<DIV>People tend to stay in their place in the town of Haddan. The students at the prestigious prep school don't mix with locals; even within the school, hierarchy rules, as freshman and faculty members find out where they fit in and what is expected of them. But when a body is found in the river behind the school, a local policeman will walk into this enclosed world and upset it entirely. A story of surface appearances and the truths submerged below, <b>The River King</b> confirms Alice Hoffman as "one of our quirkiest and most interesting novelists" (Jane Smiley, <b>USA Today</b>).</div>