Salt River

by James Sallis Narrated by Alan Nebelthau

Overview

Author James Sallis is acclaimed for his taut mysteries featuring world-weary ex-Memphis cop John Turner, including Cripple Creek. Assuming the role of deputy sheriff in a small town near the city, Turner investigates sordid cases in a community that time is slowly forgetting. Here his past catches up to him when his son rolls down Main Street riding in what appears to be a stolen car. "It's a crime that a writer this good isn't better known."-Chicago Sun-Times

Editorial Reviews

Kirkus Reviews

Elegy time approaches for Cypress Grove, Tenn., and maybe for its sheriff too. "The town doesn't have much left," thinks sometime Sheriff John Turner as he sits staring out at it. There's not a lot left in himself either, he adds bleakly, too wise for self-indulgence. With the town, it's simple economics. The jobs have gone elsewhere. In Turner's case, the reasons are subtler, more complex, but one thing is certain: he's "seen a few too many people die." Not long after this melancholy thought crosses his mind, Billy Bates, his car clearly out of control, crashes fatally into City Hall. Was the car his? Was the smash-up the accident that it first seems? And what has sweet-natured but harebrained young Billy been up to in the months he was away from Cypress Grove? Turner addresses himself to these questions because an honest man does what's required of him, but clearly his heart isn't in it. He'd rather live inside his memories of his girlfriend Val, whose sudden death has changed him irrevocably. Even so, the thing that made Turner a special cop remains at his core and pushes him to get answers. Sallis (Cripple Creek, 2006, etc.) is never about plot, but always about good writing. This little gem is a case in point.

From the Publisher

A sweet song of the South from a crime novelist with the ear of a poet.” —Phil Kloer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“...haunting….Sallis writes poetic rings around the subject.” —Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review

“Sallis is a gifted polymath: poet, biographer, translator, essayist, musician and prolific (if criminally neglected) novelist. His Turner books are little gems, with their sharp descriptions and melancholy reflections.” —Adam Woog, The Seattle Times

“...elegiac meditations on fate, grief, and how we persevere in spite of it all. B+” —Entertainment Weekly

“James Sallis might be the "purest" writer of crime fiction in America today. Which means that, beyond whatever story he's telling, his books are worth reading solely for what rises from the inspired use of language....Sallis is a man of multiple talents: poet, translator, musician, teacher and a crime fiction scholar....All of this is brought to bear, vividly, in "Salt River." He assembles sentences like a virtuoso guitarist working the fret board, gracefully choosing each word (or more accurately, each note) and making it resonate. Scenes often read like prose-poems, but they are assembled with the rigor a mystery demands. The succession of chapters exert a rhythmic, almost tidal pull, leading to a conclusion that defies genre expectation - but satisfies something far deeper.” —Eddie Muller, San Francisco Chronicle

“... the power of simplicity and the musical ring of truth as only Sallis can deliver it — as he has done bravely, consistently, for the last few decades.” —Sarah Weinman, Los Angeles Times Book Review

“If you enjoy fine, minimalist prose and thoughtful, intelligent crime stories, you would be well advised to begin with the first in the series and read them all.” —Associated Press

“...will especially resonate with anyone struggling with darkness at this cheery time of year.” —Charlotte Observer

“James Sallis writes wonderfully….That he is a poet somehow must influence his use of language, although he is not flowery, if that's what "poet" brings to mind” —Andi Schecter, I Love A Mystery

“...the powerful and atmospheric short novel Salt River excels as a poignant character study and darkly riveting mystery. Paradoxically though elegantly combining the raw grit of noir fiction and the lyrical intensity of Southern gothic, Salt River further confirms the author's prestigious reputation as exemplary poet, translator, novelist, and recipient of the Boucheron Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007.” —Bookloons.com

“Sallis is…always about good writing. This little gem is a case in point.” —Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

“Sublime....the poetic prose...and the richly described rural Southern backdrop make this slim book such a rewarding read.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

“Like a tightly structured blues song, the melancholy tale finds resonance in every line and every prolonged chord….Sallis comes as close as humanly possible here to turning a mystery novel into a lyric poem.” —Booklist, Starred Review

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170645244
Publisher:	Recorded Books, LLC
Publication date:	10/03/2008
Series:	John Turner , #3
Edition description:	Unabridged

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