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River Runs Red
A new novel of gripping terror from the author of Missing White Girl.
Within the caves of a small Texas town lies a pool of strange, luminescent water. Twenty years ago, three teenagers were inhabited by a malevolent force living in the caves. Now, they've returned to the site as combatants in a supernatural war that flows through the raging currents of the world's rivers.
Within the caves of a small Texas town lies a pool of strange, luminescent water. Twenty years ago, three teenagers were inhabited by a malevolent force living in the caves. Now, they've returned to the site as combatants in a supernatural war that flows through the raging currents of the world's rivers.
336 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 1, 2008
About the author
Jeffrey J. Mariotte
162 books169 followersAlso writes as Jeff Mariotte
Jeffrey J. Mariotte is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than 70 novels, including the Cody Cavanaugh western series, historical western epic Blood and Gold: The Legend of Joaquin Murrieta (with Peter Murrieta), thrillers Empty Rooms and The Devil's Bait, supernatural thrillers Season of the Wolf, Missing White Girl, River Runs Red, and Cold Black Hearts, horror epic The Slab, and the Dark Vengeance teen horror quartet. With wife and writing partner Marsheila (Marcy) Rockwell, he wrote the sf/horror/thriller 7 SYKOS and Mafia III: Plain of Jars, the authorized prequel to the bestselling video game. as a publisher and partner in Silverado Press, he won a Spur Award from the Western Writers of America for his anthology Silverado Press Presents: Western Stories by Today's Top Writers, Volume 1. His most recent releases are the novella Billy the Kid: Cheat the Hangman, and the dark thriller Flesh of All Sorrows.
He also writes occasional nonfiction, short fiction (some of which is collected in Nine Frights), and comic books, including the long-running horror/Western comic book series Desperadoes and graphic novels Fade to Black and Zombie Cop. With Marsheila Rockwell, he has published several short stories and is working on more. He has worked in virtually every aspect of the book business, as a writer, editor, marketing executive, and bookseller.
Learn more at www.jeffmariotte.com, and follow him at https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyJMari... and @JeffMariotte on Twitter.
Also writes as Jeff Mariotte
Jeffrey J. Mariotte is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than 70 novels, including the Cody Cavanaugh western series, historical western epic Blood and Gold: The Legend of Joaquin Murrieta (with Peter Murrieta), thrillers Empty Rooms and The Devil's Bait, supernatural thrillers Season of the Wolf, Missing White Girl, River Runs Red, and Cold Black Hearts, horror epic The Slab, and the Dark Vengeance teen horror quartet. With wife and writing partner Marsheila (Marcy) Rockwell, he wrote the sf/horror/thriller 7 SYKOS and Mafia III: Plain of Jars, the authorized prequel to the bestselling video game. as a publisher and partner in Silverado Press, he won a Spur Award from the Western Writers of America for his anthology Silverado Press Presents: Western Stories by Today's Top Writers, Volume 1. His most recent releases are the novella Billy the Kid: Cheat the Hangman, and the dark thriller Flesh of All Sorrows.
He also writes occasional nonfiction, short fiction (some of which is collected in Nine Frights), and comic books, including the long-running horror/Western comic book series Desperadoes and graphic novels Fade to Black and Zombie Cop. With Marsheila Rockwell, he has published several short stories and is working on more. He has worked in virtually every aspect of the book business, as a writer, editor, marketing executive, and bookseller.
Learn more at www.jeffmariotte.com, and follow him at https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyJMari... and @JeffMariotte on Twitter.
Also writes as Jeff Mariotte
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
June 28, 2019
3.5 stars
January 26, 2014
It started out with interesting ideas and I wanted to like this book. Occult and psychic government workers, back stories linking them to mysterious events, what's not to like. The story felt disorganized though. The characters were introduced, disappeared, and then reintroduced after a bewildering display of characters make a one time appearance.
I felt the plot was loose and confusing. There were times I wasn't sure what was happening and then times I would get drawn back into the novel. I am giving this two stars instead of one because it has potential.
This book may appeal to some readers. Personally I like a tightly plotted story with characters that develop well and are rounded- not to mention likable.
It has potential and could have an audience. Just not one that includes me.
I felt the plot was loose and confusing. There were times I wasn't sure what was happening and then times I would get drawn back into the novel. I am giving this two stars instead of one because it has potential.
This book may appeal to some readers. Personally I like a tightly plotted story with characters that develop well and are rounded- not to mention likable.
It has potential and could have an audience. Just not one that includes me.
February 2, 2014
River Runs Red is the first book in the Borderlands trilogy and is a fast paced thriller with a supernatural twist that peaks with an unorthodox ending rooted in the beginnings of life itself.
James Truly is a CIA agent that’s been put out to pasture, now in charge of Operation Moon Flash, the agency’s covert Psychic investigations, not quite x-files but a division to counter act foreign nations efforts into the area of extrasensory perception. Truly has to divert his attention from his extra-curricular activities when his psychic contacts start reporting major problems and inexplicably dying along the way.
CNN correspondent Wade Scheiner is taken hostage in Iraq but what’s more surprising to him is his eventual escape and he soon finds himself back home in the Borderlands where murder both past and present is very much in thoughts.
Molly McCall is a reporter for the Voice of the Borderlands and she finds her skills stretched as she covers a series of murders, Molly’s brother and Wade’s best friend Byrd is in Providence Memorial hospital dying from Leukemia. These three characters re-united in tragic circumstances are about to witness some extremely strange events, murder is just around the corner and what do the words Kethili-cha mean, words from a dead language, words of power.
River Runs Red is very much a character driven story of epic proportions, an intense experience with some surprises along the way. Where the line between good and bad is jaded and all is not as it seems. This was my first read from Jeff Mariotte and it certainly won’t be my last.
James Truly is a CIA agent that’s been put out to pasture, now in charge of Operation Moon Flash, the agency’s covert Psychic investigations, not quite x-files but a division to counter act foreign nations efforts into the area of extrasensory perception. Truly has to divert his attention from his extra-curricular activities when his psychic contacts start reporting major problems and inexplicably dying along the way.
CNN correspondent Wade Scheiner is taken hostage in Iraq but what’s more surprising to him is his eventual escape and he soon finds himself back home in the Borderlands where murder both past and present is very much in thoughts.
Molly McCall is a reporter for the Voice of the Borderlands and she finds her skills stretched as she covers a series of murders, Molly’s brother and Wade’s best friend Byrd is in Providence Memorial hospital dying from Leukemia. These three characters re-united in tragic circumstances are about to witness some extremely strange events, murder is just around the corner and what do the words Kethili-cha mean, words from a dead language, words of power.
River Runs Red is very much a character driven story of epic proportions, an intense experience with some surprises along the way. Where the line between good and bad is jaded and all is not as it seems. This was my first read from Jeff Mariotte and it certainly won’t be my last.
October 20, 2020
Great characters and story in this supernatural thriller. A CIA Agent, psychics, a CNN reporter who escapes an Iraqi terrorist and a centuries old battle between good and evil all against the backdrop of southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Texas/Mexico border. Highly recommended
April 8, 2014
When it boils right down to it, there is one critical reason I only just managed to claw my way through River Runs Red. It's got nothing to do with the writing, which was polished; nor the dialogue, which I thought had a very realistic edge. It also wasn't that I found the pacing to be all over the place - veering between breakneck and glacial - or that there were too many barely developed characters vying for page time ahead of the main five or six. No, none of these things knocked my grade down to 2 stars.
That "honour" goes to the marketing brains behind River Runs Red. You see, despite what the blurb says, this was not a novel of "gripping terror", nor was it a horror as the About the Author section at the back of the book states. Instead, to my mind, this was an adventure thriller with some supernatural elements. So the further I read, and the more removed from horror it became, the less impressed I was.
If I pick up a book that refers to itself as terrifying and horrific, guess what I'm looking for? I'll give you a hint: It isn't something that could very easily be transformed by Hollywood into the next YA action-adventure crowd-pleaser.
2 Warring Siblings for River Runs Red.
That "honour" goes to the marketing brains behind River Runs Red. You see, despite what the blurb says, this was not a novel of "gripping terror", nor was it a horror as the About the Author section at the back of the book states. Instead, to my mind, this was an adventure thriller with some supernatural elements. So the further I read, and the more removed from horror it became, the less impressed I was.
If I pick up a book that refers to itself as terrifying and horrific, guess what I'm looking for? I'll give you a hint: It isn't something that could very easily be transformed by Hollywood into the next YA action-adventure crowd-pleaser.
2 Warring Siblings for River Runs Red.
February 28, 2014
The River Runs Red is the first of The Border Trilogy books. The other two being Missing White Girl and Cold Black Hearts. This would be the second book of Jeff's I have read, the first was Season of the Wolf. Three of the main characters in this story were childhood friends. Wade Scheiner a CNN reporter, Molly McCall is also a reporter and her brother Bryd who is the hospital with leukemia and is Wade's best friend. Another main character in the story is CIA agent James Truly who is still in the agency only because of his fathers connections. So he was put into this X-file type department that investigates psychic occurrences. The story starts out with a lot of characters and things going on. Kept going back and forth and got a little confusing at times. That's why I can only give it 3 1/2 stars. I will be reading the next book in the trilogy soon.
January 28, 2014
This was pretty disappointing in the end. I was expecting more as it started really well. The book was about the rebirth of the two Ketheli god brother and sister.
It had a lot of characters in the book. Wade, Bryd and Molly were childhood friends and the majority of the book was set in El Paso in the mountains. I loved Bryd and the parts he was in it. The book was a bit confusing with people being mentioned then nothing more about them. Another character I liked was Ginny an anthologist looking for her father.
Truly and Brewster were CIA and army and they were also disapointing. To many people I didn't care much for. The ending was abrupt as well. The rain and landslides , rivers rising, I've got no idea how any of them got over the Rio Grand to help stop the gods. So, disappointing. Even the pyscics were pointless.
It had a lot of characters in the book. Wade, Bryd and Molly were childhood friends and the majority of the book was set in El Paso in the mountains. I loved Bryd and the parts he was in it. The book was a bit confusing with people being mentioned then nothing more about them. Another character I liked was Ginny an anthologist looking for her father.
Truly and Brewster were CIA and army and they were also disapointing. To many people I didn't care much for. The ending was abrupt as well. The rain and landslides , rivers rising, I've got no idea how any of them got over the Rio Grand to help stop the gods. So, disappointing. Even the pyscics were pointless.
February 29, 2020
By the time the book was at about the 150-page mark I realized that I had barely any interest in seeing what happened to anyone and just didn't care. It reads fast enough, though, so I finished it, so at least there's that.
More of a thriller than a horror, regardless of what the spine says. Sure, there are descriptions of people getting murdered by other people in passing, but it lacks the personal connection of knowing anything about these redshirts before they're killed.
More of a thriller than a horror, regardless of what the spine says. Sure, there are descriptions of people getting murdered by other people in passing, but it lacks the personal connection of knowing anything about these redshirts before they're killed.
April 5, 2021
Not bad. Assuming you've read the blurb, I'll just add that I don't think I'd call it "gripping", but I did enjoy it.
January 25, 2010
I read this book for my Back to the Beach presentation last May. It is an enjoyable thriller about 3 friends who are reunited in the present day. One is dying of cancer, and all are affected by what happened years ago in their native Texas.
The story involves paranormal activity, murder, archaeology, and flashbacks from the past lives of the characters. I was impressed by the way the author was willing to kill off sympathetic characters or make them into objects of revulsion. The story moved along quickly and, within the confines of its genre, was believably wrought. It also was a fast-paced read, although the print in the paperback edition was a curse to my older eyes.
If you want a quick-read thriller with touches of the paranormal and archaeology, this is the book.
The story involves paranormal activity, murder, archaeology, and flashbacks from the past lives of the characters. I was impressed by the way the author was willing to kill off sympathetic characters or make them into objects of revulsion. The story moved along quickly and, within the confines of its genre, was believably wrought. It also was a fast-paced read, although the print in the paperback edition was a curse to my older eyes.
If you want a quick-read thriller with touches of the paranormal and archaeology, this is the book.
August 9, 2016
There is a disruption in the cosmos mojo. The world’s most powerful psychics are feeling the vibrations. Something is happening and time is running out for three childhood friends and a shunned CIA operative to stop the rising of something ancient and evil that wants to erase the world and start over.
River Runs Red is a pretty wild X-Files-esque supernatural thriller that has a whole lot going on – a bit difficult to follow and a little disjointed at times, but was nonetheless a very entertaining beginning to Jeff Mariottes Border Trilogy. An ambitious start, I am curious to see where the two remaining novels go from here. 3.5 Stars.
River Runs Red is a pretty wild X-Files-esque supernatural thriller that has a whole lot going on – a bit difficult to follow and a little disjointed at times, but was nonetheless a very entertaining beginning to Jeff Mariottes Border Trilogy. An ambitious start, I am curious to see where the two remaining novels go from here. 3.5 Stars.
December 30, 2015
Fast paced super natural horror
Exciting and fun to read, a clever take on the elder God and possession/creeping madness type horror stories with enough mystery to keep you reading. I'm excited to read the second in the series.
Exciting and fun to read, a clever take on the elder God and possession/creeping madness type horror stories with enough mystery to keep you reading. I'm excited to read the second in the series.
May 27, 2015
A fantastic find! The writer combines archeology, police procedure, mystery, magic and great characters.
Super recommendation.
Super recommendation.
July 8, 2011
Brain-fluff. Fun, gripping.
June 19, 2012
it really sucked.... but it did end okay!
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews