A River Closely Watched

Bobby DuBois comes from a long line of misfits. Basically a good kid, he can't shake an inherited propensity for violence and drug abuse. When his father gets arrested it appears likely that Bobby, too, is headed into the system. Then Uncle Thaddeus rescues him and they take to the backwoods, managing to stay one step ahead of the law until hurricane rains swell the Swift River, ravaging Franklin County and flushing Bobby and Thaddeus out of the hills. Still on the run, Thaddeus teaches Bobby how to drink, fight and fornicate how to be a right DuBois.

Perhaps the most important lesson Bobby learns, however, is that he doesn’t want to grow up to be like his father or his uncle. The bristling action culminates with a disturbing custody battle waged in the shadows of Stillwater Bridge. The DuBois clan is in trouble and has been for generations, and at its core this beautiful and violent first novel is about Bobby s struggle to save his own soul.