The River King

The River King is a 2000 novel by American author Alice Hoffman, known for writing books about women in search of their identities that mix realism with the supernatural. The book tells the story of a small Massachusetts town shrouded in mystery after a student drowns in the local river. The novel was made into a film in 2005 directed by Nick Willing.

At the start of the novel, two young boys discover the body of seventeen-year-old Gus Pierce in a frozen river. The local police force, spearheaded by Abel Gray and his partner, retrieve the body and begin a full investigation into the death of Gus Pierce. They soon find out that Gus was a student at the prestigious Haddan School, and, when questioned, the principal describes Gus as a loner who was often depressed and alienated.

Abel asks the school’s photography teacher to take photos of Gus’s room. The teacher agrees but insists on developing the photos herself. She also lets Abel know that she had seen Gus the night before his death in a heated argument with his friend Carlin. The police find Carlin crying in Gus’s room when they arrive to search it and take pictures. The teacher tells Abel to take it easy on Carlin, suggesting that she is not as tough as she may seem. On his way out of the dorm, Abel thinks he hears a noise and follows it to the bathroom, but finds no one there.

Gus’s father arrives, and Abel is supposed to take him to a hotel but decides to first bring him to see his son. Later, Carlin arrives at the hotel and insists that Gus did not kill himself, trying to convince Gus’s father. Carlin tells Abel that Gus’s accident was her fault, insisting that he would never have killed himself without leaving her a note in explanation. Abel wants to believe her and tries to convince the police force to pursue its investigation, but everyone seems to be convinced that it was suicide and that the case is closed.

The only person who seems to believe Abel is Betsy, the school photography teacher, who delivers the photographs she has taken and developed to Abel, pointing out a shadowy figure standing next to Gus’s bed in one picture, admitting that she finds the image chilling. Abel asks Betsy to dinner, but she refuses, telling him that she is getting married. He tells her to be sure to come to him with anything else she might find pertaining to the case.

Abel continues the investigation on his own, as the rest of the police force has ruled it a suicide and moved on. He finds that the department withheld certain evidence during the autopsy of the body, including the fact that Gus had human excrement in his lungs, which could not have come from the river water. Soon after, Abel is approached by the school principal who offers him a bribe to drop the investigation.

Furious, Abel storms off, followed by Betsy, who has more photographs to show him. In the photos, she points out shadowy figures looming behind Gus, Carlin, and Harry, Carlin’s boyfriend. She is truly concerned about the images and asks Abel if he thinks she is crazy. He responds that maybe they both are. In spite of her upcoming marriage, Betsy and Abel embrace and spend the night together.

While Abel is investigating Gus’s death, memories of his past begin to surface. He thinks back to his strained relationship with his father, and the case brings up his brother Frank’s suicide. As Abel continues the investigation, he discovers that Gus was hazed by Harry and some other boys who are involved in a secret society. He also learns that the teacher who was supervising the dorm that night was Betsy’s fiancé and that he turned a blind eye to what was taking place.

Betsy meets up with Abel to tell him that she is overcome with guilt and cannot lie to her fiancé. She breaks off their brief romance. Carlin also ends her relationship with Harry, as she grows increasingly distraught over Gus’s death. She isolates herself from her family and decides to remain at school over the holidays, haunted by her friend’s death.

In his desperation to get answers, Abel escalates his investigation, which ultimately leads him to turn in his badge and gun when he is fired. Through another student, Abel learns that Harry is likely responsible for Gus's death. No longer a police officer, Abel is able to frame Harry for cheating on an exam, which results in Harry's expulsion.

In the end, Abel decides it is time to talk to his father about his brother Frank and to come to terms with his own guilty conscience.