Slow River

I had this book on my original list for the 2013 Women of Genre Fiction challenge, but allowed it to get pushed out by new purchases during the year. Now I'm annoyed at myself for letting it slide because I thought it was excellent.

Lore is a rich girl, kidnapped and left for dead in a strange city, she finds help from Spanner, a small-time crook, and tries to build a new life for herself at the bottom of the ladder.

The story is split into three strands: Lore's childhood; the immediate aftermath of the kidnapping; and three years later when she's beginning to emerge from the desperate lows. Once I recognised the changes in tense and viewpoint these were easy enough to follow.

There are some dark times for Lore, but I wanted her to succeed, and I always wanted to know what happened next. It's a solidly-drawn near-future world, with detailed water-cleaning technology forming the main SF element, and some nicely rounded characters.

I look forward to reading more of Griffith's work.