have, a magic bullet that would forever take away their addiction. Riley Keep has discovered The Cure.

What happens next is on one level a rousing suspense story and on another a parable of failure and despair. It is the story of far away pagans and the pagan within us all. And in the end it is a story of ultimate hope. As always, Dickson's characters are vivid, tragic, heroic, well-intentioned, and severely flawed. Even when Riley Keep gets his act together and appears to become a great success he is within himself a failure. In other words he is real. Perhaps this is why some found this story uncomfortable. Upon his return to his home town, Riley observes that people walk by him but never look into eyes, never see him. He guesses it is because they fear they see some of themselves. I think Riley Keep guesses right.

The Cure ends with these words: Riley was no longer dead; his ghostly days were over... here at last was something truly good to drink. The Cure is something truly good to drink.

Dangers in the Amazon, urban riots with homes torched, and innocent persons locked in an auto's trunk bring adrenaline at just the right time in Athol Dickson's latest and best novel, The Cure. Snaking through these events is the chimera of guilt indwelling Riley Keep, college professor, missionary, and homeless, hopeless alcoholic. In coastal Maine, miracles, or maybe an exotic drug, are sometimes healing, sometimes damning, a smattering of alcoholics. What will happen when Riley makes his way there? In Dickson's novels, Christians are not always good, and death doesn't necessarily spare the decent. Real life and real issues are delivered to the reader. Both exciting and edifying, The Cure sometimes kept me awake at night. Pure enjoyment!

Riley Keep is a former missionary and pastor. He lost his wife and daughter and turned to the bottle, losing everything else in the process. Riley left Maine for warmer climates, but three years later, his best friend, Brice, another homeless man, is dying from alcoholism, and Riley almost carries Brice back to Maine, hearing that miracles are happening there.

Riley and Brice get the last two beds at the local homeless shelter. Other homeless people have heard the same "miracles" rumors and now the town is overrun with "bum,s" and the mayor and some business owners are trying to figure out how to run them back out of town.

Brice, desperate for a drink, downs an entire bottle of rubbing alcohol and dies. Riley finds a bottle of good whiskey and drinks that, then prepares for death himself. But in doing so he finds a powdery substance that an attached note claims is the cure for alcoholism. Riley tastes it, and miraculously, he survives his death-defying act, and finds himself cured of even wanting drink. But finding the cure causes a whole avalanche of problems that Riley is not expecting. Sometime, the disease is not nearly as dangerous as the cure.

I've looked forward to reading The Cure ever since I read Athol Dickson's award-winning River Rising. The Cure is an interesting read, but it was slow starting, and for a long while I had to wonder what certain parts even had to do with it. Once I got into the story though, I began to care for Riley and hoped he'd find himself out of the pit that he lived in.

I don't think I'd ever read a book where the main character was a homeless pastor before. I don't totally like the premise, but it works in this story. The setting and faith were both woven in as important parts of the storyline, and the story wouldn't survive if either aspect were removed. Written in several points of view, you get to experience all sides of the story, from Riley's to Brice's, to the mayor's, to other town residents.

Armchair Interviews says: Athol Dickson's fans will not want to miss this compelling story.

Author's Web site:

Athol Dickson writes the most delicious prose ever, and The Cure certainly doesn't disappoint in that department. And, as always, his storyline is original and gripping. Don't miss this one!

I have become an avid fan of author Athol Dickson. His stories are so real
to life situations and written very well. I find myself caught up in each story so quickly. I want to make the adventure last, but also find it hard not to want to
get to the end. An easy read, morally on target and so compelling.

The Cure was the first novel I had read in way too long. The last novel I read before it was billed as a "thriller" (and was in fact a page-turner) but it wasn't... delicious. The Cure was tasty. It was a delight to read. It wasn't a "page-turner," and I could put it down whenever I wanted... but having finished it last night, tonight I found myself looking for it again today. But the story was finished and the book was back at the library.

It's billed as a thriller, but for me, it wasn't so much of a thriller as just... darn good reading. There were whole chapters when nothing incredibly dangerous happened, and nobody was in serious peril... but it still held my attention. I was never really scared for the characters, but I CARED about them. I was just... enjoying their story.

Don't get me wrong, there's a lot of mystery to it, and I was sad when I got to the denoument, because I wanted it to keep going... but The Cure was delicious. It tasted a little bit like chocolate, actually...

A very excellent mystery novel moves on to suspense and finally into a thriller before the ending offers a satisfying but thought provoking completion thanks to Athol Dickson. Instead of "The Cure", like the alcoholic's cure which the story is about, this book has ensured that I will continue to check out library book by Dickson, or buy them if needed. I will read all he has written. He is addicting, wonderfully so.

This story is about a homeless drunk with a past. Rumor travels over the streets, through the homeless drunks, that Dublin, Maine has a cure. Such a journey; and readers get an exciting front seat in a series of events that will challenge even the soberest of Christians. Yes, it's Christian fiction, although not a preachy form.

This is a must-read for anyone who is touched by an addiction, whether it is personal, family member, or friend. It will open up an empathetic view for anyone fortunate to have avoided direct involvement with an alcoholic. Very insightful into the alcoholic's struggle, but presented in an entertaining mystery reading form. You will be touched. This writer tackles some of the most difficult of life's challenges and struggles. He will make you think. "The Cure", like all of Dickson's books, is not fluff. It is a book that should not be missed.

Also it is just fantastic, complex mystery that goes beyond the normal.

Recommended for every public library, church library, and AA meeting room.

A homeless man who looks forward to the drink that will bring him bliss. A small town mayor struggles to figure out how to combat a wave of unwanted visitors. A woman tries to help others but is secretly hiding her own past. A mysterious powder is found that will bring hope to millions that have been suffering. These elements are all brought together in Athol Dickson's Christy Award winning novel The Cure.

Riley Keep is a former pastor who had been a missionary, with his wife, to a native tribe in Brazil. However, while he was down there, something happened to cause him to abandon his faith, his family, and his morals. Years have passed and he has become a homeless drunk, almost unrecognizable to anyone who knew him from the past. He finds himself at a homeless shelter in Dublin, Maine where he seeks to take refuge from the outside world. Dublin also happens to be the town where Riley's estranged wife is the mayor. While in Dublin, Riley comes across a package that contains a substance that could cure millions, and that many will fight and pay dearly to acquire.

The setting of the novel, which takes place in a small Maine town, becomes another character in the story. The description of the area is convincing and Dickson uses the local usage of "Ayuh" to distinguish the townsfolk from their counterparts. This is a thought provoking novel that will leave the reader pondering long after finishing it. The whole story gives the reader the opportunity to think about what they would do in each situation and how a character might have had a totally different life if they had just changed one event. There are several instances where characters are faced with choices that may seem like a good idea at the time, but then are regretted later with painful side effects.

The story starts off a little slowly. At times in the beginning, it's hard to keep up with each character. However once Riley finds the bag with "the cure", the story then takes off and the reader becomes hooked (no pun intended). The suspense begins to build up and characters begin reveal themselves, events in the past are given full explanation, and the homeless almost become like the waking dead as they hunt for something to sustain them. While alcohol usage and addiction are main focus points in the story, they are not shown in ways that would entice anyone. Instead the reader sees how alcoholism can have a negative effect on everyone and how even someone like a pastor is not immune to it. The storyline comes off very realistic as it is possible to see an event taking place like this in the near future. By the time the conclusion is reached, there is a self awakening that happens for both the characters in the story and the reader. This does not come from a sunny, happy fairy tale story, but instead with a grim, dark, and bitter reminder of how harsh life can sometimes be.

The Cure deserves its Christy Award for suspense, as Dickson weaves a story that leaves the reader hanging on every word.