Down River (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: ler voice, lis voice, Danny Faith, Zebulon Faith, Sarah Yates (more...)

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.)
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From Bookmarks Magazine

John Hart’s 2006 debut, The King of Lies (**** Selection Sept/Oct 2006), earned an Edgar nomination for Best First Novel. Most reviewers agree that his sophomore effort is a worthy successor. The plot moves energetically through interesting terrain: a southern county torn apart by the possibility of easy wealth, a family ruptured by suspicion, and a community that despises the book’s protagonist. The New York Times criticized Hart for overblown writing and stale imagery but grudgingly praised the story’s vigorous plot and feverish pace. With Down River, Hart garners comparisons to Raymond Chandler, John Grisham, and Scott Turow. This illustrious list should be recommendation enough for most readers.

Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books (October 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312359314
• ISBN-13: 978-0312359317
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (127 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #43,278 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

170 of 178 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hart successfully explores the boundaries of the southern gothic, October 5, 2007

By	Henry W. Wagner (Rockaway, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The words "Rowan County, North Carolina," evoke many memories for Danny Chase, the hero of John Hart's second literary thriller, Down River. Many of them are pleasant--for instance, the time he spent with childhood friend Danny Faith. But even the happy memories are colored by the events that drove him from Rowan five years before the events depicted in this novel, when he was almost convicted of a murder he didn't commit. Thus, his reluctance to return to his home town at the urgent behest of his friend Danny is understandable; but, his loyalty to his friend eventually outweighing his misgivings, he decides to honor his pal's request.

His mere appearance in Rowan stirs up old emotions and grudges as he encounters allies and enemies from the past, and things get even more complicated when he discovers that Danny has mysteriously vanished. After a member of his own family is attacked, Danny becomes a person of interest in the investigation. When townspeople start dying all around him, he's forced to unravel an intricate web of secrets to clear his name.

One of those rare writers who actually live up to the expectations created by the hyperbole of his jacket copy and publicity materials, Hart delivers a book that should satisfy thriller fans as well as those who appreciate a well written novel (not that the two are mutually exclusive, mind you). Through his carefully fashioned prose and sheer storytelling ability, Hart successfully updates the southern gothic, artfully trodding some of the same territory as notables such as Grisham, Berendt, and (dare I say?), Wolfe and Faulkner.

84 of 90 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Impossible to put down, October 2, 2007

By	Newt Gingrich (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews ("THE")

I thought John Hart had a remarkable beginning with The King of Lies, a book which captured me and kept me glued to the page as it wove together a southern baroque small town family oriented sense of fantasy, reality, and mystery in a way that is totally believable. However, he may have surpassed himself in Down River, a novel which I found impossible to put down and which carried the sins of the past into the crimes of the present and the pain of the future with a human, personal touch that was endlessly gripping. I cannot recommend it too highly if you are interested in the human condition, the complexity of people, or the nature of southern gothic traditions. I believe that John Hart is going to become a writer that many readers look forward to every year for his latest volume. This certainly builds on King of Lies and continues his development as a major fiction writer.

46 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Like a Pebble in a Pool..., October 9, 2007

By	L. Rogers "MissLue "Gma"" (New Orleans, LA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

...Mistakes usually leave that ripple, sometimes deep, sometime shallow, that flow outward in astonishing ways. If I could give this author 10 stars i would. His book is about a particular family, but I've been a member of a family with members that I saw in the pages of his book. Adam Chase leaves home under a cloud of suspicion, stays away five years and then comes back. People then begin to die, or are discovered to have died, people are hurt, memories that have been hidden rise to the surface and you, as as reader, keep turning the pages, faster and faster. The author writes with depth, with knowledge of how we hurt each other, and shows us tenderness, frustration and dispair. The book blurb says you will remember this story long after you've read the last lline, and that is a true statement. I couldn't recommend a book more. Good job, John Hart.