Natalie is already dealing with it. All of it.

Add in witnessing a masked stranger wrapping up a dead girl in a tarp. She is now spiraling. Cutting her friends and family off, failing out of school, and losing her job. She beings being even more introverted and struggling as she tries to solve the crime alone. And then with the help of one of her friends she gets closer to the killer. Until she is in over her head and bringing everyone with her into danger.

Great YA suspense/mystery story. Definitely recommend!

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read and review.

Overall I enjoyed this book, it was fast paced and twisty. Unlike a lot of other books, which reveal the perpetrator then quickly wrap up, this one doesn't which is quite refreshing. The author also has a way of writing that makes it easy for you to visualise yourself in the setting/situation.

There were some minor niggles for me, however they were nothing that took away the enjoyment of the book for me.

This debut novel from Rocky Hirajeta has all the components of a well-written mystery. The plot is intriguing, the characters are well-developed, the setting immersed me into the story, and the pacing included heart-pounding moments that had me on the edge of my seat. I loved seventeen-year-old Natalie’s tenacity. No matter what life threw at her, that girl did not give up. I read this book in one day because I could not put it down. Five stars. Highly recommended.

This book was filled with thrill def a great read. From page one to the end. I did not want to put it down. Natalie is a teenager who lost her parent and is still grieving him. She then finds a dead body in the woods, and she then tries to investigate for herself what happened, The setting of the book and the plot were brilliant. It was a great thriller loved loved loved it.

"What the River Buries" is one of the most heart pounding, thrilling, edge of my seat reads I've had the pleasure of experiencing in quite some time. Rocky does a tremendous job of placing his reader in the story, allowing them to feel like they're really there. The story is enthralling and is everything a mystery book should be. I had to force myself to slow down at times because I was so excited to keep peeling back the layers and to learn what happens next. This is definitely a book I would recommend to anyone who enjoys the genre and to those who just haven't found the right mystery book for them yet.

In this mesmerizing debut novel, author Rocky Hirajeta paints a vivid picture of small-town corruption and the teenage girl who finds the courage to confront it.

At 17, Natalie is struggling with grief over her father’s death, poor grades, and the loss of her after school job. She wants desperately to prove she is strong and independent, but nothing goes her way.

Then the teenager witnesses a horrific scene in the forested area she is forbidden to enter. Determined to search for the truth, Natalie summons the courage to track down a killer, even as she places her own life in danger.

Young adults will relate to this beautifully written story as Natalie deals with all the angst of a typical teenager. She’s smart, but makes poor choices; insecure, yet bravely pursues a murderer. Her relationship with her mother is complicated. And her best friend is everything you want a friend to be.

In this coming-of-age story, Natalie learns that sometimes the bravest thing to do is ask for help.

The twists and turns will keep you turning pages far into the night. What the River Buries is worth the lost sleep.

Wow! What an incredible told story. Although the protagonist is only seventeen years old, this book will appeal to adult audiences as well. Rocky uses literary language to weave an intricate story of mystery, suspense, and thrilling action. Often, I couldn't read fast enough to find out what happens next. I could feel Natalie's angst, while uncovering the truth and discovering that people aren't always who we think they are.

This story will have you turning the pages while on Natalie's adventure. It's riveting, suspenseful, and beautifully written. Don't miss out on this gem!

Natalie is a teenage girl who is dealing with the loss of her father. I’m her free time, she likes to sketch and is trying her hand at photography as well. One night she takes her bike up to an are of the local park known as The Acres that is off limits to pedestrians. She just wants to get away from everyone and everything and sketch in peace and quiet. Instead, she sees a man in a black coverup with a tattoo on his neck wrapping up a body in plastic. As she runs home she loses her sketch book only to have it returned to her by the person she saw in the woods with a note telling her that it’s for her own good to forget what she saw and he will forget that he saw her there too. Of course, that causes Natalie to go in depth to figure out who it was and who was the body in the plastic. Soon she realizes it’s more than she can handle on her own and gets her best friend involved in the investigation which leads them to all kinds of corruption in the local police department. Small town secrets never stay hidden.
Filled with great imagery, this a coming of age story with lots of thrills and suspense mixed in. I will definitely be reading more from this author in the future.
Thanks to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this eARC.

This was such an intense and mesmerizing story, I flew through this book! A young girl goes into the woods and sees something she shouldn't and we get this tale of crime and corruption and scandal. This was so well written and fleshed out, I could visualize everything and the story felt real.

What the River Buries is constructed upon the well worn and comforting plot line involving police corruption. Thrown in for spice is an after school special cautionary tale about the danger of doing drugs. While there is nothing overtly objectionable about the prose, the characters seem to lack logic or a basic sense of self-preservation. From a teenager who witnesses a man going about the business of murder cover-up and doesn't go to the police to a mother that apparently let's her underage daughter do as she pleases without consequence to an entire town that allows themselves to be intimidated by a 17 year old, there is certainly a dearth of believability to this tale. Unfortunately, this inability on my part to accept any of the farcical premises really kept me from enjoying the book. I rate this at 2.71 stars.

What the River Buries is a great read! It’s about Natalie, a young teenage girl whose hobbies include sketching and a feeble attempt at photography. One night she rides her bike up to the local park where she ventures out into the woods known as The Acres which are off limits to pedestrians. She goes there to sketch because it makes her feel closer to her Dad who was also an artist but has passed away. It’s there that she sees a crime take place, what she believes to be a murder. There’s a man all dressed in black with a tattoo on his neck wrapping a body in plastic. Natalie becomes a vigilante of sorts and wants to solve the mystery of the crime. After a while she realizes she can’t handle this all on her own, so she lets her best friend in on it and they both end up working together. I thought this was a very exciting read and it really held my interest. It’s a story filled with action and it had me feeling tense and nervous at times. When you’re dealing with a corrupt chief of police it can get a little tricky! I’d like to thank NetGalley for the arc that I obtained off the Read Now section. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and would recommend it to all mystery/suspense/thriller readers. It was my first time reading this author and I’m not sure if this is a debut novel but it was really good and I’m giving it a 5 star rating! I look forward to reading more by Rocky Hirajeta in the future.

A suspense filled ride, one you won’t be able to put down. On the edge of 18, dealing with teenage drama, still grieving the loss of a parent. And now witnessing what appears to be the disposal of a body in the woods. How much can a girl handle?

From the first chapter, I was drawn into the mystery of what Natalie, a high school senior, witnessed at the river one autumn night. This fast paced thriller had me racing through to the end to unravel the puzzle, yet rereading to savor the vivid descriptions of the river and woods in the small town of Marton.

Greenkettle River has a pulse of its own in this atmospheric novel, flowing alongside trees and leading to an off-limits wooded area called the Acres. Signs warning people to stay out of the area don’t deter Natalie, who finds peace in its solitude, sketching nature and capturing photos. Her art and the river provide a temporary escape from life – poor grades, losing her job, a strained relationship with her mother, and the anniversary of her father’s death. But, after the night Natalie stumbles onto something she wasn’t meant to see, her problems take a second seat and she focuses on escaping with her life.

Warned to ignore what she saw in the woods, Natalie decides to investigate further, but pushes away her mother and her best friend, Marisa, choosing to handle the situation alone, in the same way she has been dealing with the circumstances of her father’s passing years ago. What the River Buries is a coming-of-age tale as well as a story of crime and corruption. When those she loves are threatened, will Natalie find the courage to ask for help?

Ripe with imagery, the novel’s setting draws a parallel between the course of the river and the main character’s journey through life. As she digs into what happened that night, Nat discovers not only what lies buried in the river, she brings her own internal struggles to the surface where she can better cope with them. Faced with various paths to follow, Natalie seeks to unmask a killer, not always opting for the best course of action. Filled with twists as she turns up dirt on prominent citizens, the book follows Natalie as she risks her life to do what’s right.

An excellent debut for author Rocky Hirajeta, What the River Buries will keep you on the edge of your seat as small town secrets are unburied.