River Road

At the start of this intense psychological thriller from Hammett Prize–winner Goodman (Arcadia Falls), creative writing professor Nan Lewis, who has just learned she’s been denied tenure at Acheron College in upstate New York, leaves a Christmas party distraught, fearing that her job and life are crumbling. She isn’t drunk, but she hits a deer on the way home on an isolated, snowy road. The next day, Nan learns that student Leia Dawson was killed on the same patch of road, which happens to be near where Nan’s four-year-old daughter, Emmy, was fatally struck by a drunk driver seven years earlier. Her damaged car with spots of blood makes Nan the initial suspect. Although she’s cleared, the investigation widens to other professors and students at Acheron. Just about everyone on campus, including the beloved Leia, turns out to have a hidden side. Goodman provides an insightful look at revenge, grief, and rebuilding one’s life after a horrific loss. [em]Agent: Robin Rue, Writers House. (Jan.) [/em]