The Levee

An audio original novella from the bestselling author of Ordinary Grace and This Tender Land, The Levee is a powerful, captivating story of a family, a storm, a complicated rescue, and the true cost of survival.

It’s 1927, and the most devastating flood in American history has swelled the Mississippi River to a width of eighty miles. In an attempt to save a family trapped by the rising water, four men in a tiny rowboat battle the treacherous flow: three are convicts, on loan from the local prison and pressed into service; the fourth, the leader of the team, is driven by his own hidden motives. But to their surprise upon arrival at Ballymore, an ancestral home protected by a high, circular levee, not everyone in the family feels the need to be saved. Pride, greed, loyalty, and even love create their own complex currents behind the massive wall. As the threat from the flood increases and time ticks away, the crew and the family must decide on a course of action, and a desperate plan is hatched to save the weakening levee and all it was built to protect.

The Levee is a propulsive, heartfelt tale of courage, cowardice, and sacrifice in a historic moment when the indomitable human spirit is pitted against the awesome and destructive power of nature.

“As a native Mississippian, The Levee rang very true to me. The voices were all speaking in a
moment my father remembered. Thank you, William Kent Krueger, for taking me back to a time
that was part of my own prehistory. I'm really glad I had that experience. As usual, the writing
was brilliant." – New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris

“A masterwork, riveting and unputdownable with richly drawn characters set against the
unforgiving backdrop of a raging river and the wrath of nature. Full of heart and a spellbinding
plot, Krueger packs a powerful punch in this audio novella, delivering grand scale storytelling at
its finest.” - Kim Michele Richardson, New York Times bestselling author of The Book Woman’s
Daughter

“A masterful mythic-scale story of heroism, love, evil, and folly clashing in the midst of a great
flood.” - Thomas Perry, author of the Jane Whitefield series

"Golden Voice narrator JD Jackson acts out Krueger’s dramatic audio-original novella, which is
about the potential breach of a levee… The raging river’s inexorable attacks are reflected in
Jackson’s cadence as he adds emotional energy to the exhausting fight between men and the
mighty Mississippi." - AudioFile Magazine, Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award

“[JD Jackson’s] voice creates a cocoon around the listener like the levee itself, which seems
protective but could ultimately mask great danger. This tense and satisfying tale has a historical
setting eerily relevant to modern climate fears." – Booklist