G.D Hines’ debut offering, Gather at the River, blasts out
of the gate and plunges the reader immediately into the dark inner world of Kyle
Hyatt’s Vietnam flashbacks and the horrors of war and the unseen still locked
within his mind. At its core, it is a story about family and the lengths they
will got to protect their own, no matter the cost. Where long held beliefs are challenged and
desperately clung to traditions begin to deteriorate as the line between right
and wrong blurs beyond recognition.
The Hyatts are on both sides of the law, and both sides of
prosperity. Three generations of Hyatt
men and a stubborn legacy of backwoods lifestyles and attitudes are at risk as
multiple plots spin towards the tale’s heart stopping conclusion, leaving each
man to face his own internal and external challenges.
Kyle battles the demons in his mind and in the bottle that
holds him hostage from living in the present.
His father, Aaron, believes in self-sufficiency and refuses to live in a
world outside his log cabin in the woods.
Kyle’s teenage son, Gayle, is torn between his loyalty to the only life
he’s known with his grandfather and the encouragement of his uncle Reese to go
to college and get more out of life.
Reese, at war with his entire family for his choice of profession must
balance the obligations of his badge with his family, including the bootlegging
activities of his brother Erwin and the other questionable activities of the
rest of his family.
Set against the harsh backdrop of a southern Alabama cypress
swamp in the early 1960s, the pace never slows. The stark reality of living off the land and
its dangers, both natural and manmade predators, are described with a grit and
harshness that seeks to be as honest as the characters need to be with
themselves. No apology or sugar coating
is made with a graphicness that tears at one’s soul with the fierceness of a
bobcat’s kill. Inner and outer conflict
wait around each corner as each of the Hyatt men must face their own duality
and consider new ways of approaching their worlds if they are to survive. But the clock is ticking and a murderer and
a rapist is on the loose, putting at risk everything they each hold dear.
Gather At the River is an exceptionally well written, hold
onto your hat and watch out for gators tale of revenge, of justice, of honor,
of redemption. Hines ensnares the
reader from the first paragraph and does not release his grip until the very
end. A wild ride, it is a brilliant mix
of grisly brutality and poignant hopefulness, always compelling the reader to
see what dark dangers lurk around the next corner. So engaging, I found myself cheering for
their victories and wishing they could hear my screams of warning as I could
see the next danger coming before they did.
Available on Amazon:
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