Book Review: River of Secrets

By Ryland Johnson

Southern writing has an affinity for the gothic.  Just as the blues has a tendency to explore the dark side of the human condition through murder ballads and tales of heartbreak and madness, Southern writing tends toward noir. Theres something in the humidity, in the dark, liquid atmosphere of the Southern imagination that fascinates on the horror lurking under the surface.

Roger Johns debut novel, Dark River Rising, and his new work, River of Secrets, both deliver fast-paced, gritty crime drama with a heavy note of place. Johns Baton Rouge oozes mystery, and his heroine, Police Detective Wallace Hartman, is an ideal guide for navigating the citys murky underbelly. In River of Secrets, Detective Hartman investigates the murder of a politician with problematic associations. The evidence leads Hartman in one direction, but her gut leads her in another. Shell have to use all her wits to solve the case and protect the ones she loves.

Roger Johns experience as a lawyer and professor deepens the world in which River of Secrets unfolds. Johns is a keen observer, and his attentiveness, along with his sense of tone, makes his Baton Rouge seem both dangerous and familiar. There is just enough real-world know-how in Johns prose to satisfy fans of police procedural fiction, and Johns rich cast of characters are varied and human, sympathetic and monstrous, and, most importantly, surprising in the crucial moments.

A native of Louisiana, Roger Johns now lives in Georgia with his wife. He was named Georgia Author of the Year in the Mystery category for his first novel, Dark River Rising. The Ocee Library is honored to welcome Roger Johns for a reading and book signing, free and open to the public, on Wednesday, October 10 at 6:00pm.


Ryland Johnson is a librarian at Ocee Library, 5090 Abbotts Bridge Road, Alpharetta. 770-360-8897. AFPLS.org/ocee-branch6