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The River Wild
Subtitle: A Thriller
by Denis O'Neill
ISBN-139781510715981
Pages: 272
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Published: 6 June 2017


About the Book:


To help heal a marriage on the rocks, river-rafting expert Gail, her husband Tom,
and their son embark on a white water adventure in Montana. Along the way, they
encounter two inexperienced rafters supposedly looking for their friends downriver.
Little do they know that the men are escaped convicts whose bid for freedom has a
body count. Things take a turn when the young family learns that they are now the
captives of two armed killers, and it becomes clear that there is much more at
stake than a marriage. Desperate to evade both the police and federal marshals,
the men force the family down the river and into the mouth of a deadly class 5
white-water rapid. Careening towards mortal peril, Gail and Tom must bond together
to save their family from the brutality of nature and the savageness of man.

This high-stakes thriller is both a testament to the power of mother nature and a
classic adventure story that is perfect for fans of CJ Box and Craig Johnson.

Denis O'Neill, the screenwriter for the movie The River Wild, brings the striking
beauty of the film into his writing and ratchets up the danger that races forward
to a breathtaking conclusion.


About the Author:


Denis O'Neill is an author, screenwriter, producer, and nature enthusiast who
holds a master’s degree in journalism from Boston University. He worked on staff
and as a freelance writer/producer for Boston’s public television station, WGBH-TV.
He began publishing articles and short stories in Sports Illustrated, the Boston
Globe Sunday Magazine, Fly Rod & Reel, Antiques, American Photographer, and others.
His original screenplay, The River Wild, was produced in 1994, directed by Curtis
Hanson, starring Meryl Streep, Kevin Bacon, David Strathairn, and John C. Riley.
A Shot at Glory, directed by Michael Corrente and starring Robert Duvall, was
released in 2001. His first novel WHIPLASH: When the Vietnam War rolled a hand grenade
into the Animal House was published in 2014 and is now available on Kindle.
Denis lives in Beverly Hills, California.


From the Book:


Gail lowered herself on a rock beside him. The river provided a lulling whoosh - a kind
of melodic pad that was joined at times by the warble of a songbird, or the shrill cry of
a raptor riding updrafts along the rim of the towering cliff... "A wild river like this,'
she told her son, 'is the original symphony if you think about it. Slow in places... then
it builds to a faster tempo... next, you're in this big, percussive rapids section that riles
your blood and stirs your adrenaline... then it reaches a crescendo and spits you out into
the relief of deeper, quieter water... beautiful, soothing strings, maybe, that put you in
a pensive mood, and you go along with that for a while, happy for the relief until you turn
a bend and off you go again with the giddy-up portion. That's not even counting all the
guest soloists: thunder, lightning, wind, rain. All for free, too. As long as we keep it
wild."


 

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