Where The River Falls

By: William Allen

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Where The River Falls is a coming-of-age novel set in the summer of 1957 in the small town of Cedar Falls, a place defined by close-knit families, unspoken rules, and the quiet assumption that innocence will last forever.

Told through the eyes of seventeen-year-old Paul Glisson, the story unfolds during a season when childhood begins to loosen its grip. Paul is navigating first love, responsibility, faith, and the expectations placed on him by family and community. But when a devastating storm causes the river to flood, the town’s fragile sense of safety is shattered.

In the chaos that follows, a beloved young woman — Ingeborg Johansson, a Swedish exchange student full of promise and warmth — goes missing. What first appears to be a tragic accident slowly reveals darker truths, forcing Cedar Falls to confront violence, prejudice, and moral failure beneath its wholesome exterior.

As the investigation unfolds, the novel weaves together youthful longing, quiet romance, grief, and the weight of adult decisions. The river becomes both a literal and symbolic force — a place of beauty, memory, and loss — carrying away more than just water as it reshapes lives forever.

Where The River Falls is a reflective, emotionally grounded story about growing up, the cost of silence, and the moment when a community — and a young man — can no longer look away from what has been taken.