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Ohio river. Somewhere in a valley along its shores, a young boy and his family lived happily ever after, until his dad, Ben Harper, robbed a bank, stashed the money somewhere and made his ten-your-old son, John, and four-year-old daughter, Pearl, swear to never reveal the location. They had to swear, swear, swear, swear. And they did. They promised never to tell their mom, Willa, neither. And they didn't.

The secret was not so safe. It turned out to be a fateful pledge they made.The evilness of mankind, the greed and desperation of the Thirties, bloomed around the two children, forcing them into a life of the survival of the fittest. They had limited tools to understand the dark side of human nature, but instinct demanded of young John to keep his promise to his father to protect his little sister, come preacher or the hunter of the night. Fear dotted young John's daily meanderings, and came calling in his dreams at night. Especially at night when the full moon rose.

The two children could not escape all the other children's chant at Cresap's Landing:

Hing Hang Hung!
See what the hangman done.
Hung Hang Hing
See the robber swing.
Hing Hang Hung!
Now my song is done."

How possible was it for a ten-year-old boy to convince the world of the devil in disguise? The man with LOVE and HATE tattooed on the flesh of his fingers. He had Jehovah on his tongue and a quick knife in his fists. When the cloth was the man's holy attire and the Bible his mantra, who would believe a little boy? How can young John convince his mother that religion also had the scoundrels covered and love was not what it was meant to be for her?

His dad not only left him with the secret, but also with a skiff. And coming with it was uncle Birdie, his dad's old friend. Uncle Birdie understood more than he let on.

"You done a good job with Dad's skiff, Uncle Birdie.'
'Nothing at all, boy. She's your skiff now. But say! -- I reckon I could have your permission to take her out once in a while on my own?'
'Shucks yes, Uncle Birdie. You're practically a part owner. You fixed her up.'
'Well now boy, it'd be just grand if I could take her out ever'day for a little mess of catfish or tobacky boxes. Besides -- a boat needs usin' to keep her trim.'

Inadvertently(or was it?) his dad left him with the two things he needed to do the right thing. The Ohio river was his only way out in the end. Really?

Old Rachel Cooper, way down stream, many weeks away, fostered children who were left as debris along the river of doom and destruction of the Great Depression.

"When morning shot its golden shafts into the mists of the trees in the yard Rachel stole softly into the kitchen to the stairway for a moment and stared in at the children on the steps, filled suddenly with the wonder that each of us must feel at least once in our lives: the knowing that children are man at its strongest, that they are possessed, in those few short seasons of the little years, of more strength and endurance than God is ever to grant them again. They abide. They hurdle together as these children now did: asleep in blessed faith and innocence beneath doom's own elbow, thumbs tucked blissfully between their sweet lips."

First published in 1954, this bestseller attracted attention for not only the fast-moving, thrilling suspense drama, but also for its outstanding prose. It is words like these that kept me riveted to the tale:

"And it was probable that when Miz Cunningham like and ancient barn owl fluttered and flapped to earth at last, they would take her away and pluck her open and find her belly lined with fur and feathers and the tiny mice skulls of myriad dreams."

The novel is based on the true case of the serial killer Harry Powers, dubbed "The Lonely Hearts Club Killer," who went to the gallows in 1932 in Moundsville, West Virginia.

Mikes Review convinced me that this golden oldie was a must-read. I found this old copy in South Africa online at a secondhand bookstore and waited almost six weeks, due to the post office strike in the country, to finally hold it in my hands this past weekend. It was one of the best reads this year. Thanks for this wonderful recommendation, Mike. For some or other inexplicable reason I feel enriched by it. My goodness, what a magnificent read it was!

RECOMMENDED TO EVERYONE!