River Below, The

by Bonnie Hearn Hill

Severn House

Severn House Publishers

Mystery & Thrillers

Pub Date 01 Jan 2018

I am reviewing a copy of The River Below through Severn House Publishers and Netgalley:

The mangled car was pulled from the river with a gun and bloodstains and suddenly the sense of safety in Tessa’s California hometown.

Claire Barett, Tessa’s friend and coworker is worried about the car and gun but more than that she is worried about Tessa’s safety. With Tessa’s husband preoccupied with a big case, and in denial about Tessa’s memory issues, Claire knows it is up to her to find the answers, but will she be able to deal with where those answers lead?

I give The River Below five out of five stars!

Happy Reading

Interesting mystery that's really more about two women- Tessa and Claire. Tessa is losing herself, falling into the morass of dementia. Claire, her colleague from the river conservancy, isn't sure whether Tess really saw a woman disappear or not. Tessa's husband, well, he's doing his best to ignore all the problems. The novel is written in alternating chapters by each women; note that the tense is different in each, which can be a tad distracting at first. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is a difficult book to describe because it's about more than it appears. Try it for a story about women's friendship.

Tessa and Claire are firm friends who both work for river conservation on the San Joaquin River Restoration Project in California. They return from a trip to rescue some ancient grapevines, to find that part of a car has been pulled from the river. Over the next few days, more items are found, including a body, and everyone on the project is on edge. Tessa seems more affected than the others in that she has some worrying memory lapses and also claims to have seen a person by the river after dark.

This novel is as much about friendship, trust, love and old rivalries as it is about crime, and it moves along at a cracking pace. The main plot is well constructed and the sub-plots keep the reader interested as the situation gets more complex and we learn a great deal about the characters and the events leading up to finding the car.

The characters are largely convincing, especially Tessa whose loss of focus is a particular worry for Claire and Tessa's husband Eric. Her symptoms point towards early dementia, but protective Eric is unwilling to put her through the tranche of tests required to confirm this. Claire is less convinced and feels that there is something about recent events which has impacted on Tessa's peace of mind.

I really enjoyed this novel and it had enough about the relationships of the characters to make it a satisfying read. The tension rises as it moves towards its conclusion, which keeps the reader gripped until the very last page. Some questions remain unanswered but that doesn't detract from a jolly good read.

Pashtpaws


Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

Thank you Netgalley and Severn House for the ARC.

I'm having a hard time reviewing this book. It took me a while to grasp the complexity of the story. Usually when the first few pages don't grab me I don't bother wasting my time. Yet this one somehow kept calling me. The writing and pace are pleasant, an easy read I'd almost say, but the topic deserves more than that.
Whilst there's a car being pulled from the river, the story quickly shifts to Claire and Tessa, two woman working at the River Conservancy who are also good friends. Claire's chapters are written in past tense, Tessa's in present, which really confused me. But I kept going, hoping it would explain itself, and luckily it does. Lately their friendship seems to drift apart, but Tessa's memory loss binds them. What all this has to do with the car and later also body being pulled from the river kept me in limbo forever. That part of the story just lingers somewhere in the background until the last chapters of the book when finally connections are being made. Never a wow! moment, it just flows nicely towards the end.
The final chapter is beautifully written, but should be called Epilogue. Without warning Tessa's condition seems to have progressed from mild to serious. Did I miss something? This book rattled my brain for sure!
Stars for fine writing, choice of subject and effort

Claire and Tessa had been working together on the San Joaquin River restoration project. Claire worried about symptom of Dementia that Tessa had especially until they found a car in the river with the bloodstain and weapon in it. Tessa begins to believe she saw someone on the river. This book make me wonder what happened along the story. Is there anything should be tells but Tessa can't remember any of it. This was a good book but for some reason it just didn’t make me feel anything.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Severn House Publishers for an advance copy of The River Below, a stand alone novel set in the San Joaquim Valley, California.

Tess and Claire work for a conservation trust where they do their best for the environment but several episodes of forgetfulness have convinced Claire that Tessa is not well. When a car with bloodstains and an old WWII Luger pistol are pulled from the river where they work it seems to exacerbate Tessa's symptoms.

I struggled a bit with The River Below as it is a slow read and is as much a study of Tessa's descent into dementia as a crime novel, although the twist at the end is excellent.

The description of Tessa's memory losses and the reactions of Claire, her husband Eric and herself to it are sad and seem extremely realistic. Their first instinct is to cover it up but it gets difficult. Tessa is by turns bewildered, insouciant and frightened. The author has done a good job with it.

The crime element of the novel is extremely slow going. There is little information on what the police think or know as the author is more interested in reactions with two of Claire's friends believing they will be blamed and acting accordingly. I didn't find this alarmism convincing.

The River Below is not a bad novel, simply not to my taste as I prefer a strong crime element in my reading. I think it will appeal to readers who like a character driven read.

After a wrecked car with bloodstains and a gun is pulled from the river near a quiet California town, Tessa begins to believe she saw someone, a young woman near the riverbank some time earlier. But she can’t be sure, because Tessa’s memory is failing. Her friend and coworker, Claire Barrett is worried about her friend. Tessa’s husband refuses to see what is happening to his wife, choosing to devote all his energy into his current court case. But when a body is found, Tessa may be in danger because of what she saw, even if she can’t remember. Slow building suspense and well defined characters made this an excellent read