Synopses & Reviews
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, marks the adult fiction debut of a remarkable young writer. Stunning in its emotional impact, Descent is 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 one another 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?
In the weeks and months that follow, hope leads to disillusionment, and each of them — father, mother, son — withdraws into emotional isolation, individually assessing the blame and each assuming the responsibility for their collective loss. Haunting and unforgettable, Descent is a novel that will grab the reader's heart and mind, and will linger there long after the last page is turned.
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“[A] twisty thriller about a family grappling with loss” O: The Oprah Magazine
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“An original and psychologically deep thriller.” Outside Magazine
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“A riveting literary thriller of the can’t-stop-turning-the-page, stay-up-all-night variety.” Alice LaPlante, author of A Circle of Wives
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“If you enjoy vivid writing, intelligent plots, and gnawing your knuckles, you will love Descent.” Susan Isaacs, author of Goldberg Variations
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"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 captivating read.” Lisa Unger, author of In the Blood
Synopsis
A Breakout NEW YORK TIMES Bestseller
A USA Today Bestseller
An Indie National Bestseller
Outstanding . . . The days when you had to choose between a great story and a great piece of writing? Gone. Esquire
The story unfolds brilliantly, always surprisingly . . . The magic of his prose equals the horror of Johnston s story; each somehow enhances the other . . . Read this astonishing novel. The Washington Post
Tim Johnston s high-wire literary thriller . . . will leave you gasping. Vanity Fair
A riveting literary thriller of the can t-stop-turning-the-page, stay-up-all-night variety. Alice LaPlante, author of A Circle of Wives
The Rocky Mountains have cast their spell over the Courtlands, a young family from the plains taking a last summer vacation before their daughter begins college. For eighteen-year-old Caitlin, the mountains loom as the ultimate test of her runner s heart, while her parents hope that so much beauty, so much grandeur, will somehow repair a damaged marriage. But when Caitlin and her younger brother, Sean, go out for an early morning run and only Sean returns, the mountains become as terrifying as they are majestic, as suddenly this family find themselves living the kind of nightmare they ve only read about in headlines or seen on TV.
As their world comes undone, the Courtlands are drawn into a vortex of dread and recrimination. Why weren t they more careful? What has happened to their daughter? Is she alive? Will they ever know? Caitlin s disappearance, 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 together are the questions they can never bring themselves to ask: At what point does a family stop searching? At what point will a girl stop fighting for her life?
Written with a precision that captures every emotion, every moment of fear, as each member of the family searches for answers, Descent is a perfectly crafted thriller that races like an avalanche toward its heart-pounding conclusion, and heralds the arrival of a master storyteller.
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Synopsis
The Rocky Mountains have cast their spell over the Courtlands, a young family from the plains taking a last summer vacation before their daughter begins college. For eighteen-year-old Caitlin, the mountains loom as the ultimate test of her runner’s heart, while her parents hope that so much beauty, so much grandeur, will somehow repair a damaged marriage. But when Caitlin and her younger brother, Sean, go out for an early morning run and only Sean returns, the mountains become as terrifying as they are majestic, as suddenly this family find themselves living the kind of nightmare they’ve only read about in headlines or seen on TV.
As their world comes undone, the Courtlands are drawn into a vortex of dread and recrimination. Why weren’t they more careful? What has happened to their daughter? Is she alive? Will they ever know? Caitlin’s disappearance, 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 together are the questions they can never bring themselves to ask: At what point does a family stop searching? At what point will a girl stop fighting for her life?
Written with a precision that captures every emotion, every moment of fear, as each member of the family searches for answers, Descent is a perfectly crafted thriller that races like an avalanche toward its heart-pounding conclusion, and heralds the arrival of a master storyteller.
About the Author
Tim Johnston, who was raised in the American plains, confesses to a lifelong fascination with mountains, and it is from them that he drew the inspiration for this novel. He is the author of one previous young adult novel and a short story collection which won the prestigious Katherine Anne Porter Prize. He is currently an assistant professor at the University of Memphis in Tennessee.