You’ve heard of urban legends? Come take a trip to the 1970’s in Dorris Bridge, and discover a host of rural legends encircling this isolated small high desert Northeastern California town.

A series of tragic hit-and-runs and a thirty-year-old cold case disappearance plague a police chief caught in small town politics, while his son winds his way through his senior year of high school, dedicated to pranks, partying and pursuing the new girl in town.

Chief of Police Randall Burgess and son Kyle must also traverse a relationship strained by a decade-old family tragedy. Randall and Kyle, who don’t exactly see the world through the same lens, both get caught up in escalating series of events as these rural legends and mysteries unfold during the year, and eventually become intertwined.

Unexplained intensely bright lights and sounds that appear every few generations; a renegade band of Basque nomads in the desert; a polygamist cult; a haunted abandoned mansion on a hill; - these all find their way into outer reaches of Dorris Bridge.

Within these confines you’ll also find a Paiute reservation; a Japanese internee who disappears at the end of World War II; the state of Jefferson; 19th century Ghostdancers; a suicidal disc jockey who can’t get enough of Alvin and the Chipmunks; an over-abundance of saloons; and the student body of Paiute High School.

Who is behind the hit-and-run tragedies? What happened to Mitsou Nakamura? What is the meaning of the Lights from the sky? What secrets lie in the mansion on the hill? Book a ticket to Dorris Bridge, circa 1975-1976, and come see for yourself.

Dorris Bridge is a 446 page young adult mystery also intended for older audiences. Authored by Clive Riddle, the novel is available as a trade paperback for $19.95, and as an e-book for $9.99. For a limited time, paperback orders placed from this site are available signed by the author. Click here to order, or click here for other locations where Dorris Bridge is available.


HealthQuest Publishers

"Riddle constructs not only a taut and fast-paced crime mystery with an unpredictable end, but also a touching tale of the heart. The adult reader will be satisfied by the extra dimension to the basic crime storyline—flawed, humane characters caught up in the dark web of relationships that inevitably end in betrayal, revenge, and tragedy. The humanity will resonate long after reading the book."

- ForeWord Clarion Reviews
  click to read entire review

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"Dorris Bridge captures the 1970s like a Don McLean ballad, and the oddities of small-town life like a Coen Brothers film."

 - Ron Shinkman, Author of
    Black Projects

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