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Down River | 
| Author: John Hart
Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur
Category: Book
Used (12) from £0.53
Avg. Customer Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 1148144
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Edition: Reprint
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 384
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 6.6 x 4.1 x 1.3
ISBN: 0312945663
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780312945664
ASIN: 0312945663
Publication Date: September 30, 2008
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| Customer Reviews: Read 9 more reviews...
Atmospheric and Memorable November 4, 2008
I am not a regular reader and am very choosy, but I read this book within a few days and was so sorry to finish it! The story moved along at a good pace and the characters were well presented. I got a real sense of the beautiful settings and surroundings, and despite guessing the main villain quite early on, was still pretty gripped through to the end. Lots of twists and turns along the way too. My only negative comment would be the lack of passion between the two leading characters - I didn't get a sense of longing between them, which I feel there should have been. They were too busy being too cool! An excellent effort - enough to prompt me to buy John Hart's first novel and any future ones.
 I don't understand the hype October 14, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Thank goodness for reviewer LH Healy - my friends and I thought we were the only people who didn't care for this book! It's not badly written but it's let down by implausible actions by the characters, and hints of the twists to come are glaringly obvious. I bought it on the strength of Matthew Lewin's review in the Guardian - a mistake I don't intend to make again.
 Good and Gripping September 15, 2008
This is one of the those books that creates a world that you keep wanting to return to; you think about it during your working day and can't wait to get back into it.
It is not just the quality of the thriller that does this, but also the complex interplay of the characters and their relationships. There's always some new insight waiting for you every few pages.
Adam Chase makes an interesting hero. His anger and resentment keep surfacing and you understand how his impetuousness leads him into trouble, but comprehend why he does what he does.
The rest of his family is well-drawn, especially the step-brother Jamie and his sister Miriam. The character of Robin is slightly weaker, though not disappointingly so. She is a mature woman who has had to make hurtful decisions and live with the consequences.
The slow build of the story is not tedious, as is often the case with action thrillers. The denouement is not an obvious one, and does the reader's intelligence justice in its motivation and playing out.
There is something very filmic about this novel; it works like a classic American movie, and would make for a good evening at the cinema. This is perhaps what draws you so far into the story.
A great summer read September 14, 2008
A great read. This is a fast paced drama with unique characters and a plot full of twists to keep you guessing. This book isnt as fast paced as something like the Da Vinci code, and not as meaningful or intelligent as many other books. But if you want a fast paced, atmospheric and clever mystery. I highly recommend this book.
Unimpressive and tedious August 12, 2008
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
Often I read reviews on Amazon, where people have generally liked a novel, and there is one where the reviewer writes 'I must be missing something', or words to that effect. Well in the case of this novel, I must be that person, because I don't understand all the hype about it at all.
I just about forced myself to finish it as I was (just) interested enough to read the end, but only just. I kept thinking there must be some amazing twists in the plot to come, but they never arrived, and I had already realised what some of the outcomes were going to be earlier on in the book. This isn't a problem if the writing itself is stylish and the tale enthralling enough to keep one reading whether you have worked out the plot in advance or not, but in this case I don't think it is.
The main character, Adam Chase, finally returns to his home town to face the demons of his past, which saw him wrongly accused but fortunately acquitted of the murder of a local young man. The action centres around his family and a small circle of other inhabitants, and gradually unravels how their pasts have actually crossed and reveals hidden secrets that lead to the revelation of the real murderer, but not before a further murder and an assault have occured. Chase rekindles a romance with a local detective on his return and proceeds to antagonise her and the other detectives by going behind their backs to conduct his own investigations.
The relationships could have been built more believably, which would have evoked more empathy with the characters, or at least an understanding. It all just seems a bit sketchy.
If you want a very easy, undemanding read, which admittedly many readers do in the summertime, then maybe give this a try. Evidently many others have enjoyed it more. But I think there are other thrillers out there just as enjoyable but with more style to the writing and more depth to the characters than this one, with more pace and excitement. For me, it simply isn't in the same league as the brilliant 'A Quiet Belief in Angels' by R.J.Ellory, for example. I think I just like my tales a bit more meaty and substantial really.
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