Monday, May 18, 2009

Sibella Giorello's The Rivers Run Dry ~ Reviewed


The Rivers Run Dry (Paperback)
by Sibella Giorello
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Thomas Nelson (March 3, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1595545336


Back Cover:

When a routine case turns deadly, forensic geologist Raleigh Harmon finds her career on the rocks and her life at stake.

Special Agent Raleigh Harmon is good at her job, but not as good at bureau politics. As one of the few females on the team, she finds herself in a strange land when she's transferred from Richmond to drought-stricken Seattle. When a hiker suddenly goes missing and a ransom note arrives, Raleigh realizes there's no time for transitions. Vowing to find the missing college girl, she must rely on her forensic geology skills to uncover the truth, leaving no stone unturned.

Gritty and poetic, with an evocative sense of place, a quirky cast of characters, a fast-twisting plot, and a compelling, complicated heroine, this superbly crafted mystery will keep you reading compulsively as hope runs short, the clock runs down, and the rivers run dry.



Review:

“The day was bright, with clouds high and distant as wisps, and I decided the best way to deal with weather in the Northwest was to remember mood swings of a manic depressive.” (p. 87)

Sibella Giorello’s name is as exotic as her writing style. The word-pictures she paints in a reader’s mind are crisp – almost tangible. You can hear, feel, see, smell and taste everything taking place in the life of one very intelligent, very tough-as-nails FBI agent named Raleigh Harmon. Readers who enjoy suspense-filled mysteries…look no further! Sibella Giorello’s Raleigh Harmon series is top of the line entertainment in every way!

The rivers run dry is the second novel in the Raleigh Harmon series as well as Giorello’s second published full-length novel. She won a Christy award for her first novel, The Stones Cry Out, and I guarantee you it will be the first of many awards for this very talented writer! Raleigh Harmon is a fictional character that I admired immediately! Her faith has been tried by fire and has come through tougher and stronger than ever. Her relationship with God is more real than any human connection, yet she carries it in her heart as naturally as she carries the Glock strapped to her waist. Her intelligent, witty and often merciless perception of those around her provided many laugh-out-loud moments as well as poignant, and somewhat painful scenes. I have a new hero!

In the rivers run dry, Agent Harmon has been sent to Seattle on a disciplinary transfer, and her boss, Jack Stephenson, is a first-class jerk! I won’t spoil the fun of that relationship for you, but suffice it to say I found myself wishing painful things to happen to that man! Anyway, Agent Harmon brings her mom along on her cross-country re-location and they live with her very loony Aunt Charlotte. Both her female relatives provide a much-needed distraction throughout the story.

The first assignment – a missing rich girl. Her parents insist she’s been kidnapped, but evidence first suggests that a willfully deceitful child has run off to play. As the plot thickens some really evil bad guys begin to surface, and it isn’t long before Agent Harmon is pitted against a very wicked and demented perpetrator. Using her knowledge of geology (provided by our very intelligent author who happens to love the science), a gritty determination and incredibly strong faith, Raleigh Harmon finds herself among a very twisted spider-web and unable to identify the spider.

I adore a suspenseful mystery that keeps me guessing right up until the final pages! Giorello is VERY GOOD at this! You will be gasping, holding your breath, missing sleep and generally desperate to get to the end of her story. All along the way your mind is held tautly aware of every sensory and emotional stimuli in the life of the main character. The writing is crisp, succinct and powerful, and the ending…immensely satisfying without wrapping things up either neatly or predictably.

Reviewed by:
Kim Ford

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