The Gilmore Guide to Books

Connecting Books and Readers One Review at a Time

  • Home
  • About Me
  • Reviews
    • Reviews by Author
    • Reviews by Title
    • Reviews by Genre
  • More Books
  • Policies
    • Review Policy
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Policy

Descent by Tim Johnston

January 21, 2019

descent

Descent by Tim Johnston
Published by Algonquin Books
Publication date: January 6, 2015
four-stars
Your Local Book Store, Amazon

All her life 18-year-old Caitlin has been a runner. It is who she is and in running she moves in a world of her heart, her blood, her muscles—all working in sync to do what she loves to do. How then could something at the core of her being that brings her such joy lead her into a nightmare? Because if she hadn’t insisted on going running in the early morning in the Rocky Mountains, a place she doesn’t know at all, she wouldn’t be in this situation. Worse, her brother wouldn’t be lying next to his bicycle with a smashed leg in the forest. Now, only Sean will be found, unconscious on an isolated road, and Caitlin is gone. These are the events that lure the reader into Tim Johnston’s slow burn thriller, Descent.

After Caitlin’s disappearance her parents, Grant and Angela, rally around Sean, both out of concern for him and in the hopes that he has some knowledge that will lead to Caitlin’s recovery. When that is not the case, their already fragile marriage splinters apart. Angela takes Sean home to Wisconsin and Grant stays to help with the search efforts and because he cannot make himself leave.

As the years pass, Johnston cycles through each family member’s life showing how the event and the part each believes they played in it irrevocably changes their world. In the same way that Caitlin is cut loose from their family Grant, Angela, and Sean are adrift in their lives and from each other. Diving deep into these characters could make for too much plot, but Johnston manages it in a way that enhances the overall story and reinforces the impact of losing Caitlin.

Unlike other thrillers Johnston adopts a quiet, less-is-more approach to Descent. After the opening pages, Caitlin doesn’t speak again until the novel’s last quarter and even then, it is without the easy-out of graphic details. He generates more fear with what he doesn’t say than could be done with the minute details of this kind of kidnapping. All of it works to ratchet up the tension so that by the end of Descent you can count reading as cardio, because your heart will be pounding.

 

On Wednesday I review Tim Johnston’s new novel, The Current. Is it another slow burn thriller that I can’t put down? We’ll see!

 

four-stars

Related Posts

  • Related Posts
  • 4 Star Books
  • By Tim Johnston
dark
And the Dark Sacred Night
anatomy
Anatomy of a Miracle
mother mother
Mother Mother
goldberg
Goldberg Variations: A Novel
nightingale
The Nightingale
boys
The Boys’ Club: A Novel
backlist
Backlist Beauties: Mini-Reviews
before my eyes
Before My Eyes
alone
You Are Not Alone by Greer Hendricks
jaguar's children
The Jaguar’s Children
current
The Current by Tim Johnston

5 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: Algonquin Books, family, suspense, thriller

Comments

  1. Susie | Novel Visits says

    January 21, 2019 at 6:02 am

    I loved Descent and think it was very smart of you to review it today. Following up with The Current on Wednesday will be VERY interesting. Reading your fresh review of Descent made me remember anew just what a smart, well thought out story Johnston delivered. The Current might not fare as well?

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      January 21, 2019 at 3:39 pm

      I loved it so much I re-read and that’s how I got this review! The Current is just so different that my expectations were completely thrown.

      Reply
  2. [email protected] says

    January 23, 2019 at 9:49 am

    I’ve looked at this one for a while now and just haven’t made the jump to check it out. Thanks for the review – I am pretty sure I’d be into this!

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      January 23, 2019 at 7:23 pm

      It is really good. He writes characters so well. Plus, the suspense part and ending are wild.

      Reply
  3. The Cue Card says

    January 23, 2019 at 1:49 pm

    Not sure if my comment went thru yesterday — it seemed hung up / but I plan to read both of Johnston’s novels so I’ll hold off on reading your reviews closely as I want to go into them blind. But I’m psyched up! It seems you liked his first one best.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Bloglovin
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Save time and subscribe via email

No time to keep checking for new reviews? Enter your email address to subscribe and receive notifications of new posts by email. No spam!

Currently Reading

Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle
Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle
by Emily Nagoski
The Dutch House
The Dutch House
by Ann Patchett
Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me
Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me
by Adrienne Brodeur

goodreads.com

Affiliate Disclosure

I’m an affiliate for Indiebound and Amazon. If you click on a link that takes you to any of these sites and make a purchase I’ll earn a small fee, which goes towards the costs of maintaining this site. Your support is appreciated. Thank you!

Archives

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License.

Theme Design By Studio Mommy · Copyright © 2021

Copyright © 2021 · Beyond Madison Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in