The River We Remember
The River We Remember ~ William Kent Krueger
Set in 1958 in the town of Jewel, Minnesota, The River We Remember is a murder mystery where the victim is so disliked, almost anyone in town could have done it. The prime suspect, however, is Noah Bluestone, a Native American army veteran who came home from the war with a Japanese wife, Kyoto. I’ll give you 1 guess as to why he’s the prime suspect. (If you said ‘racism’, you win.) The main characters are Brody Dern, the town sheriff, who still suffers the effects of his time at war; Connie Graff, who used to be sheriff, and is now sort of a deputy; Scott Madison, the son of Angie, who owns a local diner; and Charlie Bauer, the attorney who takes Noah’s case, though he at first refuses counsel.
I liked this book. It unfolded nicely, with some gorgeous writing. There were some genuinely scary scenes where I was very worried for some of the characters. Themes of racism, violence, heartbreak, justice, and forgiveness all run through the book. I liked the characters in this book, and found the ending satisfying. Recommended.
What’s with all the book reviews? I’m participating in NaBloPoMo this month, writing a post a day. I decided that I would write about the books that I have read this year. For more NaBloPoMo participants, check out San’s list.
4 Comments
Kyria @ Travel Spot
I really like Krueger as an author and have enjoyed most of his books a lot. I even like the Cork O’Connor series! However, my favorite of his was The Tender Land. I just feel like he puts a good mix of Native American history and adventure together.
Jenny
I’ve never read anything by this author, but I keep hearing about his books. This one sounds good, although it’s soooo hard to read about racism in the 1950s (well- at any time. But it was really terrible back then.) I might check it out though!
Margaret
This was my least favorite of his books; I was disappointed. My favorite by him is “Ordinary Grace.” However, he still writes a better novel than most of the authors out there!
Ernie
This sounds really good. Layers. Multiple suspects. I’m all in. Another book I hadn’t heard of.