Our reviews of
So Cold the River by Michael Koryta
Synopsis:
It started with a documentary. The beautiful Alyssa Bradford approaches Eric Shaw to unearth the life story of her father-in-law, Campbell Bradford, a 95-year-old billionaire whose childhood is wrapped in mystery. Eric grabs the job, even though the only clues to Bradford's past are his hometown and an antique water bottle he's kept all his life.
In Bradford's hometown, Eric discovers an extraordinary past - a glorious domed hotel where movie stars, presidents, athletes and mobsters once intermingled. Long derelict, the hotel has just been restored to its former grandeur.
But something else has been restored too - a long forgotten evil that will stop at nothing to settle a decades-old score. And with every move, Eric inches closer to the centre of the building storm.
Brilliantly imagined and terrifyingly real, So Cold The River
Tony's Review
Reviewed: April/May 2010
Eric Shaw is a free-lance photographer who is commissioned by a woman to make a documentary about her father-in-law, a 95 year old billionaire, whose past is shrouded in mystery. The clues given to Eric are the name of the town where the old man lived, and an antique bottle of water he kept for his entire life. He is intrigued by the bottle, which always remains cold. He eventually decides to try it, and takes a few swigs. He finds himself transported to the past, and experiences visions of scenes involving the old man. But he finds that the water is highly addictive, and the withdrawal symptoms are severely disabling. He realises he has to find more of the water, and if possible, its original source, since the visions are enabling him to solve the mystery he was commissioned to unravel, (as well as getting rid of his withdrawal symptoms). The search leads him into some dangerous situations, most of the time with a blinding migraine and images that seem real and highly threatening. The book keeps drawing the reader back, and in addition contains some passages of brilliant descriptive writing, and I felt its only fault perhaps is that the ending is stretched out for a bit longer than it needs to be. Not your average thriller!