The Diviner's Tale - Paperback

by Bradford Morrow (Author)

"[A] splendidly written mystery . . . a compelling story. Grade: A" --Cleveland Plain Dealer

"Subtle, distinctive and well-wrought." --Washington Post

Hired by a developer to dowse a lonely forested valley in upstate New York, Cassandra Brooks comes upon a girl hanged from a tree. When she returns with authorities, however, the body has vanished, calling into question her sanity--at least until a dazed, mute girl emerges from the woods, alive and eerily reminiscent of Cassandra's vision of the hanged girl. Increasingly bizarre divinations ensue, leading Cassandra back to a past she thought long behind her, locking her in a mortal chess match with a killer who has returned from the past to haunt her once more.

"Sublime . . . creates a seamless breathing breathtaking unity of the literary and the suspense novel, detonating the very notion of genre. Riveting, insightful, sentence-by-sentence charged with feeling, it bears us, helpless, with it on its downward journey to illumination." --Peter Straub

Front Jacket

Bold, original, and mesmerizing. Impossible to put down. Valerie Martin

Walking a lonely forested valley on a spring morning in upstate New York, having been hired by a developer to dowse the land, Cassandra Brooks comes upon the shocking vision of a young girl hanged from a tree. When she returns with authorities to the site, the body has vanished, leaving in question Cassandra s credibility, if not her sanity. The next day, on a return visit with the sheriff to have another look, a dazed, mute missing girl emerges from the woods, alive and eerily reminiscent of Cassandra s hanged girl.What follows is the narrative of ever-deepening and increasingly bizarre divinations that will lead this gifted young woman, the struggling single mother of twin boys, hurtling toward a past she d long since thought was behind her. The Diviner s Tale is at once a journey of self-discovery and an unorthodox murder mystery, a tale of the fantastic and a family chronicle told by an otherwise ordinary woman.When Cassandra s dark forebodings take on tangible form, she is forced to confront a life spiraling out of control. And soon she is locked in a mortal chess match with a real-life killer who has haunted her since before she can remember."

Back Jacket

"[A] splendidly written mystery . . . a compelling story. Grade: A" Cleveland Plain Dealer
"Subtle, distinctive and well-wrought." Washington Post
Hired by a developer to dowse a lonely forested valley in upstate New York, Cassandra Brooks comes upon a girl hanged from a tree. When she returns with authorities, however, the body has vanished, calling into question her sanity at least until a dazed, mute girl emerges from the woods, alive and eerily reminiscent of Cassandra s vision of the hanged girl. Increasingly bizarre divinations ensue, leading Cassandra back to a past she thought long behind her, locking her in a mortal chess match with a killer who has returned from the past to haunt her once more.
"Sublime . . . creates a seamless breathing breathtaking unity of the literary and the suspense novel, detonating the very notion of genre. Riveting, insightful, sentence-by-sentence charged with feeling, it bears us, helpless, with it on its downward journey to illumination." Peter Straub
BRADFORD MORROW is the author of numerous acclaimed works of fiction, and founder of the literary magazine Conjunctions. He is a professor of literature at Bard College, and divides his time between New York City and upstate New York.
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