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4.0 

River, Sing Out

By James Wade
River, Sing Out by James Wade digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

Attempting to escape his abusive father and generations of cyclical poverty, young Jonah Hargrove joins the mysterious River—a teenage girl carrying thousands of dollars in stolen meth—and embarks on a southern gothic odyssey through the East Texas river bottoms.

They are pursued by local drug kingpin John Curtis and his murderous enforcer, Dakota Cade, with whom River was romantically involved. But Cade and Curtis have their own enemies, as their relationship with the cartel controlling their meth supply begins to sour.

Keeping tabs on everyone is the Thin Man, a silent assassin who values consequence over mercy.

Each person is keeping secrets from the others—deadly secrets that will be exposed in savage fashion as their final paths collide and all are forced to come to terms with their choices, their circumstances, and their own definition of God.

With a colorful cast of supporting characters and an unflinching violence juxtaposed against lyrical prose, River, Sing Out dives deep into a sinister and sanguinary world, where oppressive poverty is pitted against the need to believe in something greater than the self.

10 Reviews

4.0
“Wow! This book. First of all, it's southern noir. It's not a happy, hopeful book. It's truth, at its harshest. The hard, brutal truth of life in a small town where a young lady and a young boy crash into one another, and become close, have hopes, and then sadly, life.... Happens. You have your drug cartel, and abusive parent. You have an elderly, wise neighbor who cares. You have a young boy who just wants to be loved and get "away" and a young lady who has made one bad mistake too many. The story itself was great. What I loved about this book the most, was the prose. The bits where characters thoughts were related to us, like a diary. Beautiful words. This author is on my radar forever more after this book. I just went and bought the ebooks of his other two novels. If you enjoy southern noir, David Joy, Ron Rash, Larry Brown, Daniel Woodrell, Donald Ray Pollock, William Gay, Chris Offutt, etc. You will love this book.”
“Well I can say that I have listen to all three of James Wade books. I really do enjoy listening to his books. The narrator doers a beautiful job. I have to be completely honest. I went to into listening to this book not knowing anything. I kinda been liking the idea with James Wade books. Not knowing a lot about his books. Just like the first two audiobooks. I enjoyed this audiobook. I really felt bad for Jonah and River two lost souls in a crazy f***** up world they were bought into. Are two very brave kids. This audiobook will be one I remember and the characters. That ending was not want I expected. Poor Jonah it like I was standing there watching him weep. And questioning himself. Out of the three audiobooks this is my favorite. The narrator does a beautiful job. I didn’t feel disappointed or confused by the multiple POV’s while listening. Cant wait for more books from this author. I really wanted to take my time while listening. Highly recommend this book. These characters will stay with your heart. About book: Jonah 13 year old boy living in the middle of nowhere with his father. When his father does come out. Being abused when his father is drunken rage. River is a 17 year old girl. River is the name she told Jonah the day she was able to talk. Running away with a bag in hopes to leave and find a better life for herself. Then the one she has been handed. Always running to find peace. (Felt really sad and questioned life just has River did.)”
“My mom grabbed this book off my shelf and read it in 5 days. Her words while reading through it, "Chels...this book is so feckin' good." And "This is really good, Chels." and best yet, "OMG! Chels! That ending!!!" I think she liked it lol.”

About James Wade

James Wade lives and writes in the Texas Hill Country with his wife and daughter. His debut novel, All Things Left Wild, won the 2021 Spur Award for Historical Novel. James is also a winner of the Writers’ League of Texas Manuscript Contest and a finalist of the Tethered by Letters Short Fiction Contest. His fiction has appeared in various literary magazines, including the Bitter Oleander.

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