Down River

A Novel

By: John Hart

Narrated by: Scott Sowers

Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

The New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award-winning novel with from an author whose "prose is like Raymond Chandler's, angular and hard" (Entertainment Weekly).

Adam Chase has spent the last five years in New York City trying to erase his worst memories and the scorn and abandonment of his family. Then a phone call from his best friend awakens in him a torrent of emotion and pain. Having left North Carolina and its red soil for good, he never thought returning would be easy—but being remembered as a murderer doesn't help much. Adam is beaten, accosted, and hostilely confronted by his family, including Grace, the young woman whose abandonment torments him still.

Then people start turning up dead.

Within this small Southern town, John Hart explores the lengths to which people will go for money, family, and pure greed—and whether or not forgiveness is ever attainable.

©2007 John Hart (P)2007 Audio Renaissance, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishers LLC

Critic reviews

“Southern writer John Hart's work has a lyrical quality that Scott Sowers narrates with a growling weariness...The combination of Hart and Sowers provides the perfect marriage of prose and voice. Together they enable the book to transcend genre fiction and become something exceptional.” —AudioFile, Earphones Award Winner

“Scott Sowers delivers a solid performance reading Hart's powerful second novel…Hart writes with an intimate sense of melancholy and loss that Sowers resonates perfectly. Using a low-key, Southern accent to good advantage, Sowers draws the listener into the story from the very beginning with his simple, earnest delivery, and holds them tight.” —Publishers Weekly

“There hasn't been a thriller as showily literate since Scott Turow came along.” —The New York Times

Excellent! A winner for me.

I loved this book. It kept my attention completely. I love the narrator. He is perfect for this book. Being from Texas, his accent seems totally appropriate to me and certainly adds to the book. The dialog sounded spot on and very familiar coming from the South. I am happy to see that this author and narrator teamed upon another selection. Can't wait to listen to it.

Totally Satisfying

Good story with a compelling cast of characters. Keeps you guessing till the end. Love Hart's economy of dialogue. Very real.
Great narrator, too!

Wonderful deep prose.

Southern gothic murder mystery at its finest!! The character and story development are incredible. I downloaded his next book before finishing this one.

ok, but...

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I like my books to not feel like a chore. This felt like it more times than not. Seemed a bit predictable and all but the twist at the end were so so.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Surprised, but felt like the author was reaching

Would you listen to another book narrated by Scott Sowers?

I guess so. It was the book not the reader I had issues with

Did Down River inspire you to do anything?

Yes, to not feel compelled to finish a book just because I paid for it when I really don't like it.

A Great Read

Well worth listening to. Seemed slow at first, but then; I at least, was hooked. Surprising ending.

Great Story and Narrator

John Hart never disappoints! Couldn’t stop listening! I devoured this one in a weekend. Added John Hart to my list of favorites.

Great author

Very well written; I wish almost I had read the book instead of listening, as there were some great thoughts, lines here. For instance :” the preachers words followed him down into the grave”. A wonderful writer is Mr Hart.
I found myself ready for this book to be over towards the end.. it was a bit too dark for me, but wonderfully done.

Great New Author

I hadn't read anything by John Hart before, but I'm glad I downloaded this book. His charater's personalities were strong and interesting. The interactions he wrote about couldn't have been more on. The storyline was interesting and believable. I truly enjoyed listening to this book. I am going back to read his first book and look forward to more from him.

A very good writer

Down River is a well written mystery. It has some flaws but overall it kept me absorbed the whole way through. I look forward to hearing the rest of his books.

Love John Hart!

So many twists & turns & unexpected details & surprises. Deep characters with complicated pasts. Can't wait to start the next one!