The Rivers Run Dry

January 19, 2009
Author and journalist Giorello, whose Christy award–winning debut novel, The Stones Cry Out
, made a splash in the evangelical Christian literary community, offers another crisply written crime story featuring Raleigh Harmon, the female geologist turned FBI agent. Agent Harmon is transferred from Richmond to Seattle, disciplined for not following orders. She arrives in Seattle with no sure footing and must quickly adapt to the unfamiliar as she begins the search for a missing wealthy young woman, with no choice but to trust her instincts. But there are distractions: her mom's sanity is iffy, her aunt has clairvoyant friends, and a whole host of fellow officers Harmon can't quite trust yet. As the search intensifies, so does the pressure, and Harmon keenly feels the strain of remaining an unemotional agent while coming into intimate contact with evil personified. With great attention to detail, gritty descriptions and fast-paced action, Giorello's tale of suspense is a sure bet.

February 15, 2009
Raleigh Harmon, the Virginia forensic geologist and FBI special agent introduced in The Stones Cry Out (2007), is not having an easy time. Abruptly transferred to the Seattle office, shes finding that they do things differently here than in her native South and that her new boss seems hell-bent on seeing Raleigh fail. But Raleigh doesnt have time to worry about personal squabbling: a woman is missing, and only Raleigh, with her unique investigative gifts, can find her before its too late. Giorello, a Pulitzer Prizenominated journalist, has made the transition from journalism to fiction writing smoothly: the novel reads as though it were written by a veteran of the genre. Raleigh is a strong, assertive series lead, and, if these first two novels are any indication, she should be around for quite a while.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)