REVIEW: The Current by Tim Johnston @algonquinbooks @tjohnstonwriter
The Current
by Tim Johnston
Thank you to Algonquin Books for this copy! Releasing in January - this is one to add to your TBR.
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Publish Date: January 22, 2019
Hardcover
416 Pages
Standalone
Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense
When two young women leave their college campus in the dead of winter for a 700-mile drive north to Minnesota, they suddenly find themselves fighting for their lives in the icy waters of the Black Root River, just miles from home. One girl’s survival, and the other’s death—murder, actually—stun the citizens of a small Minnesota town, thawing memories of another young woman who lost her life in the same river ten years earlier, and whose killer may yet live among them. One father is forced to relive his agony while another’s greatest desire—to bring a killer to justice—is revitalized . . . and the girl who survived the icy plunge cannot escape the sense that she is connected to that earlier unsolved case by more than a river. Soon enough she’s caught up in an investigation of her own that will unearth long-hidden secrets, and stoke the violence that has long simmered just below the surface of the town. Souls frozen in time, ghosts and demons, the accused and the guilty, all stir to life in this cold northern place where memories, like treachery, run just beneath the ice, and where a young woman can come home but still not be safe.
My Review:
From the very first page, I could tell this was going to be an atmospheric read. There's country/small town and big city books. A lot of what we read in the mystery/thriller genre is based in larger cities such as London and New York. Then we get ones like this that are catered to that small town feel. A more intimate setting where people know each other and their families for decades and the sting is sharper and the reveal or overall coming is told in a more subtle, concise way that still leaves a mark. That is what this story did for me.
This book transverses from past to present and could be a little confusing at the beginning. I'm a big believer in using quotation marks for dialogue and the author doesn't for the past conversations but does for the present. It didn't quite bother me in this book as it has in others because at least there was a pattern to it - I think some of you know what I mean. The way this was written was absolutely beautiful. I enjoyed this style a lot - at times it felt (to me) like that narrator from the movie 300 telling me the story.. but then my mind is a strange place. 🤣
I felt great compassion for the characters - Johnston really brings out their raw emotions and makes you feel each and every one of them. From the girls and their skin crawling encounters, to the men and women who have lost their children. I'm a tad confused at the ending and would have like a little closure on one particular part... however, this is an extraordinary book. Absolutely solid in the somber feel from page one to the very last.
This book gave me a little bit of Reconstruction Amelia and Good as Gone feels but I couldn't tell you exactly why. Sometimes a book just reminds you of another one and they could have absolutely nothing in common but evoke a feeling.
Atmospheric, Emotional and Raw.
★★★★
I can't wait to read this one! I thought DESCENT was incredible--I stumbled on it by accident (an Algonquin book that has a thriller-ish cover--that caught my attention) and I was thoroughly captivated. I was immersed in the world, and I felt the characters were beautifully drawn, with nuance and detail and empathy. Thanks for this review!
ReplyDelete