Distant Sons (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781643753591)

The paths of two young men collide and spark unexpected violence in a Wisconsin town where three boys went missing in the 1970s in this "intricate, haunting novel" (Michael Koryta, author of An Honest Man).

What if?

What if Sean Courtland's old Chevy truck had broken down somewhere else? What if he'd never met Denise Givens, a waitress at a local tavern, and gotten into a bar fight defending her honor? Or offered a ride to Dan Young, another young man like Sean, burdened by secrets and just drifting through the small Wisconsin town?

Instead, Sean enlists Dan's help with a construction job in the basement of a local--the elderly, reclusive Marion Devereaux--and gradually the two men come to realize that they've washed up in a place haunted by the disappearance of three young boys decades earlier. As Sean and Dan's friendship deepens, and as Sean gets closer to Denise and her father, they come to the attention of a savvy local detective, Corrine Viegas, who has her own reasons for digging into Dan's past--and for being unable to resist the pull of the town's unsolved mystery. And with each chance connection, an irreversible chain of events is set in motion that culminates in shattering violence and the revelation of long-buried truths.

Gripping and immersive, this crime novel by bestselling author Tim Johnston becomes so much more: a book about friendship and love and good hard work--and a masterful read about how the most random intersection of lives can have consequences both devastating and beautiful.


Author: Tim Johnston
ISBN-10: 1643753592
ISBN-13: 9781643753591
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Language: English
Published: 10/17/2023
Pages: 400
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.20lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.30w x 1.50d

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal Prepub Alert 05/01/2023 pg. 8
Kirkus Reviews 09/01/2023
Library Journal 09/01/2023 pg. 69
Shelf Awareness 10/20/2023
Publishers Weekly 10/30/2023