03121cam a2200493 i 4500 1601385875 TxAuBib 20240919120000.0 181228s2018||||||||||||||||||||||||eng|u 2018297972 9780743298087 pbk. $17.00 074329808X pbk. $17.00 (OCoLC)1036104908 TxAuBib rda Setterfield, Diane, author. Once upon a river : a novel / Diane Setterfield. First Emily Bestler books/Atria Books hardcover edition. New York : Emily Bestler Books/Atria, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2018. ©2018. 464 pages ; 24 cm. txt rdacontent n rdamedia nc rdacarrier Includes bibliographical references (page 464). When the seemingly dead body of a child reanimates hours after arriving at an ancient inn on the Thames, three families try to claim her. On a dark midwinter's night in an ancient inn on the river Thames, an extraordinary event takes place. The regulars are telling stories to while away the dark hours, when the door bursts open on a grievously wounded stranger. In his arms is the body of a small child. Hours later, the girl stirs, takes a breath, and returns to life. Is it a miracle? Is it magic? Or can science provide an explanation? These questions have many answers, some of them quite dark indeed. Those who dwell on the riverbank apply all their ingenuity to solving the puzzle of the girl who died and lived again, yet as the days pass the mystery only deepens. The child herself is mute and unable to answer the essential questions: Who is she? Where did she come from? And to whom does she belong? Three families are keen to claim her: the wealthy mother of a kidnapped daughter missing for two years; a farming family sure it is their son's secret daughter; a parson's housekeeper, reminded of her younger sister. Each family has secrets, must be revealed before the girl's identity can be known. Once Upon a River is a glorious tapestry of a book that combines folklore and science, magic and myth. Suspenseful, romantic, and richly atmospheric, this novel will sweep readers away on a powerful current of storytelling, transporting them through worlds both real and imagined. -- adapted from jacket. 20240919. Secrecy Fiction. Missing persons Fiction. Missing persons. fast Secrecy. fast Detective and mystery stories. fast Thames River (England.) England fast Thames River. England. fast Detective and mystery fiction. lcgft Novels. fast Detective and mystery fiction. fast Fiction. fast Thrillers (Fiction.) fast Thrillers (Fiction.) fast Novels. lcgft Fiction. lcgft