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By the Rivers of Babylon
A gritty, sophisticated, supernatural street thriller that explores the nature of forbidden love and its power to transform even the hardest of hearts.
Lincoln Duvall is the Third Ward's most notorious criminal, a drug lord and known murderer who has sold his soul to the devil and abandoned his early roots of religious upbringing. But when he falls in love with Gabriella Sinclaire, a street-savvy Christian journalist with the power to reveal his secrets and dismantle his entire organization, good is pitted against evil in a dramatic showdown.
Wealthy, powerful, and connected, Lincoln has always been untouchable—until Gabriella invades his heart. Is spiritual redemption possible for Lincoln, or will he pull Gabriella away from her life of virtue down to the darkness of his world?
Lincoln Duvall is the Third Ward's most notorious criminal, a drug lord and known murderer who has sold his soul to the devil and abandoned his early roots of religious upbringing. But when he falls in love with Gabriella Sinclaire, a street-savvy Christian journalist with the power to reveal his secrets and dismantle his entire organization, good is pitted against evil in a dramatic showdown.
Wealthy, powerful, and connected, Lincoln has always been untouchable—until Gabriella invades his heart. Is spiritual redemption possible for Lincoln, or will he pull Gabriella away from her life of virtue down to the darkness of his world?
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
About the author
Cindy Brown Austin
3 books2 followersBorn in 1965,
Cindy Brown Austin’s literary voice has echoed the voice of tyranny and triumph of urban New England life in dozens of newspapers and magazine articles across the country. Before she entered Saint Joseph College in West Hartford to pursue a degree in English and sociology, Austin, 42, a Hartford native, had been awarded with distinction numerous times from the Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists, was chosen as a recipient fellow by the Connecticut Commission on the Arts, had been a featured subject in the New York Times, the featured guest on a variety of local television and radio shows, and had enjoyed some 17 years of writing editorials and cover stories for the Hartford Courant, the state’s largest continuously published newspaper (circulation 500,000), on the commentary of urban life. The outspoken African American woman who had married at 17, had three babies in pampers by 19, and had no formal training, had become a literary marvel to Connecticut’s literary audiences who were moved by her ability to tell city stories. Stunned by Austin’s gifts, the Hartford Courant gave her the privilege of her own column in their Sunday magazine, Northeast. It became a celebrated and award-winning spot inside the Courant’s Sunday paper. A licensed minister of the Apostolic Faith, Austin has been published by Reader’s Digest, Essence Magazine, Priority!, and a number of other national publications. She is a sought-after lecturer who teaches writing workshops and preaches in churches across the country.
Cindy Brown Austin’s literary voice has echoed the voice of tyranny and triumph of urban New England life in dozens of newspapers and magazine articles across the country. Before she entered Saint Joseph College in West Hartford to pursue a degree in English and sociology, Austin, 42, a Hartford native, had been awarded with distinction numerous times from the Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists, was chosen as a recipient fellow by the Connecticut Commission on the Arts, had been a featured subject in the New York Times, the featured guest on a variety of local television and radio shows, and had enjoyed some 17 years of writing editorials and cover stories for the Hartford Courant, the state’s largest continuously published newspaper (circulation 500,000), on the commentary of urban life. The outspoken African American woman who had married at 17, had three babies in pampers by 19, and had no formal training, had become a literary marvel to Connecticut’s literary audiences who were moved by her ability to tell city stories. Stunned by Austin’s gifts, the Hartford Courant gave her the privilege of her own column in their Sunday magazine, Northeast. It became a celebrated and award-winning spot inside the Courant’s Sunday paper. A licensed minister of the Apostolic Faith, Austin has been published by Reader’s Digest, Essence Magazine, Priority!, and a number of other national publications. She is a sought-after lecturer who teaches writing workshops and preaches in churches across the country.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 25, 2021
Very good read.
November 1, 2008
When journalist Gabriella Sinclaire was sent to write about the latest murders in the Third Ward, she found herself face to face with Lincoln Duvall, one of the Third Ward’s most powerful criminals. Duvall was in fact at the very center of the killings Gabriella was investigating, but he was not going to talk. However, attraction between them was undeniable and as fate pitted them again and again at each other, Linc’s supposed stone heart began to beat. He found himself reaching for Gabriella, not knowing whether if it was to pull her down into his world or to rescue him from himself.
I went into this book expecting some sort of romantic fairy tale so I was not prepared for the vivid descriptions---the sheer grittiness of the story’s setting. The Third Ward is the place in town people go out of their way to avoid, a place where no one is safe, where gunfire, drugs, and prostitutes abound. Power struggles were constant and a ruler of the Ward today could be dead tomorrow. Lincoln Duvall lived in this world and he was just as vicious and tenacious as the people around him. Ruthless to the core, he had no scruples with doing whatever was necessary to maintain his empire---anything. He succeeded in making me feel quite disturbed yet Gabriella managed to touch a piece of him that even he never knew existed. They were drawn to each other against their wills and their relationship was what truly drove the story. As for the writing itself, the constant switching of point of views was jarring at the beginning, but one gets used to it and by the middle of the book the story was interesting enough to carry a reader on towards the end. Cindy Brown Austin did a wonderful job of incorporating street slang into the dialogue and one could actually envision the characters speak. Austin held nothing back in her depiction of Duvall. She did not try to paint him in pretty colors, he grew up on the streets and his actions reflected this. She also deserves applause for not attempting to give By the Rivers of Babylon a fairy tale ending. In a story like this, there would not be any picket-fence-happily-ever-after ending and by the last page, everyone more or less got what they deserved and the book was very satisfying in this aspect. This was an overall engrossing read. Recommended for older teens and above due to mature content.
I went into this book expecting some sort of romantic fairy tale so I was not prepared for the vivid descriptions---the sheer grittiness of the story’s setting. The Third Ward is the place in town people go out of their way to avoid, a place where no one is safe, where gunfire, drugs, and prostitutes abound. Power struggles were constant and a ruler of the Ward today could be dead tomorrow. Lincoln Duvall lived in this world and he was just as vicious and tenacious as the people around him. Ruthless to the core, he had no scruples with doing whatever was necessary to maintain his empire---anything. He succeeded in making me feel quite disturbed yet Gabriella managed to touch a piece of him that even he never knew existed. They were drawn to each other against their wills and their relationship was what truly drove the story. As for the writing itself, the constant switching of point of views was jarring at the beginning, but one gets used to it and by the middle of the book the story was interesting enough to carry a reader on towards the end. Cindy Brown Austin did a wonderful job of incorporating street slang into the dialogue and one could actually envision the characters speak. Austin held nothing back in her depiction of Duvall. She did not try to paint him in pretty colors, he grew up on the streets and his actions reflected this. She also deserves applause for not attempting to give By the Rivers of Babylon a fairy tale ending. In a story like this, there would not be any picket-fence-happily-ever-after ending and by the last page, everyone more or less got what they deserved and the book was very satisfying in this aspect. This was an overall engrossing read. Recommended for older teens and above due to mature content.
May 25, 2009
Engrossing read by an author with a Biblical understanding of the personification of evil. Could not help but be ambivalent about the relationship between the good girl and the bad boy because he wasn't just bad, but depraved. I had no idea how the author would end this story, since a fairy-tale ending just wouldn't work, but she did pretty good in my humble opinion.
January 7, 2009
good book
October 22, 2012
This was a wonderful book. It kept me reading until the very end!
April 18, 2015
Great book.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews