Book Review: Those Across the River by Christopher Buehlman

Frank and Dora move to a town where something is not quite right.

They never accounted for those across the river.

Frank and Dora were just looking for a fresh start. Floating on the highs of their illicit, career-ending love, Frank inherits his aunt’s home at just the right time. He conveniently ignores her warnings to not live there.

They settle in. Dora gets a job teaching the town’s children. Frank sets out to write a biography on his violent grandfather. They bask in their love and small-town life.

But there ‘s something strange afoot. The town insists on performing ritual sacrifices. After dark, odd things happen. There ‘s an antisocial, naked, almost feral person in the woods who could possibly be a murderer.

It’s difficult to like Frank. He seems a bit whiny and entitled, following his whims with little thought to the consequences or feelings of others. It makes for an interesting dynamic once the danger begins. Where do his priorities lie? What happens to that blissful love he shares with his wife?

It’s an intriguing story, but not the most groundbreaking. Those Across the River doesn’t take the genre to the next level or elevate the standard vampiric story. Dora’s character development remains largely static. But it is interesting to see where it takes Frank.

But it does spin an awfully good yarn. One with enough spikes to make the monsters monstrous and Frank and Dora’s plight plightful.

Those Across the River
Christopher Buehlman
Published September 2011
Ace Books