When wealthy landowner, Jimmy Quinn is found dead in the Alabaster river, the town of Jewel, Minnesota is left reeling. The shotgun blast that killed him could have come from any of Jewel’s residents but the gossip is already spreading and Native American, Noah Bloodstone is the prime suspect. Bloodstone has recently moved back to Jewel with his Japanese wife. Sheriff Brody Dern is trying to get to the truth but many of the residents are angry, fearful and unwilling to wait for the truth to be uncovered. Several of the townspeople are wrapped up in this mystery and have secrets of their own.

This is a beautifully written story of a small town that is still healing from the scars of WWII. Many have lost loved ones, many face hardships and many carry prejudices that cloud their judgement. The murder adds fuel to a fire that has been slowly burning in Jewel. Krueger does such an amazing job developing these damaged, insightful and believable characters. I was completely drawn in . Absolutely wonderful!! If you enjoyed his other stand alone novels, Ordinary Grace and This Tender Land then you will enjoy this one.

5 ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

#TheRiverWeRemember #WilliamKentKrueger #NetGalley

5 ⭐️

I can't think of another writer who writes out a sense of place more than William Kent Krueger. A new book release from him always feels like a tremendous gift. The River We Remember is a standalone whodunnit that takes place in Minnesota in the 1950's. The story is filled with complex characters and centers around a post war small town, the immigrant experience, family lies, secrets, and the meaning of home. William Kent Krueger is a gifted storyteller - a heart-wrenching and unforgettable read.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for this ARC.

Always a fan of this author. His work is always very descriptive, and his characters are always vivid. I would definitely recommend this to fans of his other books. It does not disappoint.

The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger has now cemented this author as a must-buy for me. I love how descriptive his writing is for the settings of his books. He writes characters that I care about because they are so well-developed. This book is about the discovery of a wealthy and unliked man's body in a river, the investigation into whether it was an intentional or accidental death, and the fallout of that investigation. This is such a good book! Read and enjoy!

Genre: Literary Fiction, Historical Fiction
[TW: domestic violence, rape/incest, murder, anti-indigenous slang and characters]

What were my thoughts about the novel overall?

The River We Remember is a book that I will think about for a long time coming. There was so much to process and reflect on in this novel that I'm not sure that I can conceptualize my thoughts in words for this review. Krueger is an incredibly talented writer who has a gift for creating dynamic and thoughtful characters. Each character in the novel served a purpose to get to the larger theme of the novel. While this novel is, on its surface, a small town mystery that dissects everyone's secrets to find the truth ... the larger theme is so much greater. It's deep and reflective while also grasping the attention of the reader from the very beginning.

Was there anything that was surprising about the novel? Anything that was challenging to me as a reader?

This novel has a lot of depth to it and there is a lot of reflection on human character, morality, and healing. As such, there are also many triggers present throughout the novel and I would encourage all readers to do their research into possible triggers prior to picking this one up. It's heavy, and guaranteed to make your stomach curdle, but in the end, I found it to be so worth the read.

Who would I recommend this novel to?
I think anyone who can appreciate a heavier read will very much appreciate The River We Remember. I think that this book is the perfect read for a wide range of readers but especially those who appreciate literary fiction. Those readers who appreciate Kristin Hannah - think The Four Winds- will appreciate this novel.

This is one of those rare books where I was swept away by the tale and the telling on the first page; in fact the second paragraph was where I knew that this was going to be special. In speaking of the Alabaster River which runs through Jewel in Black Earth County, Minnesota and the lives of all its residents, Krueger gives the area a meaning and ambiance that carries its history, traditions, and present day faults and promise.

The story begins on Memorial Day, 1958, as Sheriff Brody Dern learns of the fate of a major local landowner. Being eaten by the catfish in the Alabaster at this very minute! Nothing will be the same in Jewel again for a long time as everyone in town works out a theory on what happened to Jimmy Quinn. Old prejudices and newer hatreds influence feelings.

The characters in this historical fiction are very well drawn, with all primary characters having meaningful backstories revealed at varying intervals. They are also quite human, with strengths and flaws. We never meet Jimmy in life so can only judge him by what we learn after his death. We learn a lot…nothing good. There seems to be plenty of motive for many to want him dead and gone.

I very heartily recommend this book as an historical fiction, with a mystery and a picture of a place and time that offers insights valuable today.

Thank you to Atria Books, William Kent Krueger and NetGalley for an early copy of this book. The review is my own.

This book is Fantastic! It’s a multi-layered, emotionally wrought story that will keep you guessing right to the end! Jimmy Quinn is found floating in the Alabaster River. He is dead from a shotgun blast. Sherif Brody Dern sets out to discover the murderer. This book has themes of morality, heroism, love and how we each remember our past. It is set in a small town of Minnesota during the 1950’s. A time of social and emotional change.
William Kent Krueger lays out his stories like a slow flowing river,. Both the characters and the plot line slowly build towards a turbulent finish. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

5 stars out of 5

Please check out other books by this author. I highly recommend them all!

The River We Remember
By: William Kent Krueger
Atria Books
Release Date: 9/5/23

The books I have read by William Kent Krueger stay with me because they are brilliantly written, compelling, and authentic. In The River We Remember, Krueger paints a portrait of Jewel, Minnesota in 1958, with the Alabaster River as a character of place. The book is rich in character development and atmosphere, as the death of a wealthy local is investigated. Readers are immersed into this slow burn mystery, as truths, secrets, and wounds of war and prejudice are revealed. Krueger is a masterful storyteller through his novels with depth and insight.

Thank you to Net Galley and Atria Books for an advance reader's copy. My review is my own.

4.5⭐

The discovery of the body of one of its influential residents in the Alabaster River on Memorial Day 1958 leaves a community in Minnesota in shock. The victim, Jimmy Quinn, was not without enemies and though not too many people are mourning his death, tensions are high. Sheriff Brody Dern's team and his former colleague and mentor, now part-time deputy Connie Graff, are tasked with investigating the murder. The narrative follows Brody as he tries to unravel the mystery of Quinn’s murder, starting with trying to find out who might have had a grudge against him among his family, neighbors and employees. As the narrative progresses, we also get to know more about the community and the way of life in the small town of Jewel, Minnesota.

Though the war ended some years back, the scars and memories remain as do bias, intolerance and prejudices. Fueled more by prejudice and his family's history with the Quinns, Noah Bluestone, a Native American WWII veteran is deemed a suspect by the townspeople. Noah returned from the war with his Japanese wife Kyoko, who was until recently employed by the Quinns. Eventually, when Noah is taken into custody based on evidence found at his home, he refuses to cooperate with Charlotte “Charlie” Bauer, his lawyer, and maintains his silence. Tempers are rising and might soon manifest in a violent act of retribution and Brody and his associates must leave no stone unturned to ensure that the true culprit is brought to justice before anyone else gets hurt. It is not an easy task for a man haunted by his own past and struggling to navigate a complicated personal situation in a town that has more than a fair share of secrets.

The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger is a brilliantly penned novel. The author’s vividly described settings capture the time and place brilliantly. The realistic depiction of the inter-personal dynamics in a small town with its flawed characters each with personal struggles and secrets to keep ranging from post-war trauma, physical and emotional wounds, messy personal lives and darkness that lurks behind closed doors. The author is a master storyteller and at no point does the narrative feel weighed down with its large cast of characters and numerous subplots that are seamlessly woven into a consistently paced, immersive narrative that I could not put down.

Complex characters, a gripping narrative and sharp writing – William Kent Krueger does not disappoint!

Many thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for the digital review copy of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

4.25 stars

Wow, what a story from William Kent Krueger. I can always count on him to pull me into this world that is so alive and real m-as if I’m there living it. I fell in love with this flawed little town and its people and now that I’m finished I feel almost lonely.
I will say that I struggled hard core to get really invested in this story. It was good from page one but I didn’t feel that pull until I was a good 200 pages in. I knew if I kept at it that I’d eventually get there-I was just surprised it took so long.
Great book, fantastic characters, gave me all the feels.

William Kent Krueger is a master storyteller, and his latest book doesn't disappoint as he brings to life the small town of Jewel, Minnesota in 1958 with a cast of characters the reader will long be thinking about once the last page has been read. The story opens on Memorial Day with the murder of one of the town's most prominent citizens. The story is part mystery and part character study of the relationships of the town's inhabitants. Highly recommend this wonderful book.

William Kent Krueger’s latest standalone, The River We Remember, has much in common with his first, Ordinary Grace such as rural small town southern Minnesota setting, love of the outdoors and respect for the land, a coming of age element, family drama and death. But what this book is really about is the effect of trauma, of all kinds, on individuals, families and generations. A murder is the vehicle for disruption of the community’s tenuous equilibrium and provides the outlet for emotions, racist tendencies and longstanding conflicts to surface. Seemingly the entire town is affected. This brings me to my one criticism in what is otherwise a 5 star read. There are so many characters, along with telling everyone’s story, that it was difficult to keep everything straight without making notes. Eventually I had absorbed enough about each character to incorporate their identities into my world. The other issue with so many characters is that the pace of the book became extremely slow through the middle. Mr. Krueger’s style in general is a slow unfolding of events and detail. He’s an outstanding storyteller and one who treats difficult subjects with great sensitivity. Most of the time the slow burn works well, but in this book I found it disruptive. I never lost interest in any of the several storylines, but took periodic reading breaks because it felt like it was taking too much effort. Once it all came together however the impact was profound and very positive. I marveled at how the author was able to take so many different abusive and traumatic situations and weave them together into the lives of a relatively small group of people.
His portrayal of the culture and sensibilities of late 1950s Midwest was spot on. This is a time I lived through, also in the Midwest, and I could totally relate to it, both the positives and the negatives. I still think of that time as simpler and better than today so there was quite a bit of nostalgia. However in revisiting some things through the reading I found my perspective had changed. It really wasn’t as simple as I thought, it just seemed that way because so much had been pushed below the surface in the country’s efforts to rapidly recover from WWII and push forward into an era of middle class growth and prosperity. Unfortunately out of sight is not necessarily out of mind and consequences can be severe.
The inclusion of a Native American character, Noah Bluestone, is particularly important, not only to the plot, but also as a means of educating readers whose exposure to their history and culture is largely limited to watching ‘cowboys and Indians’ tv shows of the mid 20th century.
Thank you to the author, the publisher Atria Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an ARC.

A small town in Minnesota named Jewel has a death of one of most well known citizens. The victim was unlikable and even feared by many,so anyone can be a suspect. It is up to Sheriff Brody Dern , a decorated war veteren, to solve it. You meet many of the town residents and try to put together what they know about Quinn's death.
I had just go done reading This Tender Land and loved it. So I wanted to read more from the author. This book was very different. I was a mystery. I found it too slow paced for me at times. At times it was hard to keep up with all the characters. With that said, it was very well written. I think this might present better on screen. The time period would look great on screen . All in all, I enjoyed this but it took me a while to read it because I wasn't real enthusiastic about picking it up. Want to read more by William Kent Kruger. My next book is Ordinary Grace.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing the read an ARC in exchange for an honest review

"𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵. 𝘐𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨."

It's the first Sunday of regular season football but I spent most of the day devouring William Kent Krueger's 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝗪𝗘 𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗠𝗕𝗘𝗥. It's another book I picked up because of my Read Spin Repeat Book Club friends and I'm so glad I did.

The novel kicks off with a murder but it's not a typical mystery. It's a beautifully written character-driven slow burn of a story about overcoming trauma and finding your place that I won't soon forget. This is my first of this author's books, and I can't wait to dive into his backlist.

4.5 stars

Thanks to the Atria Books for the copy to review.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this book. The River We Remember is a rich, complex and moving story about a murder in a small town in Minnesota in the 1950's. Krueger weaves an intricate story that makes you fall in love with the characters in this town and all of the connections within.

The River We Remember is a literary mystery set in 1958. In true William Kent Krueger fashion, you come more for the writing, characters, and atmosphere than page turning plto. This one starts with the discovery of a dead body in the river. When Jimmy Quinn turns up dead, nobody is sad, but someone still needs to pay for the crime. That someone is Noah Bluestone, a Native American veteran married to a Japanese woman whom is an easy target in this racist town. Sheriff Broady Dern, also a veteran, must find the truth.

It took me a good 150 pages to really into this, and it took until the last 10% to cement that I liekd it, but I did and I liked it A LOT. I should have trusted William Kent Krueger from the beginning. It somehow felt at times that there was both too much and nothing going on at the same time, but by the end he fully landed the plane and I was very moved by this story!

This is a story about a small town in Minnesota where a murder of Jimmy Quinn occurs. This is well written and keeps the reader engaged. This book shows racial bias and anger with well-developed characters. The fallout of people coming home from war and the impact on the town is woven throughout. I found the book to be in true Krueger form, i.e., a great book. This author never disappoints. I enjoyed the book and I highly recommend it. Read it, you won't be disappointed.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Thanks to the publisher, Altria Books, Simon & Schuster, and the author for the privilege to read this advanced copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

An amazing story that slowly unfolds as the secrets held close unravel and lay in a bundle of regrets. The intersection of characters tells stories wrapped around the death of a mean, haunted man which uncovers the racist thoughts of a small Minnesota town.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Krueger is a gifted storyteller, and his writing style is top notch. The book is difficult to put down. He has a way of leading you on further without using cliffhanger tactics. This heart tugging story of a tragic incident in small town Minnesota in simpler times (or maybe they weren’t) won’t be carried into further volumes, as the characters come to definite conclusions.

thanks to Atria and NetGalley for the ARC. Krueger is a master story teller. The detail and atmospheric writing makes for an excellent mystery while putting the reader right inside the plot.