**"The Risen is an important novel -- and an intriguing one -- from
one of our master storytellers. In its pages, the past rises up,
haunting and chiding, demanding answers of us all." --**The News &
Observer
New York Times bestselling author Ron Rash demonstrates his superb
narrative skills in this suspenseful and evocative tale of two brothers
whose lives are altered irrevocably by the events of one long-ago
summer, one bewitching young woman--and the secrets that could destroy
their lives.
While swimming in a secluded creek on a hot Sunday in 1969,
sixteen-year-old Eugene and his older brother, Bill, meet the entrancing
Ligeia. A sexy, free-spirited redhead from Daytona Beach banished to
their small North Carolina town, Ligeia entrances the brothers,
especially Eugene, who is drawn to her raw sensuality and rebellious
attitude. Eugene begins to move farther and farther away from his
brother, the cautious and dutiful Bill, and when Ligeia vanishes as
suddenly as she appeared, the growing rift between the two brothers
becomes immutable.
Decades later, the once close brothers now lead completely different
lives. Bill is a gifted and successful surgeon, and a paragon of the
community, while Eugene, the town reprobate, is a failed writer and
determined alcoholic. When a shocking reminder of the past unexpectedly
surfaces, Eugene is plunged back into that fateful summer, and the girl
he cannot forget.
The deeper Eugene delves into his memories, the closer he comes to
finding the truth. But can Eugene's recollections be trusted? And will
the truth set him free and offer salvation . . . or destroy his damaged
life and everyone he loves?
