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Distant Sons
By the New York Times bestselling author of Descent and The Current, an absorbing new work of literary suspense about two young working men who forge a friendship despite secrets in their past, and whose actions ignite the passions and violence of a small Wisconsin town still haunted by the unsolved disappearance of three boys in the 1970s. For readers of Peter Heller, Liz Moore, and Cormac McCarthy.
What if?
What if Sean Courtland’s old Chevy truck had broken down somewhere else? What if he’d never met Denise Givens, a waitress at a local tavern in the Wisconsin town where he lands? Or Dan Young, another young man like Sean drifting through, having fled Minnesota for reasons unknown? Instead, together Sean and Dan pick up carpentry and plumbing work for an old man named Marion Devereaux, and Sean gets drawn into the lives of Denise and her father—and of the townspeople, all haunted by the disappearance of three young boys decades ago, in the 1970s.
As the paths of these characters converge, observing them all is Detective Corinne Viegas, a woman whose drive to seek justice comes from her father's own failure to find those boys and the violence once done to her sister. And over the course of just a few weeks, an irreversible chain of events is set in motion that culminates in shattering violence, and the revelation of long-buried truths.
Evocative, gritty, with indelible characters and setting, Distant Sons is another immersive, gripping suspense novel by Johnston about how the most random intersection of lives can have consequences both devastating and beautiful.
What if?
What if Sean Courtland’s old Chevy truck had broken down somewhere else? What if he’d never met Denise Givens, a waitress at a local tavern in the Wisconsin town where he lands? Or Dan Young, another young man like Sean drifting through, having fled Minnesota for reasons unknown? Instead, together Sean and Dan pick up carpentry and plumbing work for an old man named Marion Devereaux, and Sean gets drawn into the lives of Denise and her father—and of the townspeople, all haunted by the disappearance of three young boys decades ago, in the 1970s.
As the paths of these characters converge, observing them all is Detective Corinne Viegas, a woman whose drive to seek justice comes from her father's own failure to find those boys and the violence once done to her sister. And over the course of just a few weeks, an irreversible chain of events is set in motion that culminates in shattering violence, and the revelation of long-buried truths.
Evocative, gritty, with indelible characters and setting, Distant Sons is another immersive, gripping suspense novel by Johnston about how the most random intersection of lives can have consequences both devastating and beautiful.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published October 17, 2023
About the author
Tim Johnston
10 books690 followersTim Johnston is the author of the novels THE CURRENT and DESCENT, the story collection IRISH GIRL, and the YA novel NEVER SO GREEN. A New York Times, USA Today, and Indie national bestseller, Descent has been published internationally and optioned for film. The stories of Irish Girl won an O. Henry Prize, the New Letters Award for Writers, and the Gival Press Short Story Award, while the collection itself won the 2009 Katherine Anne Porter Prize in Short Fiction. In 2005 the title story, “Irish Girl,” was included in the David Sedaris anthology of favorites, Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules. Tim’s stories have also appeared in New England Review, New Letters, The Iowa Review, The Missouri Review, Double Take, Best Life Magazine, and Narrative Magazine, among others. Tim holds degrees from the University of Iowa and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. A carpenter for most of his adult life, he has also taught creative writing at The George Washington University and the University of Memphis. He is the recipient of the 2015 Iowa Author Award, and currently lives in Iowa City, Iowa.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 210 reviews
November 22, 2023
I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway. This book was great. I was like wow. I couldn't put it down and read it in two days. The book has a lot of characters but they all touch each others lives in different ways. Its not only a great crime mystery but also a book about how unexpectedly so many lives can be entertwined into so many others unexpectedly without trying. The lead character is Sean who finds himself in a town with a past of 3 small boys of the town go missing between 1976 and 1977. He is a carpenter whose truck breaks down. A local gives him a ride and tells him about a job he could do and gives him the number of that man that could use his skillset. After he starts the job he's then told he's working for the guy who was suspected of abducting the boys 41 years before. Sean also gets into trouble with the police after a barfight in which he is defending a woman's honor, she works at the bar. His actions there cause some issues for the girl, her father, the ex boyfriend and a new friend he's found. That story is another whole story on its own. This book is masterfully written. Moves along fast, and tells two stories about how it really is in a small Midwestern town. A lot of twists and turns, alot of suspense, a lot of drama and a 41 year old open abduction case. This book has everything it should. It would make a great mini series. It's a must read in my opinion. Kudos to the author. 👏
April 8, 2024
Ah, now this is a good read. It took a few chapters to recall why main character Sean Courtland's backstory rang a bell: I met him in Tim Johnston's debut novel, Descent, a story I found maddeningly inconsistent. But Distant Sons is something else entirely. Johnston layers a decades-old mystery of three missing little boys with a tender exploration of rural America. This is less thriller than a deep character study wrapped around the core of an unexplained tragedy. It burns slow, but it burns deep.
The setting is many years and hundreds of miles distant from Descent. Sean, traumatized by the events of his adolescence in Colorado, is drifting. He's a skilled carpenter and picks up jobs here and there, but guilt-stricken as he is, he never stays long in any one place, avoiding relationships, skirting commitments.
Then his truck breaks down outside a small Wisconsin town near the Minnesota border, where forty years earlier three young boys disappeared. No trace of the boys has been uncovered nor any possible suspects identified and the tragedy still shadows the town. Sean lands a temporary gig building out a bathroom extension at the place of an enigmatic local and enlists the plumbing skills of another drifter, Dan Young. He also cold cocks Denise, a server at a local bar, but it's a misplaced blow, intended instead for an ex-boyfriend who is harassing her. The incident becomes Denise and Sean's meet-cute moment and also lands him in the sites of police detective Corrine Viegas, whose father headed up the investigation of the missing boys years before Corrine was born.
Everyone and everything is connected and those connections take a sinister turn when Dan begins hearing voices in the basement of the house where he and Sean are working, a house where a bitter old man with bitter old grudges flashes back to a time when he might have taken a different path. The secrets this town holds are buried deep and Johnston takes his time unearthing them, but it is time well-spent. This is a novel about paths that diverge in a wood and how a moment's choice makes all the difference.
A soulful literary thriller - highly recommend.
The setting is many years and hundreds of miles distant from Descent. Sean, traumatized by the events of his adolescence in Colorado, is drifting. He's a skilled carpenter and picks up jobs here and there, but guilt-stricken as he is, he never stays long in any one place, avoiding relationships, skirting commitments.
Then his truck breaks down outside a small Wisconsin town near the Minnesota border, where forty years earlier three young boys disappeared. No trace of the boys has been uncovered nor any possible suspects identified and the tragedy still shadows the town. Sean lands a temporary gig building out a bathroom extension at the place of an enigmatic local and enlists the plumbing skills of another drifter, Dan Young. He also cold cocks Denise, a server at a local bar, but it's a misplaced blow, intended instead for an ex-boyfriend who is harassing her. The incident becomes Denise and Sean's meet-cute moment and also lands him in the sites of police detective Corrine Viegas, whose father headed up the investigation of the missing boys years before Corrine was born.
Everyone and everything is connected and those connections take a sinister turn when Dan begins hearing voices in the basement of the house where he and Sean are working, a house where a bitter old man with bitter old grudges flashes back to a time when he might have taken a different path. The secrets this town holds are buried deep and Johnston takes his time unearthing them, but it is time well-spent. This is a novel about paths that diverge in a wood and how a moment's choice makes all the difference.
A soulful literary thriller - highly recommend.
September 12, 2023
Johnston writes the perfect literary thriller, crime drama. Just enough plot, just enough pacing to keep the pages turning but his prose, good lord, the man can flat write, and I didn't want this one to end. Third book in and he keeps getting better and better with each one.
November 28, 2023
I have enjoyed Johnston's two previous novels, and this one is similar, though it did not work for me quite as well. Reading his novels has its own comfort, even though they inevitably involve some terrible crime. Here there was a series of flashbacks, and old crime echoing into the future, that felt too separate from the rest of the story, that kept it from being cohesive rather than adding an extra layer of meaning.
I also got just a little skeptical. How many of these soft old-fashioned men exist in his fictional universe? These men feel like relics though they are generally in their 20's. If it weren't for the cell phones I would have thought it a period piece. Still, as I said, he's nice to read, he is compelling somehow in a way I can never put my finger on. And he is really willing to sit with loss and grief in a way that crime novels generally don't.
I also got just a little skeptical. How many of these soft old-fashioned men exist in his fictional universe? These men feel like relics though they are generally in their 20's. If it weren't for the cell phones I would have thought it a period piece. Still, as I said, he's nice to read, he is compelling somehow in a way I can never put my finger on. And he is really willing to sit with loss and grief in a way that crime novels generally don't.
December 27, 2023
Ever since devouring Descent and The Current, I had been waiting on baited breath for Tim Johnston's next release.
Finally it happened in October, and while I was excited to read it, I was hesitant to because that would mean that the sooner I read it, the longer I'd have to wait until his next one!
But you know, I could get hit by a bus before getting to it, so there's my decision: better sooner than later. I need to adopt this philosophy for some other authors as well...
I'm so glad I did because the quality of writing and story and characters are just as top tier as they were in Descent (which was my favourite of his previous two by a slim margin).
And once again his works are grossly underappreciated here on Goodreads. Look at any of the nominees for "best" Mystery/Thriller here for most years and you'll find the vastness of over-hyped, trope-laden mediocrity that saturates the genre.
Tim Johnston doesn't resort to tropes. He creates very real characters in believable stories, and he is just literary enough to nudge into literary fiction without having the narrative weighted down, and this is offset by a considerable amount of engaging dialogue.
I can't think of another author who strikes this balance as well as he does. And he does it with every novel.
Why his novels aren't even considered as nominees for best Mystery/Thriller or even best Fiction is one of the reasons I barely bat an eye at these so-called awards every year. It's really a popularity contest, basically what most people read. An algorithm could easily cull more accurate results by ratings per readers alone.
On the other hand, inexplicably, his average ratings are under 4.00. What the heck is wrong with you people? ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!
I love this guy's books, and he is one of those authors who truly shines during the quieter parts of his novels. Something as simple as a guy meeting a woman's father. Two guys having a chat in a truck. I was riveted to simple conversations.
Maybe I'm going overboard here, but there you have it. One of my favourite authors and he as delivered again just in time to make Distant Sons one of my top reads of the year.
I never like to go into plots but if you loved Descent, you will love this. It centers around a young tradesman who's a stranger in town, who meets up with another stranger, also a tradesman, and they take on a reno for a local man. Of course there is history surrounding the town, the unsolved mystery of the disappearance of three young boys forty years ago.
His pacing was excellent as I've implied and I was very sad to finish it. But he's a young (younger than me, anyway) writer, and as long as he keeps writing I will have great books to look forward to for many years to come.
But hey, read this guy. He is woefully under-read and under-rated.
Obviously five stars.
Finally it happened in October, and while I was excited to read it, I was hesitant to because that would mean that the sooner I read it, the longer I'd have to wait until his next one!
But you know, I could get hit by a bus before getting to it, so there's my decision: better sooner than later. I need to adopt this philosophy for some other authors as well...
I'm so glad I did because the quality of writing and story and characters are just as top tier as they were in Descent (which was my favourite of his previous two by a slim margin).
And once again his works are grossly underappreciated here on Goodreads. Look at any of the nominees for "best" Mystery/Thriller here for most years and you'll find the vastness of over-hyped, trope-laden mediocrity that saturates the genre.
Tim Johnston doesn't resort to tropes. He creates very real characters in believable stories, and he is just literary enough to nudge into literary fiction without having the narrative weighted down, and this is offset by a considerable amount of engaging dialogue.
I can't think of another author who strikes this balance as well as he does. And he does it with every novel.
Why his novels aren't even considered as nominees for best Mystery/Thriller or even best Fiction is one of the reasons I barely bat an eye at these so-called awards every year. It's really a popularity contest, basically what most people read. An algorithm could easily cull more accurate results by ratings per readers alone.
On the other hand, inexplicably, his average ratings are under 4.00. What the heck is wrong with you people? ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!
I love this guy's books, and he is one of those authors who truly shines during the quieter parts of his novels. Something as simple as a guy meeting a woman's father. Two guys having a chat in a truck. I was riveted to simple conversations.
Maybe I'm going overboard here, but there you have it. One of my favourite authors and he as delivered again just in time to make Distant Sons one of my top reads of the year.
I never like to go into plots but if you loved Descent, you will love this. It centers around a young tradesman who's a stranger in town, who meets up with another stranger, also a tradesman, and they take on a reno for a local man. Of course there is history surrounding the town, the unsolved mystery of the disappearance of three young boys forty years ago.
His pacing was excellent as I've implied and I was very sad to finish it. But he's a young (younger than me, anyway) writer, and as long as he keeps writing I will have great books to look forward to for many years to come.
But hey, read this guy. He is woefully under-read and under-rated.
Obviously five stars.
November 3, 2023
Written in Tim Johnston's distinctive style, this story is about those seemingly insignificant events that can change lives so dramatically. It is a story both haunting and heartbreaking and asks the question "What if?" in many ways. It is also about sons missing in so many different ways. One of the best books I've read this year.
Thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for an ARC of the book.
Thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for an ARC of the book.
December 20, 2023
Sean Courtland's truck breaks down in a small Wisconsin town, where he meets Dan Young, another wanderer like himself. The two work a carpentry job for "old man" Marion Devereaux, who is the object of many rumors in the town. Sean also falls for Denise Givens, a local waitress with a jealous ex-boyfriend. All of them come together, joined by Detective Corinne Viegas, whose father was on the local force back in the 1970s when three young boys went missing.
This is a slow burn read, filled with details and insights. It's part mystery, part character study. It's often sad and carefully studies loss and grief. I didn't realize it, but DISTANT SONS has characters (especially Sean and Dan) who appeared in previous Johnston books. It seems to stand on its own, but I wish I had more of their backstory.
The format is told mostly in the present, focusing on Sean and Dan, but flips back to the 1970s, around the time the boys disappeared and rocked the small town. Sometimes the story bogs down; the meticulous carpentry descriptions as Dan and Sean work at Marion's for instance. They can be a little much. The central mystery surrounding the boys is also fairly obvious, but perhaps that is the overall point.
I found this to be a different type of read but an interesting and thoughtful one. It's heartfelt and both sad and hopeful. Definitely worth a read. 4+ stars.
This is a slow burn read, filled with details and insights. It's part mystery, part character study. It's often sad and carefully studies loss and grief. I didn't realize it, but DISTANT SONS has characters (especially Sean and Dan) who appeared in previous Johnston books. It seems to stand on its own, but I wish I had more of their backstory.
The format is told mostly in the present, focusing on Sean and Dan, but flips back to the 1970s, around the time the boys disappeared and rocked the small town. Sometimes the story bogs down; the meticulous carpentry descriptions as Dan and Sean work at Marion's for instance. They can be a little much. The central mystery surrounding the boys is also fairly obvious, but perhaps that is the overall point.
I found this to be a different type of read but an interesting and thoughtful one. It's heartfelt and both sad and hopeful. Definitely worth a read. 4+ stars.
June 17, 2024
***3.5 Stars*** I love Tim Johnston's stories. Descent and The Current were two of my all time favorite novels.
This novel was a disappointment for me...likely because I had unrealistic expectations.
This novel was a disappointment for me...likely because I had unrealistic expectations.
January 9, 2024
Sean Courtland has no idea the turn his life is going to take after his Chevy truck breaks down on the side of a road in Wisconsin but it is anything but dull.
I really liked the characters Sean, Dan and Denise who are all just trying to do the right thing and live their lives the best they know how.
My only complaint is that there are two mysteries going on and one detracted from the other.
I will definitely read more of Tim Johnston's books. I really enjoyed this one.
I really liked the characters Sean, Dan and Denise who are all just trying to do the right thing and live their lives the best they know how.
My only complaint is that there are two mysteries going on and one detracted from the other.
I will definitely read more of Tim Johnston's books. I really enjoyed this one.
January 4, 2024
3.5 ⭐ rounded up.
Thank you to the publisher and to Goodreads Giveaways for providing a copy of this novel for review.
This is is a pretty good story about the dangers of railroading people for crimes they may not have committed. We all know the real-life story of Richard Jewell. That poor man didn't do anything wrong, and his treatment as a suspect led to his committing suicide. In this fictional story, the author attempts to achieve balance by presenting the unfairly accused AND the ones who get away with it. Both are equal travesties of missed opportunities for justice.
The characterization in the story is a bit light, and much of the narrative could have used some tightening, particularly in the back half, which inexplicably slowed down in pacing, but those are my only complaints. I also guessed the whodunit angle pretty easily, but that happens frequently with modern day thrillers. There are also a few loose ends, but as in the real world, we don't always get all the answers. Sometimes the truth is murky, unexpected, or unsatisfying. Knowing what happened doesn't necessarily make everyone feel better.
There's a lot of sadness packed into this novel. The most important takeaway is that we all need others in our lives who need us.
Thank you to the publisher and to Goodreads Giveaways for providing a copy of this novel for review.
This is is a pretty good story about the dangers of railroading people for crimes they may not have committed. We all know the real-life story of Richard Jewell. That poor man didn't do anything wrong, and his treatment as a suspect led to his committing suicide. In this fictional story, the author attempts to achieve balance by presenting the unfairly accused AND the ones who get away with it. Both are equal travesties of missed opportunities for justice.
The characterization in the story is a bit light, and much of the narrative could have used some tightening, particularly in the back half, which inexplicably slowed down in pacing, but those are my only complaints. I also guessed the whodunit angle pretty easily, but that happens frequently with modern day thrillers. There are also a few loose ends, but as in the real world, we don't always get all the answers. Sometimes the truth is murky, unexpected, or unsatisfying. Knowing what happened doesn't necessarily make everyone feel better.
There's a lot of sadness packed into this novel. The most important takeaway is that we all need others in our lives who need us.
November 11, 2023
This book took me by surprise. It is not a traditional thriller by any means. This is a true literary suspense with a slow build to the conclusion. A stranger to this small town, Sean Courtland has a series of events that bring him to the attention of local law enforcement and set up the interaction with another new face from across the river, Dan Young. Both young men have similarities in background and begin working together doing repairs to a local outcast, Devereaux. We learn more about each character throughout the book and the local unsolved crime from many years ago.
I enjoyed the story and even the slow start was interesting. The wrap up of the crime was not completely satisfying for me. It felt somewhat rushed in action and detail when compared to the immense detail building up to the final third of the book. I don’t mind some ambiguity in an ending but this felt almost like the ending was rushed through without as much thought and care as the first 60-75%.
I still enjoyed it and would recommend it to the right audience.
#DistantSons #NetGalley #Algonquin
I enjoyed the story and even the slow start was interesting. The wrap up of the crime was not completely satisfying for me. It felt somewhat rushed in action and detail when compared to the immense detail building up to the final third of the book. I don’t mind some ambiguity in an ending but this felt almost like the ending was rushed through without as much thought and care as the first 60-75%.
I still enjoyed it and would recommend it to the right audience.
#DistantSons #NetGalley #Algonquin
August 28, 2023
Distant Sons is a crime novel set in a small Wisconsin town. The focus is on the "what if" - the small choices made by others that cause ripple effects to a community.
Is the story, Sean's truck breaks down on the way to his father's house with about 2 hours to go. He is luckily offered a ride which turns into a job tip that could potentially pay for truck repair. He spends the evening at the local bar and consequently gets into a fight.
Along the way we meet various characters - all impacted by a missing persons case of 3 boys from the 70's, an unsolved case that haunts each community member in different way. Tim Johnston has a unique writing style that I enjoy and I think you will too! If you like a small town mystery, a twisty turny thriller, or just wonder "What if" then Distant Sons is for you!
#algonquin #DistantSons #TimJohnston
Is the story, Sean's truck breaks down on the way to his father's house with about 2 hours to go. He is luckily offered a ride which turns into a job tip that could potentially pay for truck repair. He spends the evening at the local bar and consequently gets into a fight.
Along the way we meet various characters - all impacted by a missing persons case of 3 boys from the 70's, an unsolved case that haunts each community member in different way. Tim Johnston has a unique writing style that I enjoy and I think you will too! If you like a small town mystery, a twisty turny thriller, or just wonder "What if" then Distant Sons is for you!
#algonquin #DistantSons #TimJohnston
October 16, 2023
Master storyteller Tim Johnston returns following The Decent and The Current (both 5 stars) with his sixth novel, DISTANT SONS—an absorbing riveting crime novel/literary fiction set in a small rural Wisconsin town haunted by the unsolved disappearance of three boys in the 1970s with thought-provoking what ifs.
Once again, the author skillfully takes us into rural, blue-collar America with loss, struggles, and ultimately, hope with this gritty suspense novel about how the most random connection of lives can have tragic and beautiful consequences.
The novel opens in 1976 when we learn about the three missing boys. Teddy Felt, Duane Milner, and Billy Ross.
Flash forward to 2018 with Sean Courtland, age 26, making his way through town on the other side of Wisconsin from a job in Montana and on his way home. He passed a few exits and began smelling the engine on the outskirts of town.
A breakdown. Sean will have to get a job in construction to make up for the cash he will ultimately spend on repairs for his Chevy truck.
Then Sean gets involved in a domestic dispute at a bar trying to protect a woman, Denise (bartender), and accidentally hits her. Then, they later become friends, and he gets closer to her and her dad.
We also meet Detective Corrine Viegas (a hoot), a big part of the novel. Sean also meets Dan Young, another outsider down on his luck at the diner who has plumbing skills, and he wants Dan to help him finish the job at Marion Devereaux's house.
He is busy working for the old man. There are rumors about the man on the bluffs who may have been involved in the disappearance of the three boys in the 70s. Also, rumors that it could have been the Devereaux uncle from the war.
Strange things happen at the house and the basement, but Sean keeps his head down and does not get involved since he needs to finish and be on his way.
The paths collide as Detective Corinne Viegas, a woman whose drive to seek justice comes from her father's failure to find those boys and the violence once done to her sister. Soon, events happen with violence, tragic deaths, and long-buried dark secrets, and she is center stage. What is behind those walls?
"Our wills and fates do so contrary run, that our devices still are overthrown. Our thoughts are ours, their ends non of our own."
—Shakespeare
Masterfully written in Johnston's signature classic style that we love —brilliantly blending two timelines and stories will keep you on the edge of your seat. Genre crossing—a mix of literary, crime, suspense, small town, mystery, friendship, and police procedural.
Fans of the author will enjoy characters from previous books—Dan Young and Sean Courtland, whom we met in Descent and The Current.
A slow burn, intricate, and immersive, DISTANT SONS is for fans of authors Allen Eskens, Ron Rash, William Kent Krueger, and Dennis Lehane. I'm a huge fan—I highly recommend all his books.
My Reviews:
The Current
The Descent
Thanks to Algonquin Books and Netgalley for an early reading copy for an honest review.
Blog Review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: Oct 17, 2023
My Rating: 5 Stars
Oct 2023 Books
Oct Newsletter
Once again, the author skillfully takes us into rural, blue-collar America with loss, struggles, and ultimately, hope with this gritty suspense novel about how the most random connection of lives can have tragic and beautiful consequences.
The novel opens in 1976 when we learn about the three missing boys. Teddy Felt, Duane Milner, and Billy Ross.
Flash forward to 2018 with Sean Courtland, age 26, making his way through town on the other side of Wisconsin from a job in Montana and on his way home. He passed a few exits and began smelling the engine on the outskirts of town.
A breakdown. Sean will have to get a job in construction to make up for the cash he will ultimately spend on repairs for his Chevy truck.
Then Sean gets involved in a domestic dispute at a bar trying to protect a woman, Denise (bartender), and accidentally hits her. Then, they later become friends, and he gets closer to her and her dad.
We also meet Detective Corrine Viegas (a hoot), a big part of the novel. Sean also meets Dan Young, another outsider down on his luck at the diner who has plumbing skills, and he wants Dan to help him finish the job at Marion Devereaux's house.
He is busy working for the old man. There are rumors about the man on the bluffs who may have been involved in the disappearance of the three boys in the 70s. Also, rumors that it could have been the Devereaux uncle from the war.
Strange things happen at the house and the basement, but Sean keeps his head down and does not get involved since he needs to finish and be on his way.
The paths collide as Detective Corinne Viegas, a woman whose drive to seek justice comes from her father's failure to find those boys and the violence once done to her sister. Soon, events happen with violence, tragic deaths, and long-buried dark secrets, and she is center stage. What is behind those walls?
"Our wills and fates do so contrary run, that our devices still are overthrown. Our thoughts are ours, their ends non of our own."
—Shakespeare
Masterfully written in Johnston's signature classic style that we love —brilliantly blending two timelines and stories will keep you on the edge of your seat. Genre crossing—a mix of literary, crime, suspense, small town, mystery, friendship, and police procedural.
Fans of the author will enjoy characters from previous books—Dan Young and Sean Courtland, whom we met in Descent and The Current.
A slow burn, intricate, and immersive, DISTANT SONS is for fans of authors Allen Eskens, Ron Rash, William Kent Krueger, and Dennis Lehane. I'm a huge fan—I highly recommend all his books.
My Reviews:
The Current
The Descent
Thanks to Algonquin Books and Netgalley for an early reading copy for an honest review.
Blog Review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: Oct 17, 2023
My Rating: 5 Stars
Oct 2023 Books
Oct Newsletter
December 27, 2023
Tim Johnston is still a bit too addicted to sentence fragments that read like he’s desperately trying to be the apple-cheeked apple-polisher of his MFA workshop, and a bit too infatuated with scenes in which emotionally stunted men smoke cigarettes and silently brood through haunted eyes into the hardscrabble middle distance. But at least he embeds his hyper-technique-y prose in something akin to an actual plot, with discernible story and character arcs, which makes DISTANT SONS the equal of his previous work, THE CURRENT, and a vast improvement on DESCENT, which used a missing girl as a fig leaf of a plot in which he proved to be almost wholly disinterested. Nice use of working-class Wisconsin settings as well, making it into a throughly, happily miserable place to be. Johnston seems to be settling into a career as a self-conscious, minor-league Russell Banks, and that’s not the worst thing in the world to be.
That said, hack writing gone to graduate school is still hack writing: “The smell of blood so strong she’d tasted it like copper in her mouth.”
That said, hack writing gone to graduate school is still hack writing: “The smell of blood so strong she’d tasted it like copper in her mouth.”
December 18, 2023
In the middle of the 1970s, in a small town in Wisconsin, three 10 year old boys disappear, one every year. In the present 2 itinerant workers meet in this same town and strike a friendship. They decide to stay and do some needed chores for the locals. They discover the secrets of the small town. A good story but in my opinion a little bit disjointed. A 3.5.
October 7, 2023
Is it chance or fate or coincidence behind an avalanche of events in a small town when two strangers, unknown to each other, find themselves immersed in each other’s lives and that of the town. A beautifully written literary suspense novel that examines the “what ifs” and “if onlys” that beset every action we take. These are characters that are real from the start, that the reader wants the best for. Mr. Johnston writes emotion without the usual emotion words and it is powerful. I’m in awe of his talent and this beautiful story.
Thanks to NetGalley and Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill for the ARC to read and review.
Thanks to NetGalley and Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill for the ARC to read and review.
October 29, 2023
An immersive literary thriller, the lyrical writing sucked me right in. The characters made me stay. My first Tim Johnston was a success. I loved it.
The story centers around Sean & Dan, who meet in a small town, not their own. They find themselves forging a friendship in the midst of a 40-year-old mystery involving the disappearance of three young boys. This is a complex story I can't properly explain without spoilers. If literary thrillers are your jam, don't miss this one.
🌟🌟🌟🌟💫
The story centers around Sean & Dan, who meet in a small town, not their own. They find themselves forging a friendship in the midst of a 40-year-old mystery involving the disappearance of three young boys. This is a complex story I can't properly explain without spoilers. If literary thrillers are your jam, don't miss this one.
🌟🌟🌟🌟💫
February 21, 2024
This is the third book of Johnston's that I have read. And while I didn't enjoy it quite as much as the other two, it's still a great crime story with interesting characters.
February 16, 2024
Imagine my delight when I discovered that in “Distant Sons”, by Tim Johnston, continues the stories of both of Sean Courtland, whom we first met in Johnston’s “The Descent” (2021) when his older sister is abducted, and of Danny Young, from “The Current”, a young man assumed to have murdered a young woman.
If you wondered what happened to these two young men after reading those novels (I did!) then “Distant Sons” will satisfy your curiosity.
If you wondered what happened to these two young men after reading those novels (I did!) then “Distant Sons” will satisfy your curiosity.
November 19, 2023
Thank you NetGalley and Algonquin Books for accepting my request to read and review Distant Sons.
Really a miss for me, 2.5 stars. There were too many characters with the same geographical area used over different times with the same family names. A flow chart was needed for the six degrees of separation.
The story is less about three missing boys and more about life in general. This could have been told from a psychiatric standpoint of what if. This was page after page of okay? So?
In hindsight, this feels more like literary fiction than mystery & thriller. There is storytelling (which I love), but was unrecognizable by me until the end.
I was waiting for anything to happen the first third of the book, it appeared to take a turn the next third, just to fizzle out in the end.
This just wasn't for me.
Really a miss for me, 2.5 stars. There were too many characters with the same geographical area used over different times with the same family names. A flow chart was needed for the six degrees of separation.
The story is less about three missing boys and more about life in general. This could have been told from a psychiatric standpoint of what if. This was page after page of okay? So?
In hindsight, this feels more like literary fiction than mystery & thriller. There is storytelling (which I love), but was unrecognizable by me until the end.
I was waiting for anything to happen the first third of the book, it appeared to take a turn the next third, just to fizzle out in the end.
This just wasn't for me.
November 1, 2023
I have questions!!! Either I didn't read closely enough (admittedly I kept getting interrupted by trick or treaters......but I NEEDED to read!!!), or it wasn't quite clear in the writing.......
Anyway, other than the back and forth with whether to use italics and/or quotation marks, I really enjoyed this book! It was slow, despite a lot of events actually taking place, but I really liked the character development. Oddly enough, I would have liked even more character background, which is odd for this plot driven reader. But perhaps my need to know what I didn't figure out in my first paragraph of this review is what propelled me. I think I know. I am going to assume I know and go with that until told otherwise. If you know, please message me!
Anyway, other than the back and forth with whether to use italics and/or quotation marks, I really enjoyed this book! It was slow, despite a lot of events actually taking place, but I really liked the character development. Oddly enough, I would have liked even more character background, which is odd for this plot driven reader. But perhaps my need to know what I didn't figure out in my first paragraph of this review is what propelled me. I think I know. I am going to assume I know and go with that until told otherwise. If you know, please message me!
December 31, 2023
Written in Tim Johnston's distinctive style, this story is about those seemingly insignificant events that can change lives so dramatically. It is a story both haunting and heartbreaking. It asks the question "What if?" in many ways. It is also about sons missing in so many different ways. One of the best books I've read this year.
Thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for an ARC of the book.
Thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for an ARC of the book.
November 9, 2023
This was tough read. Not the subject matter, just the style. Dialogue heavy. Jumping timelines. Multiple characters. It was well written technically but to be honest, I cared very little for the main characters.
It did improve in the less 1/3...kind of picked up steam, but for the most part it was laborious to read.
However...since it was well crafted, it might be worth your time. Not for me.
It did improve in the less 1/3...kind of picked up steam, but for the most part it was laborious to read.
However...since it was well crafted, it might be worth your time. Not for me.
July 24, 2024
Book: Distant Sons
Author: Tim Johnston
Rating: 4 Out of 5 Stars
I want to thank the publisher, Algonquin Books, for sending me an ARC. This is one of those books that pulled me in and made it hard to put down. I don’t know what it was about this book that made me feel that way, but it did.
This is a book about what would happen if this hadn’t happened and chances. Sam’s truck has broken down in a small town and he has to get fixed. He is a freelance contractor. While waiting for his truck to be fixed, he takes a job. The only thing is that this person ends up being the town outcast. You see many years ago, three young boys went missing and were never found. All of this is supposed to be linked to Sam’s new boss. Things are weird there, but it is a job. By chance, Sam ends up teaming up with Dan, who is a talented plumber. We don’t know what Dan’s deal is for sure, but he is a good plumber. Both of them are drawn to end other. Sam also meets Denise, who is a waitress and who he ends up accidentally punching in the face. It’s a complicated story. All of these characters are brought together by chance. They all discover that maybe they all have more in common than they thought.
I started by saying this is a book of what-ifs. All of these characters have been brought together by chance. They don’t have a lot in common and would have never met had they not been brought together by chance. They all have different backgrounds and different stories. Despite all of this, by being together they give each other different views on life. They have amazing backstories and character arcs. None of them are anything but ordinary people going about their ordinary lives. They are blue-collared and are just trying to get through the day-to-day. There is a mystery woven in, but, for the most part, it’s just a day-to-day book.
This mystery/thriller is a lot different from those that I normally read. What I read is pretty cliched and unbelievable most of the time. We have the mystery of the three boys and Sam’s new boss woven in. A lot of what is being said is small-town talk. There are whispers about the boys and what is believed to have happened, but there’s proof. Trouble seems to find Sam, which the local police pick up on. Dan is a character who we know nothing about. His backstory is kind of up in the air. We don’t think he is running from something, but we aren’t completely sure. We see what labels can do to people and whispers. We see how these things can divide people and not give others a fair chance.
The mystery elements are there, but they are not the sole focus of the book. We get to know our characters very well. We get to frown on our views of them. Like the town, we have what we think we know and what is presented on the outside. We have the stories and the whispers. However, we get to see the other side of our characters. We get the story, but, yet, we don’t have the whole story. We get to see and know our characters through their actions and behaviours. We see those little moments that make them who they are and that allow them to mould into the world.
I know my review was on the vague side. This is one of those books that it is hard to go into detail about without spoiling it. If you like mystery/thriller with more of a literary side to it, then I think you will enjoy this one a lot.
This book is out in hardcover now but will be out in paperback on August 6, 2024.
Youtube: https://youtu.be/XWLogHyf0F4
Author: Tim Johnston
Rating: 4 Out of 5 Stars
I want to thank the publisher, Algonquin Books, for sending me an ARC. This is one of those books that pulled me in and made it hard to put down. I don’t know what it was about this book that made me feel that way, but it did.
This is a book about what would happen if this hadn’t happened and chances. Sam’s truck has broken down in a small town and he has to get fixed. He is a freelance contractor. While waiting for his truck to be fixed, he takes a job. The only thing is that this person ends up being the town outcast. You see many years ago, three young boys went missing and were never found. All of this is supposed to be linked to Sam’s new boss. Things are weird there, but it is a job. By chance, Sam ends up teaming up with Dan, who is a talented plumber. We don’t know what Dan’s deal is for sure, but he is a good plumber. Both of them are drawn to end other. Sam also meets Denise, who is a waitress and who he ends up accidentally punching in the face. It’s a complicated story. All of these characters are brought together by chance. They all discover that maybe they all have more in common than they thought.
I started by saying this is a book of what-ifs. All of these characters have been brought together by chance. They don’t have a lot in common and would have never met had they not been brought together by chance. They all have different backgrounds and different stories. Despite all of this, by being together they give each other different views on life. They have amazing backstories and character arcs. None of them are anything but ordinary people going about their ordinary lives. They are blue-collared and are just trying to get through the day-to-day. There is a mystery woven in, but, for the most part, it’s just a day-to-day book.
This mystery/thriller is a lot different from those that I normally read. What I read is pretty cliched and unbelievable most of the time. We have the mystery of the three boys and Sam’s new boss woven in. A lot of what is being said is small-town talk. There are whispers about the boys and what is believed to have happened, but there’s proof. Trouble seems to find Sam, which the local police pick up on. Dan is a character who we know nothing about. His backstory is kind of up in the air. We don’t think he is running from something, but we aren’t completely sure. We see what labels can do to people and whispers. We see how these things can divide people and not give others a fair chance.
The mystery elements are there, but they are not the sole focus of the book. We get to know our characters very well. We get to frown on our views of them. Like the town, we have what we think we know and what is presented on the outside. We have the stories and the whispers. However, we get to see the other side of our characters. We get the story, but, yet, we don’t have the whole story. We get to see and know our characters through their actions and behaviours. We see those little moments that make them who they are and that allow them to mould into the world.
I know my review was on the vague side. This is one of those books that it is hard to go into detail about without spoiling it. If you like mystery/thriller with more of a literary side to it, then I think you will enjoy this one a lot.
This book is out in hardcover now but will be out in paperback on August 6, 2024.
Youtube: https://youtu.be/XWLogHyf0F4
November 26, 2023
This is my first book by this author. Mystery, Midwest USA, lost souls, gentle romance. This is a beautifully written book - good description, even though we have jumps in time and quite a bit of after-the-fact explanations. There are many little puzzling aspects - why neither of the men want to go home, why the one female is so trashy but the big mystery hangs over the entire book. Three young boys go missing over a three year period. They are just missing, no clues, no bodies ever found, no clothes ever found. The book builds toward finding the three boys, introducing some of their families, including the father of a young man who hung himself. Was he meant to be the fourth missing boy? Some questions are never answered, but Johnston does give us a little positive vibe at the end. Not really forgiveness but some answers and maybe hope for the future. I will read other Johnston books. This would be an excellent book for a group discussion. There are so many leads, so many red herrings, so many unanswered questions with the two male leads - partners in home maintenence, who share tiny bits of information about themselves, never the whole story.
October 12, 2023
A literary mystery that moved me
October 16, 2023
I loved this book. It starts out slow, but the characters grab you with their goodness and the writing is just superb. The story is interesting - a 40 year old mystery involving 3 young boys missing in Wisconsin, but you never lose your fondness for the men and women in the story. These are people with high morals and ethics and yet, that doesn’t protect them from the sadness of life. Is it fate, predestination that leads us to our decisions? And yet the “what ifs” seems to follow us through our lives. I will miss the characters in this story. And they will remain with me for some time.
Thanks to NetGalley and Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill for the ARC to read and review.
Thanks to NetGalley and Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill for the ARC to read and review.
November 5, 2023
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for review.
This is a sneaky one. I was expecting a suspense novel but this was much more literary and character-driven. It's a slow burn that takes awhile to develop. Not a lot happens in the first half and there are sometimes unnecessary detail in the story. Sean and Dan drift into a heavy town together, and go to work for the town pariah, who may or may not have to do with the disappearance of children more than 30 years ago. I'm still not sure that I found the disappearance storyline resolved.
This is a sneaky one. I was expecting a suspense novel but this was much more literary and character-driven. It's a slow burn that takes awhile to develop. Not a lot happens in the first half and there are sometimes unnecessary detail in the story. Sean and Dan drift into a heavy town together, and go to work for the town pariah, who may or may not have to do with the disappearance of children more than 30 years ago. I'm still not sure that I found the disappearance storyline resolved.
February 15, 2024
My dad and I read this book together, and even though I knew it wouldn’t live up to this author’s first novel who I LOVE and is my favorite of all time, this just completely broke down by the end. The first half was solid, but in the second half the central mystery and the characters relationships unraveled and lost all momentum. This book is like taking a train but ending up going the complete opposite direction to end up in the middle of nowhere. Genuinely, 50% of the book is like reading a construction Bob-the-Builder manual because the author was previously a carpenter and wanted to flex his vocabulary I guess??? Also I’ve never read a MESSIER last chapter in my life, even the author seemed over writing this. Anyway since I don’t have much to offer literary-wise, please enjoy my dad’s scathing take on one of the only female characters hooking up with someone on the first date.
As for Denise… I get it that she likes Sean, but that was pretty quick. Men are stupid. They generally think less of a woman who gives it up so easily. It’s one-sided and unfair, but that’s how our minds usually work. Also, men like a challenge.
As for Denise… I get it that she likes Sean, but that was pretty quick. Men are stupid. They generally think less of a woman who gives it up so easily. It’s one-sided and unfair, but that’s how our minds usually work. Also, men like a challenge.
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