A Shallow River of Mercy

Ernst Kohl has spent nearly half his life in prison after being convicted of murder as a young man. Upon his release, with nowhere else to go, Kohl returns to his old family home on the outskirts of a small Michigan town, hoping for redemption, or at least understanding.

He finds a dog, a girlfriend, and a job in quick succession, and it seems as if he might finally be able to leave the past behind and make a quiet life for himself. But some of the locals, including the town’s corrupt deputy sheriff, are less than thrilled to see him, and will stop at nothing to rid the town of its infamous resident.

As events hurtle to an inevitable conclusion, Kohl is left to decide: At what point might a man break, and at what cost to himself?

Author Biography

Robert Hays has been a newspaper reporter, magazine editor, public relations writer, political campaign manager, and university professor and administrator. A native of Illinois, he taught in Texas and Missouri and retired in 2008 from a long journalism teaching career at the University of Illinois. He has spent a great deal of time in South Carolina, the home state of his wife, Mary, and was a member of the South Carolina Writers Workshop. His publications include academic journal and popular periodical articles and eleven books, including his collaborative work with General Oscar Koch, G-2: Intelligence for Patton.