The stunning vistas of the Rocky Mountains reveal a dark and deadly side in this brilliantly conceived thriller about family ties and the fight for survival. Descent, the story of a family undone by the disappearance of a daughter who went out for a morning run and didn’t come back, is stunning in its emotional impact–a compulsively readable page-turner with a strong literary sensibility. The … girl’s vanishing–on a sunny, late-summer vacation morning–all the more devastating for its mystery, is the beginning of the family’s harrowing journey down increasingly divergent and solitary paths, until all that continues to bind them to each other are the questions they can never bring themselves to ask: At what point does a family stop searching? At what point does a girl stop fighting for her life? Johnston captures every emotion, every terrifying thought, every moment of loneliness, from the perspectives of everyone in the family—as each in his or her own way assumes responsibility for their collective loss. And in the father we see the last flicker of hope as he pursues every angle and refuses to give up in his belief that his daughter is still alive. Ultimately he finds an answer, in a climax that is stunning in both its execution and its resolution. This combination of a great story and beautiful writing brings to mind the works of Tim Gautreaux, Dennis Lehane, and Russell Banks.
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Descent
Maybe I don’t read enough literary thrillers so I was ill-prepared for the intensity of this book. That, or it’s just an incredible story. Lush language and some gut-wrenching twists. LOVED it.@Katie @merrycoin
This is one of the best books that I have read for some time. The story starts with a bang. The Courtland family is visiting the Colorado Mountains so that the oldest daughter can improve her running capabilities in the high atmosphere because she has received a track scholarship for college and wants to be as conditioned as possible. Early one …
Lyrical and hypnotic, DESCENT is a pulse-pounding thriller of the first order. But it’s also a gorgeously written, thought-provoking, and haunting novel about family, survival, and the power of a single choice. You’ll be in Johnston’s unrelenting narrative grip until the final page, and his story will stay with you long after it’s done. A truly …
Incredible. An amazing story that is so well written. Beautiful and heart-wrenching.
This book held me captive until I was finished. It’s one of those that has always stuck with me.
Excellent suspense novel by the author of THE CURRENT.
Liked it very much
Engrossing story of a family’s response to a terrible tragedy.
An unusually thoughtful and beautifully written thriller. Intense but never gratuitous. Highly recommended.
Wowza…what a book!
I’ve had the hard copy of this book for about a year and a half. I’d heard good things about it but, then, I have MANY unread books and this one fell to the wayside.
I’m kicking myself now. I decided to go ahead and read this because I happened to get an Advanced Reading Copy of the author’s next book THE CURRENT and read …
I’m not sure if I’ve ever read a book like this. The writing was absolutely beautiful, with every word carefully and perfectly chosen, providing the most vivid descriptions. I found myself not wanting to miss a single word, wanting to slow down and savor each sentence. And this was not easy to do because I wanted to know what was going to happen …
In an instant their daughter is gone, swallowed by the Rocky mountains, and the Courtlands’ lives are changed forever. This is a violent, out west version of “The Room,” but with more finely honed writing skills. In some respects, the author is reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy, but his poetic sensitivities need a bit more refinement. All in all, …
I love the originality of this novel and the interesting format Tim Johnson uses to tell his story. This novel is haunting in way that transcends the Gone Girl model for suspense.
Riveting, beautiful writing!
The author told his story in such a riveting style, it held my attention with every turn of the page.
Not my favorite type of book to read-disturbing mystery, but it was very engaging. A page-turner!