Book Review: The River King

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

The River King     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Alice Hoffman
Class/Genre:   Mystery
Putnam, Jul 2000, $23.95, 324 pp.

Haddan, Massachusetts was established long before the exclusive Haddan School was opened. The elite school became a target of hatred by the locals as none of them could afford sending a child to the preppy place. Instead, their children trekked in rain, snow, or freezing cold five miles to another town's public school. The school remains a fixture because the townsfolk recognize the financial gain of having it as a customer of local goods and services, but over the years the division has grown wider than the Grand Canyon.

The troubled community explodes when a student drowns in the nearby river. Though both sides and the police department want to wash away the death that threatens the delicate balance between the outsiders and the townies, Police Officer Abel Grey, fueled by his own brother's suicide, refuses to drop his investigation. As the obsessed cop digs deeper and gains enemies, lives begin to fall apart as shadows and demons from the past seemingly haunt everyone.

THE RIVER KING is a weird atmospheric morality drama that can be interpreted on many levels, but in each case a great social divide rings through the novel. Ethics is the common seed, but varies from person to person due to Alice Hoffman's incredible ability to lyrically paint real people with genuine problems inside an undertone of gloom.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner