Genre: Suspense
Description:
“Ernst Kohl has spent nearly half his life in prison after being
convicted of murder as a young man. Upon his release, with nowhere else to go,
Kohl returns to his old family home on the outskirts of a small Michigan town,
hoping for redemption, or at least understanding.
He finds a dog, a girlfriend, and a job in quick succession, and it
seems as if he might finally be able to leave the past behind and make a quiet
life for himself. But some of the residents, including the town’s corrupt
deputy sheriff, are less than thrilled to see him, and will stop at nothing to
rid the town of its infamous resident.
As events hurtle to an inevitable conclusion, Kohl is left to decide:
At what point might a man break, and at what cost to himself?”
Author:
“Robert Hays has been a newspaper reporter, public relations writer,
magazine editor, political campaign manager and university professor and
administrator. A native of Illinois, he taught in Texas and Missouri and
retired from a long journalism teaching career at the University of Illinois.
He also has spent a great deal of time in South Carolina, the home state of his
wife Mary, and was an active member of the South Carolina Writers Workshop. He
served in the U.S. Army and holds three degrees, including an interdisciplinary
Ph.D., from Southern Illinois University. His publications include academic
journal and popular periodical articles and 12 books (one of these a re-titled
paperback edition). His most recent non-fiction book is a biographical memoir
about his close friend and collaborator, Gen. Oscar Koch, who was World War II
intelligence chief for Gen. George S. Patton, Jr. Three of his five novels have
been honored with Pushcart Prize nominations. Robert and Mary live in
Champaign, Illinois. They have two sons and a grandson.”
Appraisal:
This reads like suspense or a thriller, with plenty of intense moments
and more than enough tension between those peaks as you wonder what’s coming
next. But underneath the tension is a message, or maybe just a lot of food for
thought. It had me thinking about redemption. I started wondering how I’d react
if faced with corruption from those who should be the least corrupt. How these
things play out in a small town where everyone knows everybody else like where
this story takes place may be different than we’d expect in a big city.
Along with an intense, thought provoking story, A Shallow River of Mercy has some interesting characters that draw
the reader into the story. This starts with the protagonist, Ernst, but
continues to more minor characters, like the truck drivers at the truck stop
diner where some of the story takes place.
FYI:
Small amount of adult language and content.
Format/Typo
Issues:
No significant issues
Rating:
**** Four Stars
Reviewed
by: BigAl
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