• Home
  • Blog
  • Lawyerpreneur Podcast
  • Contact
  • What I’m Doing Now
Jeremy W. RichterJeremy W. Richter
Jeremy W. RichterJeremy W. Richter
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Lawyerpreneur Podcast
  • Contact
  • What I’m Doing Now

Review of John Hart’s “Down River”

Review of John Hart’s “Down River”

Review of John Hart’s “Down River”

December 11, 2017 Posted by Jeremy W. Richter Reading & Writing

John Hart’s Down River is his second novel. I’ve also read his debut novel The King of Lies (2006) and what I firmly believe is his best novel to date, The Last Child (2009). Hart is a good storyteller, whose books are well-paced, characters well-developed, and settings described so colorfully they’re nearly palpable.

Down River is the story of a North Carolina family that stumbles from one calamity to another. Adam Chase returns home from five years in exile, after a jury exonerated him for the death of a young man killed on the Chases’ expansive farm. Upon coming home, he immediately faces the ghosts of his past while discovering that the present carries its own troubles. The power company is looking to buy large tracts of land to build a nuclear plant, and Chase’s father is its biggest impediment. By refusing to sell land that has been in the family for more than two hundred years, Adam Chase’s father has made enemies who seems to have no limits to the measures they’ll take to coerce the family to sell.

There is some criminal activity in Down River, which has led me to share this bit of practical wisdom: If a client ever says to you, “I’ll tell you what I think you need to know,” it’s probably time to fire your client. I’ve not had a client speak those words to me, but plenty act on the sentiment. And more than once, I’ve told clients, “I’m not the guy you lie to or keep things from. I’m the guy you tell everything to.”

In the midst of the melee and ruthlessness, Hart drops lines like this one that have stuck with me: “Other than memories, words are all we have.” I don’t really agree with it, but I appreciate that Down River left me with something to think about.

I enjoyed John Hart’s Down River and can recommend it. You can find Down River in any format on Amazon (affiliate link).

Rating (out of 4 gavels): 


Other novels I’ve reviewed:

Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead

Nic Pizzolatto’s Galveston

Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None

Larry Kelter’s Back to Brooklyn (sequel to My Cousin Vinny) 

Do your best work. Be your best self.

Get the first three chapters of Level Up Your Law Practice so you can have a successful and sustainable law practice that meets your needs through self-assessment, having a vision for yourself and your practice, and client relationships that are built on trust.

Thank you for subscribing.
Something went wrong.

I will never give away, trade or sell your email address. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Related

You also might be interested in

From High-Rise Buildings to High-Stakes Thrillers with Bonnie Kistler

Aug 18, 2022

Bonnie Kistler is our guest in Episode 66 of Lawyerpreneur,[...]

[No.12] In the Words of John Quincy Adams…
Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.

[No.12] In the Words of John Quincy Adams…

Nov 8, 2016

"Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost."

Motorola Video Baby Monitor

How to Use a MicroUSB Charger for a Motorola Video Baby Monitor

Dec 26, 2016

We are now on our second Motorola video baby monitor[...]

Being a lawyer doesn’t mean doing business as usual.

Recent Posts

  • Inspiration Strikes at the Oddest Times
  • Quitting One Thing to Make Room for Another (Lawyerpreneur’s Finale)
  • From High-Rise Buildings to High-Stakes Thrillers with Bonnie Kistler
  • Mental Health among Lawyers with Suzan Hixon
  • Coaching Lawyers in Career Crisis with Annie Little

Search the Blog

Contact Me

Send me an email and I'll get back to you.

Send Message
Doing your best work. Be your best self. Let me help you get there with my new book "Level Up Your Law Practice"

© 2023 · Richter Holdings, LLC

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Lawyerpreneur Podcast
  • Contact
  • What I’m Doing Now
Prev Next