Knife River by Justine Champine is an evocative and haunting debut that masterfully blends mystery, thriller, and literary fiction. The novel delves deep into the emotional and psychological aftermath of a mother's disappearance, examining the complex dynamics between sisters Jess and Liz.

The story begins when Jess, who fled her small hometown of Knife River years ago, receives a call that her mother's remains have been found. This discovery forces Jess to confront the past she tried to leave behind and return to the town that has remained frozen in time. Her sister Liz, who never left, has become obsessed with missing persons cases, trapped in a loop of grief and unresolved trauma.

Champine's writing is poignant and lyrical, capturing the raw emotions of her characters. The novel is a slow burn, focusing more on character development and the intricate relationships between the characters than on fast-paced action. This allows for a deep exploration of themes such as loss, identity, and the enduring bonds of family.

Jess's journey is one of self-discovery as she navigates her complicated relationship with Liz and grapples with her own grief and guilt. The sisters' interactions are tense and charged with unresolved emotions, making their bond both a source of strength and pain. The return to Knife River also rekindles Jess's relationship with her high school girlfriend, adding another layer of complexity to her understanding of love and belonging.

While the pacing might be slow for some readers, the payoff is worth it. The mystery of their mother's disappearance is gradually unraveled, with each revelation adding to the emotional depth of the story. The small-town setting is vividly depicted, enhancing the sense of claustrophobia and entrapment that both sisters feel.

The resolution of the mystery is both satisfying and thought-provoking, leaving readers with a deeper appreciation of the novel's themes. Champine excels in creating a narrative that is as much about the journey as it is about the destination, making Knife River a compelling read from start to finish.

Overall, Knife River is a beautifully written and emotionally resonant debut that will stay with readers long after they turn the last page. Champine's exploration of sisterhood, grief, and resilience is both heart-wrenching and uplifting, making this a must-read for fans of literary mysteries.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group/Dial Press and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing House for this read. It was quite good and very interesting but also very slow and at times confusing as it went along. I think I will read it again to get a better understanding but it was a good read.

This book is a very slow-burn read, and it reads like a character study of the daughter whose mother disappeared 15 years ago -the slow pace of the action allowed for a deep dissection of the mother-daughter-sister relationship. Slow-burn reads aren't for me, unfortunately, but this read was a very compelling story of family, love, and recovering from loss. I would recommend it to readers who like strongly written literary books.

3.5 stars rounded up. This debut novel is beautifully written and incredibly descriptive, especially in matters relating to grief.

I really liked learning about relationship between Jess and her sister Liz, who have led largely separate lives after the disappearance (and presumed death) of their mother.

However, sometimes the descriptions of their relationship and their past bordered on too much, and figuring out who killed their mother sort of faded to the background too much.

It’s a slow burn mystery and has some great twists. Overall it’s a solid debut for the author and I look forward to reading more from her!

Thank you #netgalley for this ARC of #kniferiver

I’m so glad that I stumbled upon KNIFE RIVER by Justine Champine. A slow burn whodunnit that introduced me to a small town and sisters, all frozen in time.

Fifteen years after the disappearance of her mother, Jess returns to town when the remains are found to try to unravel the mystery of that long ago day when Natalee went for a walk and never returned. Jess plans to stay just long enough to get some answers to what happened to Natalee. While she’s there she reconnects with her sister and her high school girlfriend but they must hide their relationship for a myriad of reasons.

Meanwhile, older sister Liz has remained in the family home, always hoping that their mother would return. She is convinced that a particular local was somehow connected to her mother‘s disappearance. She enlists the help of her mother’s friend over the years and they develop a strong bond of their own.

Will the sisters finally learn what happened to Natalee or will the remains only kick up more questions? Has Jess’s nomadic life been her attempt to run away from what happened? Or has Liz, holding out hope, been right all along in her suspicions?

I enjoyed this book. The writing was clear and concise leading me to feel the frustration and anxieties of the sisters while they search for answers. I was surprised to see that this was a debut novel as the author’s style seemed well seasoned. The slow burn only ratcheted up the anxieties for me and led to an enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and The Dial Press for this ARC opportunity. All opinions are my own and given voluntarily.

Knife River is about Jess, a woman who left her small
town years ago after her mother’s disappearance. Jess has drifted from one woman to the next, never staying put for long, when her estranged sister tells her that bones have been found.

This novel will resonate with readers who enjoy small towns, relationship among sisters, the difficulty of coming/being out.

I found the pacing too slow to keep me fully engaged and it wasn’t one I felt excited to pick up and keep reading. The writing itself was strong enough, and I would consider reading another book by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the chance to review this ARC.

I approached this book as if it was a mystery, but the mystery was really secondary to the story about two sisters whose lives are somewhat frozen because of their mother’s disappearance. One is stuck in place and one is rootless, and they are thrown back together once their mother’s remains are found.

I found the character portraits compelling, and was not at all concerned that the mystery be resolved (which is an uncommon reaction from me). By the end, I realized that “resolved” might mean different things to different characters, and maybe to me as well.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Knife River
Author: Justine Champine
Source: NetGalley
Date Published: May 28, 2024

Knife River is a debut novel about the town of…Knife River, where a single mother disappeared over 15 years ago, leaving behind two teen daughters. They were having dinner one night when Jess’s older sister, Liz, started a fight, resulting in Mom taking a “walk” to escape the tension. She never returned, and the girls could not move on. The small and raggedy town of Knife River searched for the missing mother but to no avail. Eventually, the sisters grow apart and rarely speak until a bag of bones is discovered in the woods, and Jess returns home to put this nightmare to bed, or does it? The author has set a tremendous moody atmosphere with a dying town, closed factories, and musty, dusty, and rotting homes for the background of this story. Ms. Champine does an excellent job of showing the bonds and limitations of female friendships, lovers, and parents in this novel, but I wish the book had not been such a slow burn. Knife River is not a thriller; it is more literary fiction with an ending that is surprising but, for me, unsatisfying. But it is a promising debut novel from Justine Champine, and I look forward to her next book. #literaryfiction #whodunit #death #bodies #family #sisters #lovers #deadends #deadtowns #murder #unresolvedtrauma #knifeRiver #debutnovel #justinechampine @thedialpress @netgalley
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I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. Thank you to the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for the opportunity to read this novel. Pub. Date: May 28, 2024.
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Knife River is story about two sisters and their struggle in dealing with the disappearance of their mother and the discovery of Natalie Fairchild’s bones buried in the woods some fifteen years later.

At the young age of thirteen, Jess and her older sister Liz last saw their mother when she went for a walk – never to return. When she never returned and the police were unable to find her, Liz was left to raise her sister giving up her dreams. Even when Jess was old enough to leave, Liz remained behind in their childhood home in hopes of their mother’s return or at least answers as to what happened on the faithful day. Jess on the other hand roamed from city to city, in and out various female relationship unable to envision in a healthy relationship – running from dealing with grief.

Now some fifteen years later, these two sisters are force to reunite while the town police and forensic pathologist try to determine what happened to their mother. It will be a time for Jess and Liz to deal with the trauma of their mother’s death and to come to terms with loss and grief.

Knife River is Justine Champine’s debut novel, although well written with its characters and plot that are rooted in their surroundings, I found the story dark, depressing that left me sad for both Jess and Liz. Knife River is a very slow moving story and retelling of the sister’s past lives and secrets leaving the reader with a heavy burden to carry. I did not find it to be much of a mystery thriller although there is a tad of a twist at the end.

Thank you, Justine Champine, The Dial Press and NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Title: Knife River by Justine Champine
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Pub Date: May 28, 2024

Lesbian FMC
Missing Parent
Police Incompetence
Debut Novel

My Review:

I enjoyed this book, but I don't know if I could call it a thriller because the thriller aspect was kind of an afterthought? We don't find resolution for her mom until 90% in. The reason she goes back to her hometown is because her mother's body is found, but because the case is so old the police aren't really all that interested in solving it and there's just a bunch of meetings. Pretty anticlimactic.
This story mostly revolves around our FMC returning home, mending her relationship with her sister who raised her after her mom died (so sweet!) and reigniting things with her ex-girlfriend she never got over in a small town that hates same sex couples.
I would definitely recommend to somebody who likes literary fiction, but probably not to my thriller besties!

Thank you so much NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the digital review copy ❣️

TW: alcohol abuse

Thank you Dial Press for this book and for the fun early book chat this year, this is a strong, moody in a good way, character driven myster. I loved how Champine developed the setting and tone for the story along with the plot and the characters, a talented writer sharing a complex story that asks readers to reflect on tragedy/grief, how that shapes people and can lead to people feeling stuck or unresolved, and how these patterns shape lives over time. A mother's disappearance, secrets revealed as new ones emerge... two sisters trying to move forward and perhaps they have a chance, even if it means dealing with secrets and tackling loss.

The pace is glacially slow and left such a feeling of hopelessness and despair while reading. This is a talent to watch. Thanks to Random House for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley.

The premise to this novel sounded excellent, but unfortunately the writing felt a little clunky and I couldn't get into the story.

Knife River by Justine Champine is such a wonderful debut novel.
The slow burn made for an intriguing and engrossing read.
Champine weaves a suspenseful narrative that will keep readers on the edge of their seats, blending elements of paranoia and mistrust into a compelling story.
An intense literary fiction mystery suspense about two sisters, grief, secrets, lies, trauma and family.
A wonderful literary fiction mystery that I couldn’t get enough of.

Thank you NetGalley and The Dial Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Jess and her sister Liz grow up with their family in Knife River. One day their mother goes on a walk and never comes back. They manage to move along with their lives-Lizzie staying in town, and Jess leaving as soon as she is old enough, wanting to forget her childhood there. Years later they get a call that their mothers bones have been found and Jess returns to her childhood home to find Liz trapped in time. Everything looks the same, the house, the decor, and Liz's life has not changed much. They are now forced to work together to solve the mystery of their mother's murder despite them being at odds with each other most of the time.
This is a slow burn and focuses on the relationship between the two sisters and the small town itself, rather than the murder mystery of their mother. Jess falls back into a relationship with her high school girlfriend and time slows. It seems at some point they'll never find out what happens.
This was well written and interesting but I've read many books like this that I've liked better. All in all, a great first effort from this debut author.

This one is definitely a slow burn, and I think readers going into this should know that it's more literary mystery than a page-turning, action based story. It's very internal as Jess discovers more about her hometown, her sister, and the other people who have stayed in Knife River in the years since she's left. A steady build to a solid ending, and definitely well written.

Knife River is a slow burn. If you go into it with the expectation of constant twists and reveals, you will be disappointed. If you go into it patiently and allow yourself to fall into the story of two sisters living with the mysterious disappearance of their mother, you will see it as a well written suspense filled with small town secrets. Justine Champine’s town of Knife River has elements that all of us that are from small towns will recognize, will love, will devour.

Thank you, The Dial Press and NetGalley, for the advanced copy of Knife River.

I had to mark this one as DNF. The book was listed as a thriller, but it reads more like contemporary fiction (maybe?). It was more of a sleeper. I did not want to keep coming back to this book, but I did in hopes that the story would pick up. It didn't. Maybe I'll come back to it one day, but it is not what I thought it would be.

Jess was thirteen when her mother went missing. Her and her older sister, Liz, never found out what happened. Jess left town and wanders from relationship to relationship. Now, remains have been found and Jess goes back to Knife River.

This story is a slow burn but an in-depth character study. While a missing person story, the book takes place fifteen years later and shows how the two sisters, and the town, were affected by the events. This may not be for everyone, as it’s a very quiet book, but it’s also very genuine, and emotional.

“For fifteen years, I’d imagined this exact moment. I thought it would crash into me like a great wave, lifting the dam on a lifetime of anger and fear and wondering. It was wondering that ate me from the inside - there was no refuge, no depth of dreaming that could stifle it.”

Knife River comes out 5/28.

"Knife River" is a beautifully written debut novel. It's a character driven, slow burn kind of mystery. The book is about two sisters Jess and Liz. When they are 13 and 19, their mother mysteriously disappears. The novel begins fifteen years later when Jess returns to Knife River for the first time in years because some evidence related to their mom's disappearance is found. Knife River is a small town in upstate NY which has seen better days.

At its heart, this is a story about two sisters. Jess and Liz have both been affected very differently from the trauma of their mother's disappearance. Jess spent ten years living as a nomad moving from place to place, from girlfriend to girlfriend. Liz stayed put in the town and home they lived in just in case their mom returned. Now Jess has come home and the sisters are hoping for answers about what happened to their mother. But answers don't come quickly at all and often lead to more questions.

We are brought back to the day of the disappearance and other times before and after that as Jess remembers the past. All in all, I really loved this book and it's one that will stay with me for quite a while. This was a haunting, emotional story of two sisters reconnecting and moving forward after living through such a horrific, traumatic event.

Fun fact: I figured the author must be from NJ (where I'm from) because two of the restaurants that are in this novel are the names of beloved restaurants in NJ that sadly have been shuttered for years.

Thank you to the publisher for the advance digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.