Leedom-Ackerman’s (No Marble Angels) first novel contains the raw seeds of a fine work unrealized. A promising themetwo journalists’ personal quests played against the turbulent backdrop of African politicsis diffused by uneven characterizations and conflict development and flat, reportorial prose. Tough-edged yet vulnerable loner Olivia, a black journalist in a slump, and earth mother Jenny, insecure in the face of a second pregnancy, an unfinished book and a chasm in her marriage to a Wall Street banker, share a seminal past journalistic assignment in a politically ravaged African countryan experience that permeates present events, yet from which the reader remains psychologically distanced. Appearances at the U.N. by the Nations’ Liberation Organization and fanatic despot Bulgawi prompt Olivia and Jenny to pursue NLO leaders Jamin and Nyral through a tame vision of New York’s underside to uncover their mysterious financial backers. Haunted by unaired ghosts, Jamin and Olivia’s stilted encounters poorly convey the tensions of their ambiguous relationship. As Olivia is pulled into the NLO plot at its climax, provocative questions of gender and racial identity arise that demand earlier dramatic grounding. Jenny’s domestic conflict is handled with more conviction, though marred by a predictable love triangle. While touching a universal pulse, the conventional details of Jenny’s protected world lack the imaginative spark that would make her seem less self-indulgent. More important, Leedom-Ackerman does not provide the compelling portrait of Africa that the story needs and deserves.

A political thriller about strong-minded women and men, The Dark Path to the River tells a love story that moves between Wall Street and Africa.

A political thriller about strong-minded women and men, The Dark Path to the River tells a love story that moves between Wall Street and Africa.

A political thriller about strong-minded women and men, The Dark Path to the River tells a love story that moves between Wall Street and Africa.

The Dark Path to the River is a love story, one of strong-minded women and men who do not see the world the same. It is a story of power and politics on Wall Street and in Africa. It is also the story of two women, friends and journalists, one black and one white, of their search for empowerment and of the men who both shape and are shaped by their worlds.

A political thriller about strong-minded women and men, "The Dark Path to the River" tells a love story that moves between Wall Street and Africa.

"Particularly successful in building suspense . sensitive and ambitious."
-New York Times Book Review

"A knockout of a novel-impressive in its scope but at the same time intimate and personal . an extraordinary book."
-Elisabeth Forsythe Hailey, "A Woman of Independent Means"

"Joanne Leedom-Ackerman knows suspense like Hitch****. But what distinguishes the novel is its characters . [They] give this fine novel its power."
-Washington Post

"A book that provokes thought and is most entertaining to read."
-Los Angeles Times

"The story's power comes from its daring and imaginative scope, its sense of humanity and human connectedness across . the 'small' events of life and the larger events which come to be called history."
-Dallas Morning News

A political thriller about strong-minded women and men, The Dark Path to the River tells a love story that moves between Wall Street and Africa.

A political thriller about strong-minded women and men, “The Dark Path to the River” tells a love story that moves between Wall Street and Africa. “Particularly successful in building suspense . sensitive and ambitious.”-New York Times Book Review”A knockout of a novel-impressive in its scope but at the same time intimate and personal . an extraordinary book.”-Elisabeth Forsythe Hailey, “A Woman of Independent Means””Joanne Leedom-Ackerman knows suspense like Hitch****. But what distinguishes the novel is its characters . They] give this fine novel its power.”-Washington Post “A book that provokes thought and is most entertaining to read.”-Los Angeles Times”The storys power comes from its daring and imaginative scope, its sense of humanity and human connectedness across . the small events of life and the larger events which come to be called history.”-Dallas Morning News

A political thriller about strong-minded women and men, The Dark Path to the River tells a love story that moves between Wall Street and Africa.