Will I love The River We Remember?

The River We Remember is emotionally engaging, perfectly paced, and beautifully written. A complex, credible plot. Excellent character development. As with his earlier standalone novels, Ordinary Grace and This Tender Land, and his series prequel, Lightning Strike, Krueger does a terrific job portraying the young boys, Scott and Del, on the cusp of understanding, though they are secondary characters, unlike the boys in the earlier books.

Krueger has created a cast of varied and unusual characters--some that readers can empathize with and cheer for and some that they will loathe, and for good reason. The plot twists and turns are believable and readers will gasp at conclusions that are shocking, but well-prepared for. The history and culture of the Midwest are intertwined in this fascinating read that mirrors and reflects much of our society today.

Even though I finished this book several months ago, I can still feel the characters in my viscera. William Kent Kreuger does a spectacular job of creating characters who live, breath, bleed and die.

This author was new to me, and I fell in love! The characters are rich, quirky, and distinctive. I was intrigued by the supernatural element. The story drew me in immediately, and I couldn’t put the book down. I loved how it ended.

I felt like I’d spent time with complicated friends who conquered their demons. It satisfied what I crave most from any book: intrigue, interesting, unpredictable characters that must peel away the layers the deeper I go, seemingly insurmountable obstacles that are eventually overcome, and a satisfying ending. I would equate the feel of this read to spending… show more.

William Kent Kreuger is my favorite mystery writer. I have read all his books and am a huge fan of his Iron Lake mystery series, so I was eager to read his newest novel. I was not disappointed. It pulled me in from page one and didn’t let go even after I turned the last page.

Set in the rural Midwest in the 1950s, it's that rare mystery, a whodunnit that is as much about the mysteries of life. Its sheriff protagonist, Brody Dern, is a complicated character, a good guy who’s also keeping a secret that could blow up… show more.

I have devoured all of Kent Krueger’s books, from his popular Cork O’Connor mystery series to his three standalones. Although I’m hooked on his Cork O’Connor mysteries, his standalones are beautifully written and his characters come alive on the page.

I had the opportunity to meet Kent when a group I belong to—Roswell (GA) Reads, a one city-one read program, brought him to town for an event in September 2023. He is as nice a person as he is a brilliant writer. His characters are wonderfully developed, although some are flawed, and his stories are fast-paced and engaging. His love… show more.

The River We Remember is a nostalgic tone poem of a book set in the American Midwest a decade after the end of World War II.

The war lingers like a shadow over a number of the characters' lives. The story centers on the small town of Jewell, Minnesota, and a close-knit community of people who nevertheless harbor personal demons and shameful secrets that boil to the surface when the body of a prominent (and universally despised) landowner is found floating in a nearby river.

The investigation into his murder stirs up barely concealed prejudice and bigotry camouflaged by the… show more.