Descent by Tim Johnston

Sometimes, even though a book is well written and has believable characters, the subject matter may be so challenging that all you want to do is look away. It is a mark of a good writer, then who in spite of wanting to look away, you are compelled to read until the very end, just to find out what happens! Descent is such a book.

The story opens with a brother and sister sneaking out of the cabin where they are staying on vacation with their parents, to go running. The girl has just finished high school and will be going to college in the fall. She is an athlete, a runner, and the mountains where the family is vacationing will provide a great way to increase her endurance and prepare her for the competition at college.  Her brother follows on his bike trying to pace her as they go up and up the mountain road. Suddenly out of nowhere a truck comes careening down the road and hits the boy on the bike.  Stunned and bleeding, he is barely conscious, but he can hear his sister debating with the man whether or not to go with him to get help. She chooses to go in the truck and that is the last they see of her.

The boy is found, but he can remember little about what happened. The family desperately tries to find their daughter, but the summer passes, the boy is released from the hospital and still they cannot find their daughter. The mother returns to their home with the son, hoping that by returning to their home and picking up their normal life they too can return to normal, but that does not happen. The father remains in the mountains, not able to give up hope that his daughter still lives. The family is scattered and broken.

Meanwhile the man in the truck takes the girl to his remote cabin. There he chains her in the cabin like he has other girls before her. She is afraid, lost and at his mercy.

Johnston is an an amazing writer. His insight into this family as their world falls apart is cringingly real and each characters actions seem believable and understandable. His pacing and ability to keep the suspense taut makes this a page turner that you can’t put down! However, the subject matter is brutal and horrific and you keep wanting to turn away and not confront the fact that such evil exists, and yet Johnston is able to compel you back to the story, which is the mark of an  excellent writer. This book is not for the faint hearted, but the rewards are great, since it is a story about resilience in the face of no hope, courage when only meekness is rewarded, and the love of a family under impossible circumstances.

Brenda’s Rating: ****(4 Stars out of 5)

Recommend this book to: Ken, Sharon, and Marian

Books Study Worthy? Yes

Read in ebook format.