The River King - by Alice Hoffman (Paperback)

About the Book

People tend to stay in their place in the town of Haddan. The students at the prestigious prep school don't mix with locals; even within the school, hierarchy rules, as freshman and faculty members find out where they fit in and what is expected of them. But when a body is found in the river behind the school, a local policeman will walk into this enclosed world and upset it entirely.

Book Synopsis

A story about a small town's surface appearance and the truths submerged below from the New York Times bestselling author of The Rules of Magic.

People tend to stay in their place in the town of Haddan. The students at the prestigious prep school don't mix with locals; even within the school, hierarchy rules as freshman and faculty members find out where they fit in and what is expected from them. But there are minor collisions happening everywhere: An awkward boy, the son of a teacher, is flirting with a pretty classmate, the daughter of a convenience-store cashier. A photographer in plastic flip-flops and an overflowing backpack is about to marry a staid, ambitious historian. And when a body is found in the river behind the school, a local policeman named Abey Grey will walk into this enclosed world and upset it entirely...

Review Quotes

Praise for The River King

"Graceful, beguiling, and quirky...Reading her book is like having a dream that haunts even after we awaken."--The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"Rewarding...a novel not to be missed."--St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"Set in and around an exclusive private school in fictional Haddan, Mass., bestselling author Hoffman's latest novel flows as swiftly and limpidly as the Haddan River, the town's mystical waterway...As ever, Hoffman mixes myth, magic and reality, addressing issues of town and gown, enchanting her readers with a many-layered morality tale and proving herself once again an inventive author with a distinctive touch."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Suspenseful and engrossing."--Denver Rocky Mountain News

"It can be hard to find an example of good old-fashioned storytelling these days, but storytelling, refreshingly, is Alice Hoffman's strength...The River King is full of wonderfully and satisfyingly odd twists and turns."--The New York Times Book Review

About the Author

Alice Hoffman is the bestselling author of more than thirty works of fiction, including The Invisible Hour, The World That We Knew, Practical Magic, The Rules of Magic (A Reese's Book Club pick), Magic Lessons, The Book of Magic, Here on Earth (An Oprah's Book Club pick), and The Dovekeepers. She lives near Boston.