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An unrelenting read that works its way deep inside your head, leaving thoughts and impressions that that have lingered with this reader, beyond the page.

Knife River, a small town in NY, based in a valley between two forests, is the setting for this atmospheric tale of sisters tormented by a family tragedy, and the road they must each travel to resolution.

Jess and Liz, separated since the unsolved trauma of their mother’s disappearance fifteen years ago, are reunited unexpectedly when new events in the case unfold. As Jess, an outwardly tough but deeply wounded longtime escape-artist, returns to the small-town she abandoned years before, homophobia, hatred and fear surface not far from her every interaction. Jess is a complex and sneakily-sympathetic character - increasingly relatable in the gradual exposure of her cracks and vulnerabilities, inexpertly hidden by her bravado and reliance on seriously unhealthy defense tactics.

This is a taut and twisty tale, written with a first-person diary-style eye for the minutiae of everyday life, — the observations, feelings and mostly, fears, Jess experiences as the claustrophobia of her existence, (no longer avoidable by simply running away), closes in on her, and the secrets lurking around every small-town corner struggle to the surface.

A haunting and mesmerizing story, paced as agonizingly slowly as life in the township it reveals, that, (no spoilers here, you must stick with it), builds to a crescendo that is both sastifyingly tidy and surprisingly dramatic.

A great big thank you to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC of this book. All thoughts presented are my own.

I really liked this!!! The prologue got me, I was all in from the very first few pages. I mean who doesn't love a child coming across a human skull deep in the woods and thus setting into motion subsequent events to unravel a decade old plus mystery in a small town run by an incompetent, misogynistic police force?

I am not generally a thriller reader-this was way more literary-thriller than thriller-thriller, because there was not much action or movement in the investigation of the mysterious disappearance. Frankly, there was little thrill and I would not have even been THAT mad if there was no resolution because only in fiction can we ever truly know the facts of unsolved mysteries. No, the story here was between two sisters and their love for each other and my golly was I along for the ride.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Knife River had some thought provoking subject matter including how gay people were treated in small towns. I found the story of the sisters, their relationship and how they each handled the mystery of the disappearance pf their mother interesting I found the overall tempo of the story repetitive and too slow moving for my taste.

I thought this mystery novel was so thrilling and heartbreaking at times. This book not only was about trying to solve the disappearance and death of their mom 15 years later, but it was also about reforming the relationship between the two sisters.

I think this book was more about the relationship preteen the sisters but it definitely added to the mystery surrounding their mother’s death.

I really enjoyed this book!

These characters and this story got under my skin, gnawing at me to both solve and seek comfort for these tortured souls. Parental wounds, siblings with different recollection of the past, old loves, history, small town, unsolved mystery disappearance make for a complicated and heart-pulling story. Each character is fighting their own battle - primarily in the dark, hiding the pain and suffering. Several prioritize others, a few believe theirs is the only pain the matters. So many emotions to process and questions to answer as the details emerge. Well done! Look forward to more from this author - Justine Champine!

Jess's mother disappeared with she was thirteen and had left for a walk. With her sister the two sisters had to try to survive and make their way through life. They never saw their mother again and wasnt sure what happened. Once Jess was old enough she fled her hometown and bounced from relationship to relationship until one day she gets the call. They found her mothers remains and they need Jess to come back to Knife River. Upon returning she sees her sister who is living in their childhood home and trying to solve missing person cases. As Jess gets back into her mothers disappearance she starts to discover secrets she never expected. With her sister by her side is she able to figure out with going on?

I really liked this book and the way the story was told. It was a mystery while also bringing in a domestic side and it worked perfectly. I thought the characters all had some depth to them that added to the story and made me want to continue to read. I would recommend.

Knife River is a good literary mystery in a small-town setting. Jess and Liz's single mother disappears in the upstate New York town of Knife River. The girls are only teenagers, left to fend for themselves and the mystery of what happened to their mother. As soon as Jess is old enough, she escapes the small town and only returns 15 years later when a pile of human bones is discovered. The bones do turn out to be part of their mother's remains and the hope is that the pathology lab can uncover clues that might solve this cold case. I love a small-town mystery where everyone knows everyone else and suspicion can fall on almost anyone. There is one main suspect but the police are unable to pin the murder on him.

The writing is very good particularly the description of this once-industrial, small town. Jess, the narrator, is a drifter with no real idea of what to do with her life. The sister is just the opposite, comfortable only in the familiarity of her house and town. The two clearly care for each other despite the tension in their relationship. Of course, it's difficult to condemn them for their personalities when they were forced to grow up too soon, and forced to live with the understanding that they may never know what happened to their mother. Yet, at times I found them so annoying, especially when they were dealing with the local police.

This book was fine. It was entertaining with some beautifully crafted sentences, however, if you've read enough mysteries, you'll probably figure out who is responsible for the murder and the way the author chose to end the book left me with mixed feelings. Still, I would recommend this if you're a fan of mysteries in an atmospheric small town with some interesting characters, including LGBTQ representation.

Thanks to NetGalley, Random House, and The Dial Press for this advanced copy. This book was published on May 28th.

2024 Pride Month

Small town crime gets me every time. In these homogenous places where you leave your doors unlocked and supposedly trust your neighbors, can you trust your neighbors?

Years ago, Jess and Liz's mother went for a walk and never returned. She is presumed missing, possibly dead. Fifteen years later, her remains have been found, and Jess finds herself returning to a northeastern town she isn't sorry to have left.

Jess clearly suffers from abandonment issues. She floats from girlfriend to girlfriend, bringing one bag worth of stuff with her every time she moves. She doesn't sign leases. She just bounces.

Liz suffers differently. She remains in the town she was born in, in their dilapidated family home. She has had one serious relationship, that she ended when he tried to get too close to her.

For most of the book, Liz and a family friend are convinced one party is to blame for their mother's death. He's the obvious choice. He's a drunk. He is known to hurt women. Society fails women as they ignore this behavior from men. It's a very "boys will be boys" scenario. Side note, if I ever hear someone say this irl, I will push back.

So the killer isn't who we think it is. And I won't spoil you, but that idea of trust comes into play again. Where are you safest? In the small town you grew up in, surrounded by everyone you know, or think you know? Or in the big city you move to, where you know no one, and don't care to? Food for thought.

📱 Thank you to NetGalley and The Dial Press

surprise ending. had thought that the obvious killer was not to be..had my money on the old friend of the missing woman. also did not anticipate the whole lesbian love connection. how lonely life must be for that population. also great sadness for Liz who lived alone and wanted nothing more than her mother to be found and her killer brought to justice.

Great debut by Justine Champine!

What I loved:
1. It is story of an awkward sister love, redemption, forgiveness, understanding, compassion and perspective (what we remember from our 13-year-old self ....is it accurate?)
2. I love a mystery set in a small town - so many options for the bad guy!
3. I liked the writing style and the characters - watching the sisters go through the experience of the loss is tough at times but well written!

What I wanted to be different:
1. The book is a slow burn which is not typical for mystery - and I was ok with it - but I think the book bogs down a little in the middle. It kind of meandered around the story and then came with a strong finish. Great start, great ending but mushy middle.


Thank you, Dial Press and Net Galley for allowing me to read this ARC

A young mother goes missing and her daughters are left with the rubble of their lives. Years later, her body is found, and the sisters reconvene to find a way to deal with their loss.

This was a slow paced, quiet thriller with a lot of nuance. Not my favorite, but worth reading.
I'd rate it as 3.5 stars, but will round up to 4 on Goodreads and Amazon.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC

I am a huge fan of crime fiction based around unsolved cases and Knife River was a really powerful and atmospheric example. It was definitely a slow-burn thriller with a lot of switching between the events in the past and the present day investigation but I really loved the relationship between the two sisters, it was refreshing to see a slightly more strained relationship and it gave a realistic feel to the story. What was quite unusual here was that the story went off in a different direction and looked at the fallout of the murder and how it affected the lives of Liz and Jess rather than looking at the investigation from the perspective of the police. A fantastic and emotional debut.

This really isn't a "thriller;" it's somewhat of a "mystery" but what it is more than anything is a deep dive into the relationship between two sisters who share the emotional circumstance of the disappearance of their mother, and how they coped with that in very different ways. Jess took off as soon as she could, while Liz remained in the home, hoping for any news about their mother. Upon the discovery of their mother's remains 15 years later, Jess returns home, and the two sisters begin to build their relationship back up again. The book beautifully describes how everyone deals with grief in different ways, and highlights how even if you think you understand someone's motivation for the choices they make, these choices really are personal and private, and no one can see anyone else's bigger picture. Both Jess and Liz are complex, complicated characters dealing with their own inner demons, and I enjoyed both of them for their differences. I also really enjoyed how the author chose to end the book; it was one of the better book endings I've read and wrapped things up in a way that I wasn't left hanging, and allowed the characters to privately move on with their lives.

Knife River is Justine Champine’s debut novel. And I must say, I hope she writes more novels, because I’m a fan. I love her writing style and the characters were extremely realistic.

You may see the 3.something average rating on Good Reads and wonder why that is. I’m assuming it’s because one of the genres for this book is listed as thriller. This is not a thriller, not one ounce. This is a literary fiction, family drama, with a hint of mystery.

This book is about two sisters navigating their grief over the loss of their mother. Their mother went missing when they were 13 & 19 years of age, her remains are then found 15 years later. For me, the story was more about the sisters coping with how to live life after their mother’s disappearance, as well as coming back together after spending years (about 10) being apart as adults. Second to the sister’s relationship, we find them trying to piece together what happened to their mother. We get a cast of characters in the small town of Knife River of who it might possibly be.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. Would recommend. 4.25-4.5⭐️

I loved Knife River so much! This one reminded me a lot of my reading experiences with Liz Moore, Gillian Flynn and even Karin Slaughter a bit. It was that perfect blend of literary suspense, and ultimately a family story about sisterhood, and also how we view our parents from different lenses as siblings, which I really appreciated as someone who grew up with siblings. These characters were very flawed, but you just feel for them so much and there were some monologues between the sisters by the end that had my jaw on the floor, I was legit crying because they are outbursts that happen in families who have experienced serious trauma, that you hold in for years and years and then they just spill out of you in an explosive way, and it was incredibly powerful and raw. I also think that the mystery itself unfolded brilliantly, and by the end I was so satisfied with where the author took everything. I especially loved the very very end. This was a 5 star book for me, and I think would make a great summer suspense to add to your beach bag.

In short, This story is about two sisters trying to find the person who killed their mother. There were lots of twists and turns right up to the end. I thought the book was okay, however I had a hard time finishing it. Perhaps it was me?

When I read the blurb for Knife River, I was intrigued. I read it after some internal debate (because I always do that with these books) and am glad I did. This book is a poignant and heartbreaking look into life after a loved one disappears. It also explores what the family goes through when a victim is found.

The main storyline of Knife River follows Jess. Jess was thirteen when her mother disappeared. Her mother’s disappearance and her older sister raising her had a drastic impact on Jess. She drifted from one relationship to another and kept everyone (including family) at arm’s length. One day, she receives a phone call from her older sister that turns her world upside down. Her mother’s body had been found, and she needed a home. Jess is determined to understand why her mother disappeared and looks for answers. The deeper she digs, the more she uncovers about her mother; not all is good. The answers she seeks might be different from what she wants to hear.

Knife River is a slow book. The slowness grated on me in places, but I understood why the author chose to keep it at this pace. The book needed to be slow to understand Jess’s state of mind and her actions throughout the book.

Jess was not likable, but I couldn’t help but feel bad for her. Sometimes, she couldn’t get out of her own way and made things worse for herself. She also did and said things that made my eyebrows raise and made me wonder, “Why?” She was so damaged, and the author didn’t sugarcoat it.

The mystery of Jess’s mother’s disappearance was very well written. The author did a great job of showing what went into investigating a cold case and trying to find leads after fifteen years. She showed Jess and her sister’s frustration with the police when they stopped communicating with them about the case (of course, there was another reason why). I also liked Jess’s investigation and how she accidentally stumbled upon the truth of what happened. That was a massive twist to the disappearance. It was one that I didn’t see coming and took me completely by surprise.

The end of Knife River left me with more questions than answers. I was confused as to what happened with Jess and the girl she was sleeping with and why she just sat on the confession she got. But I did like that Jess and her sister had grown closer at the end of the book and, in a way, started healing from their mother’s disappearance.

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Random House, The Dial Press, NetGalley, and Justine Champine for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Knife River. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

A story about two young women in how they deal with their mother’s unresolved disappearance and how this event has also shaped their lives. An interesting, somewhat slow literary thriller with much emotion and depth. I liked this - fine. Will be curious to see what this author writes next.
Recommend!

I enjoyed the story but it just lacked that certain something to make it great.....for me. Maybe it's because two of my children and I am on the spectrum? I just thought it was over done in that area.