Readers Advisory: DESCENT
In the Washington Post, Patrick Anderson gives high praise to Tim Johnston’s Descent, (Workman/Algonquin; OverDrive Sample; Jan 6), saying it is the most powerful thriller he’s read that uses the popular theme of a missing girl — more powerful than Stieg Larsson’s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Dennis Lehane’s Mystic River, or Laura Lippman’s What the Dead Know. He adds, “The story unfolds brilliantly, always surprisingly, but the glory of Descent lies not in its plot but in the quality of the writing.”
On NPR’s web site, Alan Cheuse uses a different comparison, saying, “Tim Johnston has written a book that makes Gone Girl seem gimmicky and forced.”
Check your catalogs; several libraries have not yet ordered it. Those that have are showing holds, heavy in some areas.
January 10th, 2015 at 5:04 pm
I’ve been raving all over the place about this one. Grant Courtland’s daughter is kidnapped while on a run in the hills of Colorado. Johnston’s male point of view of a father and brother’s grief and his characterizations of nature and the ruggedness of the Rocky Mountains make Descent a standout.