It’s 1958 and the body of a wealthy man is found dead in a river in Minnesota. Jimmy Quinn was cruel and disliked, but the gunshot wound might have been self-inflicted. Brody Dern is the sheriff who must investigate the circumstances of the death. Once word of the body gets out, rumors begin to proliferate that a Native American who had a grudge against Quinn, must have killed the man.

Brody is not swayed by gossip but he understands the undercurrent of animosity toward the Native people. He hopes the answer won’t cause more trouble. The investigation gets complicated as more of the town’s secrets are uncovered.

Krueger has a keen eye writing about the Midwest. Here old grudges, prejudice, remorse and vengeance come into play. Dern himself has demons he’s battling as do many others in the town. As we learn more about the townsfolk, the complex relationships between the characters are revealed. Uncovering the truth is a slow process and Brody is in no rush to judgment. Add this to another outstanding effort from a talented writer.

This Tender Land made me a fan of William Kent Krueger to the point that I will always add his new books to my TBR. While The River We Remember won’t be my favorite of his - honestly I don’t know if anything can top This Tender Land - I still really enjoyed the complex mystery woven with the turbulent times the story took place in. I loved the setting as well and could picture it perfectly.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. I love William Kent Krueger and this book was no exception. His story telling is beautiful and his ability to paint a picture is amazing. So many storylines that meander and then come together at the end. I also loved how it was set in the past because a lot of what he wrote, about how people feel about other people, their discriminations and their preconceived notions are still so prevalent today.

I found this book to be very interesting and intriguing. I would recommend this a friend because this is a book for everyone. I really enjoyed emerging myself into this book and it was just wonderful.

A riveting page turner. Rich multidimensional characters, a haunting mystery. Well written and evenly paced- overall a captivating read

William Kent Krueger steps away from his Cork O'Connor series to write THE RIVER WE REMEMBER, a standalone volume where his distinctive style is apparent.

It's 1958 in Montana, and the unlikeable ranch owner Jimmy Quinn is found dead, whether through a gruesome accident or a grisly murder. A wide cast of characters advances the narrative, and we have some coming of age, others facing racism, and still others hiding their pasts, trying to make a new start.

What does it mean to belong? Must we hide our true selves? What happens when the truth emerges? This was an immersive read, with layers of suspicion and secrecy.

(I received a digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.)

This author is quickly becoming a go-to for a beautifully written story with emotional ties to the developed characters. I think this one is just another in the long line of stories he's written that will likely be classics. I love that his books tend to hit in many ways-from history, murder/mystery to friendship and family.
I will continue to pick up Krueger's works as a reliable hit!

The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger. This book was definitely a slow burn but was very well written. I enjoyed all of the characters and the plot. I look forward to reading more books by this author. Thanks Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC!

What a great story, many multi-layered characters, all wound together with
an entirely convo,used, unexpected ending. Will have to,read more.

This is a wonderful book. It’s a murder mystery, but at the same time, it’s a tale of a community, Black Earth County, Minnesota. The book follows a fair number of residents as the sheriff, Brody Dern, tries to discover who killed large landowner Jimmy Quinn. From almost the beginning, Brody has suspicions that something isn’t right at the location where the body was found, right along the shore of the Alabaster River.

This book kept me guessing who the perpetrator might be while learning about the characters and all of their strengths and foibles. The story touches on several sensitive themes including: veterans returning home from war with seen and unseen wounds, racial discrimination, physical challenges, revenge, rape and incest, parental disapproval, and more.

As with all of Krueger’s books that I’ve read, the writing is beautiful, and the characters are fully developed and drawn as real people: good, bad, and a bit of both. The difference with this book is that usually, Krueger’s books are a quick read, but for some reason I still can’t figure out, this one progressed much more slowly. Perhaps it’s because there are so many characters to follow and keep track of, or because it’s such a serious story. Slow or not, it was well worth the time I invested in reading. The characters are what drives this story, and I liked almost all of them.

If you enjoy mysteries filled with secrets, damaged people, and kind, caring, yet flawed characters, then you’ll likely enjoy this book. I will warn you that the ending isn’t all sunshine and roses; there are deaths and departures, but overall, this book will leave you thinking and feeling good.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. I thank all involved for their generosity, but it had no effect on this review. All opinions expressed in this review reflect my true and honest reactions to reading this book.

n a small Minnesota town in 1958, a murder reveals some shocking secrets. No one in this town is sorry that the victim is dead, and that includes his wife and children. But the murder investigation leads to a Native American, with a Japanese wife, who had recently been fired by the victim. While partly a police procedural, this book is really all about the people in the town and how they cope with the disturbing events in their pasts.

The book is well written and it definitely held my interest. However, after a while it really began to pile on the tragedies, including child abuse, incest, adultery, bullying, voyeurism, war crimes, bigotry and spousal abuse. Women fared particularly badly in this book. I know it was set in 1958, but still this town seemed like Hell on Earth for all female residents. There was one female lawyer who agreed to defend the accused man, but other than that the women in this book seemed to have zero ambition and to exist only to be victims. The book became depressing, and unfortunately the epilogue also contains a lot of bad news. It’s not a feel good story.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

A literary read full of big emotions and individual struggles.

A small town finds a man murdered, a suspect emerges, and nothing is as it seems. The author has an excellent writing style but this was a slow-burn for me. Nothing really thrilling about this but it absolutely is an interesting murder mystery. We follow our small town sheriff back in the 1950’s navigate a murder and his own demons. Many characters in this novel were back home from the war and each one had their own issues to deal with.

We find secrets around every corner, familial drama, small town drama and a cast of characters that makes your head spin….literally though, there were so many characters that I was confused a couple times. I think too much time was speak on character development of people who didn’t really enrich the story, which is why I took off a star. The actual storyline was really good and the words did a really wonderful job of flowing together to paint a picture.

If you like the slower small town murder mystery full of buried secrets and hidden traumas, this might be a great read for you. If you like.a faster paced murder mystery, this one is not that.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Another beautifully written novel by WKK!

A man is found dead along a river in a small town in Minnesota…and what follows is a gripping account of figuring out who did it and WHY. Secrets are uncovered, lies are exposed, and native legends are examined.

As WKK does, you can’t put it down!

It's 1958. WWII has ended, but the after effects have just started. Add the prejudices stirred up by the war to the prejudices already in place in the era before the civil rights movements and you'll have an idea of the emotional climate of Jewel, Montana on Memorial Day 1958. When a white man, a rich white man, is found floating face down in the Alabaster River, local sentiment will point towards those who do not look like the rest. This is the back story to this winding tale of how a whole town can unwillingly conspire to protect a killer by refusing to see the truth of themselves and their neighbors. The sheriff will work from clue to clue, running into wall after wall. He must work past his own war damaged view of the world to find the killer before he strikes again or the whole town explodes.

Full Review: https://bakingthroughbookclub.com/2023/10/25/catfish-holes-and-small-town-woes/

My long absence is coming to a close as I find myself 2/3 of the way through my student teaching semester. However, just because I haven’t been posting lately doesn’t mean I haven’t been reading. I’ve simply had to pause my writing and reduce my reading time.
Last month, I was excited to start The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger. His book, This Tender Land was one of my favorites, so I couldn’t wait to pick this one up. While I liked This Tender Land a little more, The River We Remember is definitely a recommendation that I will give to other people. I also had to giggle at how it linked together different components of my life– I am from Oklahoma, but I am currently living in Japan. The Bluestones as a couple are very relevant to my life.

It’s the day of the Decoration Day (Memorial Day) parade in 1958. During the parade, Herman Ostberg rushes into the jail where Sheriff Brody is playing chess with his prisoner, Felix. He tells them that Jimmy Quinn’s body had just washed up by the bridge in County Seven, and the channel cats (catfish) had eaten him. Brody, Herman, Felix, and the newspaper editor, Sam Wicklow, head down to check it out.

When investigating the crime, Brody waits until nobody is looking and wipes down all the evidence he finds. He later reveals that Jimmy Quinn was a hard man that was not liked by many, and he didn’t want any of his neighbors to be arrested for his murder when they probably had a good reason to be upset with him. The town soon turns and assumes that Jimmy was killed by Noah Bluestone, who was Native American. Noah was married to a Japanese wife, Kyoko. Kyoko was a bombing survivor at Nagasaki. Racism runs deep in the town, especially in the post-WWII environment, so most townsfolk don’t question Noah’s involvement despite a lack of evidence.

Noah refuses to enter a plea or defend himself, although he will not admit guilt either. Charlie, the town’s tough-as-nails female lawyer, decides to defend him. She feels like Noah is protecting someone, but he will not say who. Meanwhile, one of the town’s main troublemakers, Tyler Creasy, is leading the charge against Noah. Tyler is married and often drinks and beats his wife and his stepson. His stepson’s name is Del Wolfe.
Del is friends with 14-year-old Scott Hamilton, whose mother, Angie, runs the Wheel Wagon, the town’s restaurant. Recently, Brody ended a longstanding affair with his brother’s wife, Garnet, in order to start dating Angie. Scott has a hole in his heart, but he is a good person who loves to help people.

As Del experiences more and more abuse at the hands of his stepfather, the hatred in him begins to build. He begins exposing Scott to dirty magazines and taking him out shooting. One day, he convinces Scott to go tubing with him and a couple of cousins. One of the beautiful girls, Holly, begins to drown when her swimsuit snags in the river. Scott saves her life.

Despite his hero status, Scott has to watch Del spiral out of control. The consequences of his anger and immature decision making will change the makeup of the town forever.
The River We Remember is a beautiful tale of loyalty and love. It is about standing up for what you believe in, but more importantly, who you believe in. Each character’s actions can be traced back to a series of misfortunes, but at the core, love and loyalty permeate them all. While the book was a little slow at times, I believe it is an entertaining read that helps navigate the difficulties of small-town life.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

So heartbreakingly good. Krueger brings us a well written stand alone that once started was quite difficult to put down. It’s the 1950’s in a small Minnesota town when wealthy land owner, Jimmy Quinn, turns up dead in the Alabaster river. Many have reasons for wanting him dead, but the town immediately turns on Noah Bluestone, a Native American with a Japanese wife. Sheriff Brody Dern has his work cut out for him, but everything is pointing to Bluestone. This book covers a lot of territory, racism, PTSD, and baggage so many still carry from serving in the war. Krueger writes a police procedural that has you knowing all is not going to turn out well, but with a cast of characters you will either love or hate, the pages turn at a rapid rate to find out what happened to Jimmy Quinn. Thank you to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

This is the second book that I have read by William Kent Krueger (previously read This Tender Land) and he is quickly becoming a favorite author.

The River We Remember is a slow burn mystery set in a small town in Minnesota in the 1950s. The town's sheriff Brody Dern finds himself at the center of the case when Jimmy Quinn is found dead in the river. Even though Jimmy Quinn was not well-liked in town, hs death leads to demands for justice and reveals long held prejudices amongst the town people.

This is a character based mystery/drama. I've seen some people complain about there being too many characters in this story. There are a lot of characters! Personally, I did not have trouble keeping track of them and enjoyed "meeting" this cast of characters from around the town.

The thing that I like most about Krueger's writing is that it just feels honest. The characters are genuine and seem real. The story is plausible and relatable. While the pace is somewhat slow, the storytelling is still gripping.

While I did love This Tender Land more, I would still highly recommend The River We Remember as well!

When you read a book by this author, you can't go wrong. This one was a wee bit different for him, but I still enjoyed every moment of it. Keep up the great work.

William Kent Krueger is an extraordinary storyteller, and you can’t go wrong with any of his books. The River We Remember is no exception. All of his novels have memorable, authentic characters, and his descriptions of the land make the setting an additional one. This standalone mystery was engaging and held my attention throughout. I am always sorry when his stories come to an end, as I am with this book. Recommended. 4.5 stars.

Books taking place in Minnesota immediately go on my TBR. Part police procedural, part study of a town and it's people, there was a lot to like in this one. Krueger's ability to make the small town come alive with rich descriptions and vivid personalities with complex backgrounds is undeniable. While the pacing of the novel is on the slower side, I still found myself glued to the book. I really liked Krueger's choice of the victim, a powerful and very easy to dislike character, giving many people reasons to have committed the crime. And yet, due to prejudices, everyone is quick to point fingers. I also loved how it explored themes beyond the mystery, including racism, immigrant experiences, impacts of war and alcoholism. This is definitely a book I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to people who enjoy the historical fiction genre.

Thank you so much to Atria Books for the ARC!