Drifting South

by Charles Davis

Book Overview

Shady doesn't exist anymore. Neither does Benjamin Purdue. In a single day he lost his family, his love, his freedom and even his name for reasons he's never known. Now after spending twenty-one years in prison for crimes he didn't commit, the young man he used to be is dead. And the man he's become is no one he--or anyone else--would ever want to know. With only fifty dollars of state money in his pocket, Henry Cole, aka Benjamin Purdue, journeys...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0778325423
• ISBN13: 9780778325420
• Release Date: November 2008
• Publisher: Mira Books
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.1" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

starts off a bit slow, but.....

At first I wasn't quite sure if I would like this book. I thought it started out quite slow. The author writes a lengthy description on the early life of the main character, Benjamin Perdue. So if you pick up this book...don't put it down. Once the storyline gets going, you will be surprised in the twists and turns. It makes for a good, interesting read. I do have to agree, though, with the previous reviewer. There were a couple of things that he left hanging that I still wonder about. I hate when that happens.

Another Winner for Davis

I am so happy I discovered Charles Davis. I loved the story in Angel's Rest and was delighted to find Mr. Davis is not a one-book wonder. I agree that the dream of God Helen seemed a separate part of the story, but it was part of Ben's evolving. I'd love to hear the author talk about that, perhaps in a blog. I would recommend this book to anyone who appreciates good writing and a good story with an ending that leaves one satisfied.

Another great story - compelling read

Wonderful character and story - the type of book you can't wait to get into bed to read at night! Great topic for a book group discussion as well.

Very Moving

I don't read very often happen to find this book waiting on a plane fell in love never set it down. Very moving in a sense that good always follows evil. MUST READ

terrific character driven suspense thriller

He spent two decades and one year behind bars for a crime he did not commit. Now finally in 1980 Ben Purdue leaves the Harrisburg Federal Penitentiary where he spent much of his time in protective custody after two inmates tried to kill him. He knows someone wants him dead; most likely tied back to the felony that led to his incarceration. Still in spite of the danger of going home where the source of his assassin probably resides, he needs to learn the fate of his mom and brothers following the shooting that led to his incarceration; which means going to the place he loathes more than prison, his hometown Shady Hollow, Virginia. In Shady, Ben learns his family is all buried. Used to being alone due to his imprisonment, Ben mourns their death but easily deals with the solitude. He seeks to learn the truth about that fateful September day in 1959 that changed his world from a teen with hope to a bitter felon. Even more so he needs to know why his family resides in graves. The Shady "Keepers", people who he should have been able to trust from the girl he loved to the preacher to the law were involved, but someone wants him to join his family before the truth surfaces. This is a terrific character driven suspense thriller that grips the audience from the moment Prison Officer Dollinger explains to Henry (Ben) that he is being released a few days early so whoever wants him dead will not kill him in the penitentiary. The story line never loses that level of intensity as Ben affirms that you can never go home as the memory never existed and besides what is accurate no longer lives at least in his case. The tension mounts with each revelation as an obsessed Ben needs to know as does fans who will relish Charles Davis' strong thriller in one concentrated sitting. Harriet Klausner