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YES, THE RIVER KNOWS
by Tracy Dunham
Berkley, December 2005
304 pages
$23.95
ISBN: 0425205770


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

YES, THE RIVER KNOWS is the second novel by Tracy Dunham. Dunham has a marvelous ability for writing fresh and unusual descriptions which add tremendous flavor to the story.

At the beginning of this novel, however, this ability is a definite drawback. In introducing the characters and creating the background for the reader, she does more 'telling' than 'showing.' Some sentences are so long and contain so many descriptions that they end up not making sense. Many descriptions simply seem too grandiose.

These lengthy diversions stop the action and require you to re-read the same section more than once or twice in order to see what she was trying to say. I almost gave up reading the book, but I'm glad I didn't. Once Dunham loses herself in the storytelling the characters also become more interesting and natural.

YES, THE RIVER KNOWS is set in a small town in South Carolina and is chock full of undercurrents, prejudices, and secrets from the past, racial and otherwise. The main character is attorney, Talbot Jefferson, who handles mostly DUI cases, and a few wills and deeds. She is fast-driving and tough-talking, but has low self-esteem.

When she and a friend find a severed head in the river she suddenly finds herself unwittingly involved in not one but two murders. Does her secretary hold the key and will the secretary be murdered for what she knows or is she the murderer' From large gun shows to the personal effects of the Russian Czar, Tal must find the connection to all the pieces of this intricate puzzle before she too is murdered.

With the exception of the above caveat, the book is extremely fast-moving and suspenseful. You wouldn't expect to see this quality of writing in such a new author.

Reviewed by Ginger K. W. Stratton, December 2005

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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