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18th out of 66 books
—
17 voters
Salt River (Turner #3)
by
James Sallis
The poignant and surprising new thriller by one of America's most acclaimed writers.
Few American writers create more memorable landscapes--both natural and interior--than James Sallis. His highly praised Lew Griffin novels evoked classic New Orleans and the convoluted inner space of his black private detective. More recently--in Cypress Grove and Cripple Creek--he has conj...more
Few American writers create more memorable landscapes--both natural and interior--than James Sallis. His highly praised Lew Griffin novels evoked classic New Orleans and the convoluted inner space of his black private detective. More recently--in Cypress Grove and Cripple Creek--he has conj...more
Hardcover, 160 pages
Published
December 26th 2007
by Walker & Company
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Last book in the Turner trilogy.
Two years later, Turner is acting sheriff, by default. Two people re-enter the town: Billy, Lonnie Bates younger son who makes his reappearance by by means of his car crashing into a building, and Eldon, back from his tour of country music festivals, a suspect in a murder that he himself doesn’t know if he’s committed.
As usual, from such mundane sorts of beginnings, Sallis goes on to weave an enchantment over this small, always unnamed town and the people in it. H...more
Two years later, Turner is acting sheriff, by default. Two people re-enter the town: Billy, Lonnie Bates younger son who makes his reappearance by by means of his car crashing into a building, and Eldon, back from his tour of country music festivals, a suspect in a murder that he himself doesn’t know if he’s committed.
As usual, from such mundane sorts of beginnings, Sallis goes on to weave an enchantment over this small, always unnamed town and the people in it. H...more
SALT RIVER finds its ex-cop/ex-con/ex-therapist protagonist John Turner serving as de facto sheriff of the small town outside Memphis that he's come to think of as home (the actual sheriff, Lonnie Bates having, for all intents and purposes, retired). The town, however, has succumbed to the ravages of time and decay. Like so many other people and things in Turner's life, the place is dying.
An auto accident involving Bates' wayward son is the inciting event for this story, which (as with the previ...more
An auto accident involving Bates' wayward son is the inciting event for this story, which (as with the previ...more
Turner returns, a few years after the death (by assassination) of his lover, Val, and we learn, tangentially, that her murder has been avenged...or at least so it seems. One by one, other people return to the town, some physically, some just in spirit.
For a small Delta town, Sheriff Turner's burg is by turns whimsical and murderous, crusty and kind, earnest and cynical, and the mystery (such as it is) at the center of the story is a small sliver of light in the storms raging overhead.
Turner is t...more
For a small Delta town, Sheriff Turner's burg is by turns whimsical and murderous, crusty and kind, earnest and cynical, and the mystery (such as it is) at the center of the story is a small sliver of light in the storms raging overhead.
Turner is t...more
This lovely piece of fiction reads like poetry to me. So much is intimated at rather than spoken and yet is understood. The genre label on the back says this is mystery, but I would not describe it as such. There are some things that happen that the main character, Turner, feels are linked, and he is able to show how by the end, but that never seems to be the main focus of the book. I loved the nature that pervades the book and yet it was definitely not a gentle presence here. There is much loss...more
This is the third novel about John Turner (after Cypress Grove and Cripple Creek). I'd advise you not read it without reading the first two--and you can't skip number one to make any real sense out of the others. I didn't like this one as well as the others. It seemed kind of dashed off and the ending was kind of abrupt. But Sallis' writing is still lyrical and his characters philosophical.
I don't think you can read James Sallis and not walk away struck with awe and reverence. While others may major in plot or clever twists and irony, Sallis' triumph is his mastery of the language - his use of simple words effortlessly spun in to passages unlocking emotion and conjuring images that defy the common rural settings and ordinary folk of which he writes. This is the English language at its best - the power of Faulkner told in words that can actually be understood. Or think Cormac McCar...more
I'm not sure if I just need to allow this book to settle a bit more but compared to the first two novels in the Turner Trilogy it just doesn't cut it. I understand that it's probably been written as a meditation on the idea of ageing towards death and that the lack of much happening in the novel is a purposeful statement from the author but I think Sallis has let Turner go out with a wimper with Salt River and I'm pretty disapointed with the outcome.
Sallis' latest crime novel is a meditative study of loss and pain. Ex-con, ex-therapist John Turner is now sheriff in a small rural Tennessee town, dealing with his own demons like his lost love while trying to solve the crimes around him. His friend is on the run for a murder he didn't commit, while the previous sheriff's son lies incapacitated in the hospital after an accident in a stolen car. All of this is really incidental to Sallis's ruminations through his characters. Life, death and love...more
A quick satisfying read, another in his Turner series. Sometimes I am a little lost in his dialog but usually find my way. His characters are likable and the storyline is believable. He jumps around in time, and you have to wait go with the flow and it eventually makes sense.
Not nearly as satisfying as the first 2. This last and final entry into the trilogy almost seems as though his publisher pushed him for a conclusion.
That being said, he writes well with just a hint (just a hint mind you) of the style of James Lee Burke.
That being said, he writes well with just a hint (just a hint mind you) of the style of James Lee Burke.
Thought this was about our Salt River but no it was one near Memphis. Strange story set in a small town full of dark secrets. Not my kind of mystery thoug some of the characters were interesting.
Sallis is an unsung genius of crime writing he creates vivid images in very few words and his taut, pared down prose is distinctive and powerful
Turner is kind of the emo Parker. First book is the best. This one, the last, is the second best. (Middle one kind of goes off the rails.)
I thought this was the weakest of the series. It seemed that the main character, as well as the author, were just drifting.
Written very poetically--to the point where sometimes it was extremely hard to figure out what was happening.
The Turner series is phenomenal in ways I can't find ways to explain.
I wish there were more to read...
All the plaudits and great reviews that I read in the front of this book are true. This is one pared down, thoughtful and evocative writer. He can say so much with so few words, but he imbues them with so much feeling and power. I am eager to read his other books.
Trist, brutal und in Ansätzen dennoch hoffnungsvoll. Großartiger Abschluss der glänzenden Turner-Trilogie.
melancholic mystery - I like it.
Salt River is the third novel in a series of lyrical crime novels by James Sallis. The first two are Cypress Grove and Cripple Creek. His prose is beautiful and his characters wonderful. The world of these novels is one of unremitting violence. Good people get hurt or killed all the time, although those same people are able to find one another and some comfort in music and one another. Read all three but space them out a bit and read something optimistic after each Sallis novel.
I've read Sallis' bio on Chester Himes and had been impressed. But I was not ready for the beautiful bits of wisdom that appear on just about every page.
The story line didn't really hold together for me -- i felt like i was being tossed characters and had to hold onto them without understanding enough about them.
Yet the beauty of the book is overwhelming. I just wanted to start over again the minute I turned the last page.
The story line didn't really hold together for me -- i felt like i was being tossed characters and had to hold onto them without understanding enough about them.
Yet the beauty of the book is overwhelming. I just wanted to start over again the minute I turned the last page.
This book was somewhat of a disappointment. I really enjoyed the first two books in this series. This one lacked something I haven't been able to put my finger on. It's a really short read though, 147 pages. Still worth it to finish the series.
May 24, 2013
M.
marked it as to-read
May 06, 2013
Jason Purdy
marked it as to-read
Apr 25, 2013
Kellen
marked it as to-read
Apr 18, 2013
Darren Jones
marked it as to-read
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James Sallis (born 21 December 1944 in Helena, Arkansas) is an American crime writer, poet and musician, best known for his series of novels featuring the character Lew Griffin and set in New Orleans.
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