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- Flow Like A River Reviewed By Norm Goldman of Bookpleasures.com
Flow Like A River Reviewed By Norm Goldman of Bookpleasures.com
- By Norm Goldman
- Published April 15, 2019
- GENERAL FICTION REVIEWS
Norm Goldman
Reviewer & Author Interviewer, Norm Goldman. Norm is the Publisher & Editor of Bookpleasures.com.
He has been reviewing books for the past twenty years after retiring from the legal profession.
To read more about Norm Follow Here
Author: Mark Guillerman
Publisher: Outskirts Press Inc
ISBN: 978-1-9772-0593-3
Revenge is the driving force that dominates Mark Guillerman's stirring debut novel, Flow Like a River, set in 1923 in the town of Gary, Texas.
The novel features the
town sheriff, Bud Thomas, who is much more cunning then he lets on.
The beautiful redhead Brenna Cross, who has traveled from Ireland to
Gary seeking work in the town's general store owned by Pat Bingham.
Brenna is accompanied by her eight-year-old son, Billy, who
befriends Johnny Jenkins, eldest son of the town doctor. And not to
be left out are Billy's grandfather, Chief Running Wolf, and William Laveaux IV together with his band of treacherous criminals. Laveaux is also known as The Prince.
The narrative takes off
with a short prologue where we learn about the Chanas tribe and the
legend of “The Four Brothers.” Hereafter, we become familiar
with Brenna and the letter she had received the previous year from
Bingham. Bingham was deeply moved when he learned about Brenna's
husband, Joseph, an American Indian who was a war hero and who was
killed during World War I. Joseph had been a member of the Chanas
tribe that once populated the Texas Hill Country and was the son of
Billy's grandfather, Running Wolf, who everyone had been presumed
dead.
Taking us back to 1868,
Guillerman fills us in on an important event that transpired and which
forms the basis of his novel when we find out about Silent Wolf, the
fourth son of the great chief Grey Wolf, who led the Chanas tribe out
of the land of the Sacred River. Before his departure, one of the
warriors, who made the journey with him, was Tall Bear, the cousin
and closest friend of Grey Wolf. In 1868 Tall Bear's daughters were
kidnapped by William Laveaux, the patriarch of a New Orleans Crime
family with the help of eight of his men. Tall Bear's wife was also
severely injured during the fray and was forced to flee leaving her
daughters with Laveaux, who ordered his men to burn down the homes of
the Chanas.
When Tall Bear and other
members of his tribe got wind as to what had happened, they engaged
Laveaux and his cohorts in crime in battle, which eventually led to
Laveaux's death at the hands of Silent Wolf. Unfortunately, Silent
Wolf did not survive the wounds he had suffered during the battle and
died a day later. Tall Bear led many of his tribe out of the delta to
Mexico, where they merged with Silent Wolf's brother's clan.
Fast forward to the early
1920's when the great-grandson of Laveaux, The Prince, learns of the
whereabouts of Billy and his grandfather Running Wolfe, descendants
of Silent Wolf. For many years The Prince had been filled with rage
that consumed him after remembering the story that his grandmother
recounted to him that it was the Chanas who murdered his grandfather
and without cause. As a result, this brought much shame and suffering
to the Laveaux family. The Prince had made a blood oath that one day
he would avenge the murder of his great grandfather to restore his
family name to its rightful place among the hierarchy of the New
Orleans crime families. Consequently, he travels to Gary with his
team of bandits to the once land of the Chanas tribe where he would
he is determined to exact vengeance on the last of the bloodline that
robbed him of his family legacy.
Make no mistake about it,
Guillerman has done his homework in recreating the historical setting
of this novel and much of its richness is the authenticity of the
voices of the various characters. His skill in revealing human nature
in little gestures and poignant actions adds to their authenticity.
Trust me, by the time you are done reading this fictional story, the
realism and emotions will make you believe that the story happened.
Guillerman is a great storyteller who knows how to craft a good
narrative with a great deal of adventure and intense suspense that
will keep you awake at night. What's more, and as mentioned on the
back cover of the book, “it's a novel about the spirituality of the
people and of the native American culture that pre-dated their time
in the land of the Sacred River.”
Follow Here To Read Norm's Interview With Mark Guillerman