I have shared several books with you from the author William Kent Krueger. He’s a great writer and is from my home state, Minnesota. I was born and raised in southern Minnesota. One of the reasons I love this author is that I can easily picture and know the places he is talking about in his books…it’s my country. The main reason I love his books, they are just so darn good. Authors nowadays don’t develop their characters like this author does. He makes the characters have flaws like real people but at the core, they are still good. I like that. The people seem more real and more like me.
Enough about all of that…let’s get into his latest book, The River We Remember.
I really did like the book. The story encompasses a whole community of people. We are introduced to and learn the backstories of many people and learning those backstories is just what makes the book so good. So often there is a bad guy and no one knows why he’s bad. Not with this book.
I also feel like this story could have really happened and I like that aspect too.
Do you remember me saying in the opening of this review that the story is set in places I can relate to? Well at one point two of the characters from the book meet at Pilot Knob State Park at the tower. This is the tower. My family picnics there every year. In fact, this is the picture of that tower and my extended family in mid-August.
Here is what Amazon had to say:
On Memorial Day, as the people of Jewel, Minnesota gather to remember and honor the sacrifice of so many sons in the wars of the past, the half-clothed body of wealthy landowner Jimmy Quinn is found floating in the Alabaster River, dead from a shotgun blast. Investigation of the murder falls to Sheriff Brody Dern, a highly decorated war hero who still carries the physical and emotional scars from his military service. Even before Dern has the results of the autopsy, vicious rumors begin to circulate that the killer must be Noah Bluestone, a Native American WWII veteran who has recently returned to Jewel with a Japanese wife. As suspicions and accusations mount and the town teeters on the edge of more violence, Dern struggles not only to find the truth of Quinn’s murder but also put to rest the demons from his own past.
Caught up in the torrent of anger that sweeps through Jewel are a war widow and her adolescent son, the intrepid publisher of the local newspaper, an aging deputy, and a crusading female lawyer, all of whom struggle with their own tragic histories and harbor secrets that Quinn’s death threatens to expose.
Both a complex, spellbinding mystery and a masterful portrait of midcentury American life from an author of novels “as big-hearted as they come” (Parade), The River We Remember is an unflinching look at the wounds left by the wars we fight abroad and at home, a moving exploration of the ways in which we seek to heal, and a testament to the enduring power of the stories we tell about the places we call home.
Amazon readers give the book 4.7 stars…I’m going to agree. I loved it. I’ll even admit that I was so excited to read it that I listened to over the course of two days…SO GOOD!! I highly recommend it.
You can find the book HERE if you are interested. You can find all of Krueger’s books HERE. If you haven’t given his books a try yet, it’s time.
You turned me on to this author. I have now listened to 15 of his books. Look forward to reading this one. Thanks.
I’m so happy to have found someone else who is enjoying William Kent Krueger’s books!! Think I have read 5 or 6 of his books in the past 3 months. Everything you said about him and his writing is so true. I absolutely LOVED this book. I don’t do audio books, though. I read every single word. But I read on my iPad. I was about 100+ pages from the end, and I just had to stop doing everything, and just READ until I finished the book. It had me stumped, I admit. The ending was a surprise for me. One of the reasons I so enjoy his books. He drops little “clues” throughout the book, and you can miss them if you’re not paying attention. Or overlook them. I just finished reading another one of his books, Blood Hollow. Another EXCELLENT book. Again, I missed all the clues, and the ending caught me by surprise. I had figured out SOME of the mystery, but not all of it. To me, that is a sign of a good author. He is quite wordy, though, but, as you said, he develops the characters, and gives you the backstory of many of the main characters.
Another good writer of mysteries is Ruth Ware. Her latest book was so-so, but all of her previous books have left me wanting MORE. She’s another one who drops subtle clues along the way, and you may miss them or overlook them if you’re not paying attention. My favorite of hers was The It Girl. She had me fooled until the very end!!
Always glad to hear what everyone else is reading. I’ve discovered great authors from several quilt blogs I read.
I’m waiting for this book to become available at my library. All his books are so good. I’m glad to hear you liked it.
cross stitch article jibberish.. FYI
Thanks for guiding us to this author. Just finished one of your favorites from him (can’t remember the title) and it was wonderful. His titles will stay on my list! Thanks again.
Yes, I also recommend this book.
This summer I’ve read my way through William Kent Krueger’s “Cork O’Connor” series. I have one left to read. I’ve really enjoyed them. I think the family element is what makes them so good. I compare them to C. J. Box’s “Joe Pickett” series which also has the family element. My local librarian tells me that I might like the Paul Doiron series about a game warden in Maine since I like both of these series.