Stillriver

by Andrew Rosenheim

Michael Wolf felt he had escaped his past - Stillriver, the small town in Michigan where he grew up, his troubles with his father, the petty jealousies and competitiveness of his younger brother, and most of all the disaster that ended his relationship with Cassie, the love of his life. As the book opens, Michael is forced to return to Stillriver when he is told of his father's brutal murder. He finds the town's new prosperity only partly masks old hurts and humiliations. But when he discovers that Cassie has also returned to Stillriver, he is thrown into total turmoil while trying to solve the mystery of his father's death. A powerful love story, Stillriver, is also a novel about family relationships and the tensions of life in a small close-knit community.

496 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Andrew Rosenheim was born in Chicago and came to England as a Rhodes Scholar in 1977. He has lived near Oxford ever since.

He worked in electronic publishing and artificial intelligence for over fifteen years, and ran Amazon UK's Kindle Singles. He has also written for the TLS, The Spectator, The Times, The Guardian, The Independent, The Daily Telegraph, The Tablet, The New York Times Book Review, among other publications.

Rosenheim is the author of nine novels, including Hands On (1993), a satirical novel featuring a precursor to ChatGPT, the trilogy Nessheim's War (The Accidental Agent; The Informant; Fear Itself), Without Prejudice, Holly Lester, and a memoir, The Secrets of Carriage H.

Reviews

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you read Stillriver you are reading about Pentwater. He speaks of the beach, channel, local streets and landmarks, the hype of Homecoming in August and the surrounding areas such as Walkerville, Ludington. While reading you can actually see yourself walking up 5th and Carroll street past the Pentwater Wire Works and down to the Pharmacy Lites Drug store and soda fountain shop. As the book opens, Michael is forced to return to Stillriver (Pentwater) when he is told of his father’s brutal murder. He finds the town’s new prosperity only partly masks old hurts and humiliations But when he discovers that Cassie the love of his life and high school sweetheart has also returned to Stillriver, he is thrown into total turmoil while trying to solve the mystery of his father’s death

[Tracey Allen at Carpe Librum · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the first book I've read by Andrew Rosenheim, and it was a reasonably good murder mystery. The novel has an underlying theme of small town life and the conflicting emotions experienced by the main character when he returns to his small home town in Michigan. I found it hard to believe that he finally 'gets the girl' at the end, (his highschool sweetheart) after so much turmoil and hardship over the preceding years.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

An ok, easy read if a little predictable.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was good, but it could have been written in half the pages.