The Messenger of Magnolia Street: A Novel

". . . when I look I see an open gate where there should be none. And what longs to enter through it, darkness and devastation. And I can feel that evil longing emptying out the good of Shibboleth, pulling on it with every rancid breath as it stands waiting for the gate to open farther."The Messenger of Magnolia Street tells the haunting story of three childhood friends who reunite to fight the unnamed presence that is slowly draining their beloved town of goodness and light. Nehemiah Trust fled his hometown of Shibboleth twelve years ago, after the death of his mother. Now chief of staff for a powerful senator, Nehemiah has washed his hands of Shibboleth. But one night his older brother Billy and childhood friend Trice appear at his front door. Something is wrong, they tell him. Nehemiah is needed back home.This mesmerizing novel of love awakened, purpose abandoned, and legacy reclaimed begins as slow and easy as a southern Sunday, but as the town of Shibboleth begins to sense the approaching darkness, the three friends must race against time to save the lifeblood of the place they call home. The solution requires a willingness to sacrifice everything.

From Publishers Weekly

Jordan's Southern gothic debut transports readers to Shibboleth, Ala., a sleepy anytown of "cornbread and ladybugs"—and miracles of divine intervention—that is being sucked dry by a mysterious, sinister force. An omniscient, grandiloquent narrator called the Recorder tells the story of three childhood friends who are steered by God to redeem their town. The novel's protagonist and the town's beloved son, Nehemiah Trust, left Shibboleth for Washington, D.C., 12 years earlier for a career on Capitol Hill, but like his biblical namesake, he is "destined to save his city and his people." Nehemiah's childhood friend (and new romantic interest), Trice, is a woman gifted with eerily prescient visions, and along with Nehemiah's older brother Billy, heads to D.C. to fetch him home. "Something is trying to steal Shibboleth," she warns, perturbed by the town's curiously dry wells and a premonition of an empty future. Back home, time and the laws of nature bend as the past folds into the present, and the smell of sulfur increasingly suffuses the novel as the supernatural and spiritual battle heats up. Readers eager for an apocalyptic story about "the presence of evil and the power of good" may embrace this novel. (Jan.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

As a teenager, Nehemiah Trust once rushed into a burning house to save a man's life. Now a successful D.C. political aide, he's being called back to his birthplace, Shibboleth, to save the town itself. A sleepy, time-stopped southern hamlet, Shibboleth has been steadily declining for years, the victim of a spectral and foreboding presence that goes unnoticed by nearly all the town's citizens. Only Trice, Nehemiah's childhood friend, seems capable of recognizing the menacing entity for what it is, and recruits Nehemiah and his brother Billy to help her stop the malevolence before Shibboleth is destroyed. The story is revealed through the unexpected viewpoint of the Recording Angel, a messenger from God who omnipotently observes the three childhood friends' actions and reactions in this epic battle. In the best tradition of Stephen King and Peter Straub, Jordan creates an eerily sinister landscape in which the age-old struggle of Good versus Evil is played out within the subtle context of family, faith, and friendship. Carol HaggasCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Michael Lee West, author of Mad Girls in Love

“River Jordan had me at hello. This is wonderfully written, a dazzling debut.”

Terry Kay, author of To Dance with the White Dog

“This is a book that inspires as well as it entertains -- and that is a rare achievement.”

Joshilyn Jackson, author of Gods in Alabama

“[L]ike A Wrinkle in Time for grown-ups...a story filled with light.”

Eric Wilson, author of Expiration Date and Dark to Mortal Eyes

“If Harper Lee and Dean Koontz joined their talents, they might come up with something as beautifully riveting as Messenger.”

Lynne Hinton, author of Friendship Cake and The Arms of God

“This is a magical novel.”

Lisa Tucker, author of The Song Reader

“[A] story full of southern dirt, courage, biscuits, faith, old trucks, old dogs, old friends - and love.”

“Jordan has woven the mystery of redemption into the backdrop of the smalltown South…in the rich tradition of Flannery O’Connor.”

Booklist

“In the best tradition of Stephen King and Peter Straub, Jordan creates an eerily sinister landscape….”

Kirkus Reviews

“A beautifully written, atmospheric tale.”

Crossings Book Club

“When a new year starts with a novel this good, it bodes well for the whole year....”

Grand Rapids Press

“A remarkable book. One is reminded of the film It’s a Wonderful Life.”

Southern Living

“This is a tale of wonder … Immerse yourself in River Jordan’s wondrously redemptive tale.”

Tampa Tribune

“Jordan’s prose, dazzlingly sparse in places, conjures up the traditions of Flannery O’Connor, Harper Lee and Peter Straub….”

From the Back Cover

". . . when I look I see an open gate where there should be none. And what longs to enter through it, darkness and devastation. And I can feel that evil longing emptying out the good of Shibboleth, pulling on it with every rancid breath as it stands waiting for the gate to open farther."The Messenger of Magnolia Street tells the haunting story of three childhood friends who reunite to fight the unnamed presence that is slowly draining their beloved town of goodness and light. Nehemiah Trust fled his hometown of Shibboleth twelve years ago, after the death of his mother. Now chief of staff for a powerful senator, Nehemiah has washed his hands of Shibboleth. But one night his older brother Billy and childhood friend Trice appear at his front door. Something is wrong, they tell him. Nehemiah is needed back home.This mesmerizing novel of love awakened, purpose abandoned, and legacy reclaimed begins as slow and easy as a southern Sunday, but as the town of Shibboleth begins to sense the approaching darkness, the three friends must race against time to save the lifeblood of the place they call home. The solution requires a willingness to sacrifice everything.

About the Author

River Jordan is a storyteller of the southern variety and spent ten years as a playwright with the Loblolly Theatre group. She now teaches and speaks on "The Power of Story" around the country. She is currently completing a new work of fiction and a collection of essays.

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