The Current
by Tim Johnston
Genre: Mystery / Thriller
My Review
Sometimes I think reading the synopsis for a book spoils the reading experience for me. Not in this case. Instead, in my eagerness to know what happened to the two young women on that cold, dark night, I made sure I set aside plenty of time to savor the story. I knew this was going to be a straight through read for me.
The two girls weren’t friends, but then they were. How that came to be was a great idea by the author. It made the girls real and likable. I quickly formed a connection with them and it saddened me. I knew the events of that night would leave one of them dead. It had me wishing I could change the outcome. That, to me, is a sure sign the rest of the book will take me places I might not want to go, make me feel things on a higher level and, perhaps, give me an ending I wish were different. Not that that is a bad thing.
All of those feelings, and that’s just the beginning of the book. What comes next is a string of events and reveals that had me both holding my breath, wringing my hands and thinking, oh no, that did not just happen.
I read Descent, another of Tim Johnston’s books. I liked his writing and how he could pen genuine characters and have me thinking I knew what was going to happen and then taking the story in a whole other direction. I got more of that with The Current. And a boatload more suspense. Lovers of this genre need to grab a copy and dive in. Just remember to breathe.
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Synopsis
A Stunning New Novel from the Bestselling Author of Descent
Tim Johnston, whose 2015 national bestseller Descent was called “astonishing” by the Washington Post and “unforgettable” by the Miami Herald, returns with another tour de force about the indelible impact of acrime on the lives of innocent people.
When two young women leave their college campus in the dead of winter for a 700-mile drive north to Minnesota, they suddenly find themselves fighting for their lives in the icy waters of the Black Root River, just miles from home. One girl’s survival, and the other’s death—murder, actually—stun the citizens of a small Minnesota town, thawing memories of another young woman who lost her life in the same river ten years earlier, and whose killer may yet live among them. One father is forced to relive his agony while another’s greatest desire—to bring a killer to justice—is revitalized . . . and the girl who survived the icy plunge cannot escape the sense that she is connected to that earlier unsolved case by more than a river. Soon enough she’s caught up in an investigation of her own that will unearth long-hidden secrets, and stoke the violence that has long simmered just below the surface of the town. Souls frozen in time, ghosts and demons, the accused and the guilty, all stir to life in this cold northern place where memories, like treachery, run just beneath the ice, and where a young woman can come home but still not be safe.
Brilliantly plotted, unrelentingly suspenseful, and beautifully realized, The Current is a gripping page-turner about how the past holds the key to the future as well as an unbreakable grip on the present.
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Ha Laura of course it sucks when you form a connection with a character and know there is a high probability he or she will die! Now that being said I am glad you loved it as much as expected!
You’d think I’d be used to it as I read so many horror stories. LOL Sometimes I just wish I could change things. Sure makes it an emotional read.
You’re right, the synopsis does make you want to read the book!
It sure reeled me in, Priscilla:)
Interesting sounding plot for this one!
It’s kind of like two stories in one as a cold case might be connected.
This sounds amazing! I haven’t even read this and I’m terrified for those two girls😧
Tim did such a wonderful job developing these two girls and it was so hard to read about the events leading up to the river. I knew one would die and I wanted to save them both!
This sounds like a good book, Laura. However, I don’t think I can read it since I lived in a town with a river running through it. Throughout my childhood I heard stories about people drowning in the river and I had nightmares for years about falling into the river and drowning. I still get a little nervous around a swift river! I have swum in the Mississippi River though!
I have a healthy respect for the danger of rivers. This was so suspenseful as I knew one of these girls would not survive her fate with the river. I will say there wasn’t a lot of detail about the actual event. More about what led up to it and what occurred after. I understand why you might not want to read it:)
The writing sounds like it is amazing! If you felt so connected to the characters early on, I am sure that the ending would really hit hard. I will have to give this author a try! Glad that you enjoyed it. 🙂
His writing is strong and he builds quite a twisted plot.
Great review! I’d not heard of this book before but your review has definitely made me want to read it. I’m going to go look it up right now 🙂
I enjoyed this one as much as his other book. I’m hoping he writes fast! LOL
Great review! I’m sure I would love this and be on edge the whole time.
Among the many things I enjoy about his writing is how quickly I get pulled in and kept there.
Aww, one of them dies at the end? That sounds so sad, but also bittersweet with the connection the two will make throughout the book. 🙁
One of them dies at the beginning. And it connects to an older case and some personal situations that keeps you on edge.
Knowing that one of the main characters will end up dead at the beginning is a double edge sword for me. I don’t like the unwelcome surprise of a character death and yet, when I know there’s a sad, bittersweet tone to the whole read. Sounds like you enjoyed this anyhow. Love books when I they make me want to read straight through. 🙂
I read about the death in the synopsis so I knew going in it would be about the survivor and who did what to who. Connecting the incident to a similar occurrence years ago made it quite the suspenseful read.
Oh no, I hate when a character I get attached to croaks, but I love when an author has the courage to take it there. lol
sherry @ fundinmental
I knew one of the characters died by reading the synopsis of the book. Even though I knew this, I still wished I could change it and save her. That sure made this a taut read for me, Sherry.
Oh darn it!! I ALMOST bought this today! I’ll have to go back and snag a copy! 🙂
Erica | Erica Robyn Reads
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. This is my second book by the author and I’ll be reading anything else he publishes.