Johnny Mays. The moral conscience of a selfish child in the frame of a plain-clothes cop. When Johnny starts a car chase, he pushes it too far. Soon they’re fishing for his body at the foot of a dam while his partner Nick Frazier is left behind to pick up the pieces.

Then the killings start. Killings of people Johnny didn’t like. And when Johnny’s car is dredged up empty, Johnny’s last words still echo in Nick’s mind. “I’m going to remember this,” he said, a dark fire in his eyes. “I’m coming back for you.”

A powerhouse psychological thriller… in a stunning denouement you learn that, dead or alive, people will do what they have to do. Death is no obstacle, The ending is sledgehammer stuff— hard-hitting and merciless. Gallagher is a master of abnormal psychology and he just gets better and better

Mystery Scene

Gripping—part thriller, part something darker

Neil Gaiman

Stephen Gallagher’s most ambitious, most committed book to date… the novel’s distinctive tone puts its author on an equal footing with the best of British horror

Kim Newman

The denouement, thanks to Gallagher’s strong writing and excellent characterisations, is unforgettable

Publishers Weekly

An out-and-out novel of paranoia, tension and sharply honed violence which confirms Gallagher as one of Britain’s most exciting writers of literate, nerve-shredding thrillers. Down River is Gallagher’s most impressive novel to date. He’s stripped, oiled and tuned his prose until it growls like a Ferrari, smooth, fast, and very, very powerful. The horror is firmly rooted in reality,yet seems ready at any moment to veer into deep, dark shadows… an unstoppable, gut-wrenching ride to the last page

Starburst

His prose is clear and diamond-sharp, his imagination dark and vivid… a terrifying walk along the edge of nightmare

Time Out

Down River is the best British thriller to appear in recent years

Time Out