The River Wife

Starred review from March 12, 2007
Agee (Sweet Eyes
; Strange Angels
) delivers an enthralling family saga set in Missouri's boot heel, a place so remote, "it's as if the whole state of Missouri has been trying to shake it off for years, like a vestigial tail." Seventeen-year-old Hedie Rails arrives in 1930 as the pregnant bride of Clement Ducharme at his family estate, but little does Hedie know that she's carrying on a tradition: in 1811, young Annie Lark is rescued from the Midwestern New Madrid earthquake by French fur trapper Jacques Ducharme and becomes the first "river wife." Hedie discovers this—along with the dark side of the Ducharme legacy—through old diaries she finds at the family home. She also learns of the other women involved with Jacques: Omah, the freed slave girl who joins him in river piracy, and Laura, his fortune-hunting second wife whose daughter, Maddie, is Clement's mother As Hedie's experiences become increasingly ominous (where does Clement go at night, and why does he come home beaten up? Are those footsteps she hears upstairs?), parallels develop between her life and those of past river wives. Lush historical detail, a plot brimming with danger, love and betrayal, and a magnificent cast (Jacques is larger than life, and the wives are sassy, sexed-up spitfires) will keep readers entranced.

Starred review from June 1, 2007
Agee's (Acts of Love on Indigo Road) earthy, gritty characters combine with her luminous prose to make this novel-within-a-novel a revealing study of human nature. In 1930, 17-year-old Hedie Rails arrives to the environs of New Madrid, MO, which her betrothed, Clement Ducharme, refers to as Missouri's boot heel, a place so remote, "it's as if the whole state of Missouri has been trying to shake it off for years, like a vestigial tail." Bootlegging days form the backdrop of Hedie and Clement's story and, as Clement becomes more immersed in his rum running, Hedie, love-blind and somewhat unaware of her husband's vocation, becomes entranced reading leather-bound journals kept by four generations of Ducharmes. Pioneering Annie Lark, a survivor of the 1811 earthquake; the river runner and freed slave Omah; fortune-hunting opportunist Laura; and Little Maddie, keeper of many secrets, are interwoven in the journals and illuminate the parallels to Hedie's own existence. This magical, haunting, panoramic portrait of family mystery is highly recommended for all public libraries. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 3/1/07.]Andrea Tarr, Corona P.L., CA

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