"A riveting mystery... Dickson deftly explores a variety of complex issues, such as racial equality and religious faith - all with a tasteful touch of magical realism. A vivid setting and well drawn characters coalesce in this subtle yet captivating mystery." Kirkus Discoveries
In the swamp beyond the Tupelo and Cypress a lingering evil sleeps no longer. It will rain down on Piltoville; it will rise up like a River, and nothing but a miracle can stop this awful flood.
Pilotville, Louisiana, 1927, isolated on the Mississippi. Reverend Hale Poser, a stranger looking for his roots. Hannah Lamont, new baby to James and Rosa, a breech birth if not for the strangest touch upon her mother's belly. She's her parents sweet joy until, suddenly, she vanishes. Who but this stranger could have done this terrible thing? Who but this man of miracles could see that it's undone?
Reviews for this Christy Award Winner
Booklist: (Starred Review) "Dickson's thriller is really an allegory but it's a subtle allegory, with an easy mastery of Cajun ways and a nice gothic flair."
Publishers Weekly: "Atmospheric, well-paced and powerfully imagined, this novel is reminiscent of Octavia Butler's Kindred and deserves similar readership and respect."
Bookwire: "River Rising is a richly imagined and at times lyrically written novel... Author Athol Dickson's characters are artfully constructed and glow with life."
Armchair Interviews: "This book is Louisiana's To Kill A Mockingbird ...
Midwest Book Review: "River Rising is a great atmospheric historical thriller that grips the audience ..."
Library Review: "Powerful and suspenseful, this fiction thriller is an unexpected page-turner. The characters are well drawn. The setting is vibrant and vivid. The story is compelling and concise. Athol Dickson has created a timeless tale..."
About the Author
Athol Dickson's mystery, suspense, and literary novels have won three Christy Awards and an Audie Award.Suspense fans who enjoyed Athol's They Shall See God will love his
latest novel, January Justice, the first installment in a new mystery series called The Malcolm Cutter Memoirs. The second and third novels in the series, Free Fall in February, and A March Murder, are coming in 2013.
Critics have favorably compared Athol's work to such diverse authors as Octavia Butler (Publisher's Weekly), Hermann Hesse (The New York Journal of Books) and Flannery O'Connor (The New York Times). Athol lives with his wife in southern California.