Here we are in small town Haddan, Massachusetts, home to the minor private school which is largely ignored by the town's residents. Until one night, a suspicious death occurs at the school.....

The school's well painted, the town is too, as are several of the characters. But I was irritated by the way in which the narration was perpetually interrupted by digressions to the past, as a means of illuminating the present. I wanted to read to the end and see how things turned out. But more importantly, I wanted to get to the end. ( )

I find that some of Hoffman's work can seem rushed, or a bit incomplete. I felt that way about this book. The story had beautiful imagery and prose, but the story seemed unresolved in the end. I wondered about the outcome of some of the characters.
Abe Grey knows that the body in the river was not the result of accidental drowning, but the police department wants him to keep his suspicions to himself... is this more realistic than the murder mystery genre that not only resolves the murder but sometimes gives a complete explanation in the last chapter? (i.e. "Hound of the Baskervilles" etc.)
This would be a great book for a book club so that members could examine these and other unresolved plot twists. Was it a "happy ending" after all? ( )

Cheating isn't romantic!!!! Stalking isn't romantic!!!!!!!!!!! ( )

I’m generally a fan of Alice Hoffman’s books, but this one took a dark turn that I’m not sure it can come back from… Set in the small town of Hadden, Hoffman weaves a tale suffused with conflict that is belied by its idyllic setting. A small private boarding school accompanies the river-bound town, providing a dichotomy of characters to interact as Hoffman’s drama unfolds. Set large are a quartet of protagonists, some from the school, some from the town, who must learn to tread carefully in the delicately maintained ecosystem of Hadden and the school. Of course, the whole conflict comes about because these players refuse to play by the rules (arbitrarily set as they are), and the real drama starts when August (Gus) Pierce is found dead in the river - becoming the titular River King. Hoffman writes the first half of the novel as if Gus’ death is going to be part of his ongoing rebellion against the school and is nothing more than a trick played out against his unwelcoming classmates, but as policeman Abel Grey continues to investigate August’s death (against the wishes of the constabulary and school) the town’s secrets begin to come out and everyone begins to unravel. Small towns and the insular worlds of boarding schools often have darker secrets than expected, and Hoffman plumbs the depths of these themes with her expectedly atmospheric writing and carefully drawn characters which walk as close to real life as a novel can get. As we near the final pages, August’s killers have not been brought to a real sort of justice and the remainder of our protagonists are quietly going their own ways away from Hadden and its petty drama, so we don’t get a real conclusion. And yet, this soft closing is maybe more realistic of real life; people have to move on and move out as some battles aren’t worth fighting, but for others swimming with the current of the river is the strongest path into the future. ( )

This book is hard to categorize. It has elements of ghost story, psychological mystery, coming-of-age story, character study and murder investigation, but it isn't strictly any of those things. It's mostly an exploration of the consequences of keeping secrets and living with guilt. The small New England town of Haddan is divided East and West into the denizens of the Haddan boarding school--students, administration and staff-- at one end, and the townspeople, merchants and farmers who cannot afford to send their children there at the other. The town occasionally benefits from large contributions made by parents and alumni who want what happens at the school to STAY at the school, without interference from locals. Too much interest, even from law enforcement, even in suspicious deaths, is promptly discouraged by funding of a new park, or police station, or other impossible-to-refuse generosity. Still, incursions are made in both directions over the years, often with tragic long-term results. This was an engaging read, although many of the reveals that ought to have been bombshells failed to burst. I'm still thinking about it a couple days after finishing it, and that means it warrants an extra half-star. I'll read more of Alice Hoffman's work; I suspect she doesn't repeat herself. ( )