River Runs Red

by Scott Alexander Hess

Calhoun McBride and Clement Cartwright are men from different worlds. Young Calhoun works backbreaking, midnight shifts at the Snopes Brewery...and earns a little extra selling his body to eager men. Clement left St. Louis to pursue his architectural ambitions and returns to great fanfare as the man planning the city's first skyscraper. But one steamy night, by the Mississippi River, both men find themselves drawn to one another. But what chance has brought together, the machinations of a bitter and cruel man, Belasco Snopes, who thinks St. Louis belongs to him...down to its people, victims for all his appetites. Lambda Literary Award finalist Scott Alexander Hess's new historical novel offers readers a sultry story with menace.

Genres: Historical, Queer, Historical Fiction

244 pages, Paperback

Published August 11, 2019

About the author

Scott Alexander Hess is the author of nine novels, including Drought which won the 2026 Publishing Triangle Ferro-Grumley Award for Best LGBTQ+ Fiction. Other novels include Skyscraper, a Lambda Literary Award Finalist, and The Butcher’s Sons, which was named a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2015. His writing has appeared in HuffPost, Genre Magazine, The Fix, Thema Literary Review, and elsewhere. Hess co-wrote "Tom in America," an award-winning short film, starring Sally Kirkland and Burt Young. He teaches fiction writing at Gotham Writers Workshop and curates Hot Lit, an LGBTQ+ themed monthly newsletter. Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, Hess lives in New York City with his husband.

Reviews

[Kazza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scott Alexander Hess crafts another memorable, beautifully written tale. Gritty and dark. Unrepentant. Vivid. The period fully realised. Even though there are four POV, the Mississippi River is the murky yet magnetic centrepiece throughout.

Podcast review with preamble and quotes/pics at-

[LynnDee (LynnDee's Library) · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise was decent but the writing was eh. When you do more telling than showing, you lose me. Like I get it, the bad guy is a really bad guy. The saving grace were the short chapters.

[Chase Hackett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hess' ability to evoke another place and time and to make it feel utterly natural is masterful. Within that framework, he crafted a marvelous sense of threat, with a taut and captivating story.

c.t.h.

[Kathleen Hess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveting.

[taylor jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an absolute masterpiece that seamlessly blends intricate storytelling with raw emotional depth.

[Mario Alvarez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have not read Scott Hess’s latest book... yet but I can not wait! I have had the privilege of being acquainted with Scott for the past two years. He is a master of dialogue, suspense and emotion. His experience is vast and varied. He lives a full, rich life and I always look forward to chatting with him with pleasure and excitement. You will too when you immerse yourself in his fascinating world.

[Charles Koehler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being a lifelong St. Louisan, and teaching a tour course on the 1904 St. World's Fair, I had fun reading this novel, imagining (and actually plotting out using Google Maps) where the novel's captivating characters lived, worked and moved and where the buildings and homes from the novel were/still are located. Despite some historical inaccuracies (i.e. use of the words jazz and adrenaline), this novel is highly recommended.