Book Review - Redemption on the River - Loren DeShon

Title: Redemption on the River

Author: LorenDeShon

Review:   I picked this book up to give it a look and got absorbed in the story.  I loved the characters and with the opening line you can’t helped but wonder what went wrong.  The main character Silas needs to get away from home and find himself.  He travels down the river meeting new and interesting characters along the way that shape him as a man.  The people he meets leave a deep impression on him and how he sees the world in general.   The ending brought a few tears to my eyes and I’m pleased with the ending.  Read the book and you will understand that statement better.

I enjoyed this book, but felt that the part on the boat with the gamblers went on a bit long for my taste.  I think a few sections could have been shorter and yet the reader would still have understood what was happening and why.  I did enjoy the part where we got to meet all the people he met along the way and I wouldn’t leave any of them out…I would just shorten a few parts to make the book tighter.

This is a great story of redemption and growing up.  Silas grew-up with his many adventures along the river and he met who he was supposed to meet.   I liked that the characters all added something to the story and carried the main plot forward for the reader.  If you enjoy historical books, coming of age, and adventure you will enjoy this book.  The author did a great job with the writing and the story telling.  This is a story worth reading and thinking about.  Check it out….you won’t be disappointed.

Publisher: Published July 2012 by Loren DeShon

ISBN: 9780985925901

Copyright: 2012

Pages: 390  Kindle Edition

Quick Review: 4 stars out of 5

Why I Read It: Sent by the author for review.

Synopsis:  Silas Jacobson pulled a trigger, killed his father, and ended up months later face down in Memphis mud, trying to forget the girl who betrayed him.

Silas buries his father on the farm, his guilt in himself and leaves home seeking to forget past mistakes. He travels on Mississippi steamboats and meets his best friend in a brawl, his worst enemy in a cathouse, and a mentor and lover at a New Orleans faro table. Fighting, fornicating, and cheating at cards are a grand time, but there's another woman, a girl on a mission of her own, who saves his life and offers the opportunity to redeem himself.

Silas staggers out of the mud to go to her, but he finds that she's deceived him from the start. He'll risk his neck for her—he owes her that much—but love is no longer possible. His shot at redemption comes down to his conscience, the two women, a poker game, and the turn of a card.

Redemption on the River is historical fiction set along the Mississippi River in 1848.

Author Biography:     An airline pilot who finally (!) published his historical fiction novel Redemption on the River.

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