Here are 88 books that The River Knows fans have personally recommended if you like
The River Knows.
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The books I read have to draw me in like a good movie. It has to be relatable as far as characters and plot go. I want to see it, smell it, and taste it. We’ve moved a lot, and every time we’ve moved, we always check out the local history and geology. There are so many stories to tell. I’ll see the name of a road, a creek, or a mountain, and it will spark a story within me, like seeing a really good movie with great actors.
This author is great at setting a scene. It was a fast-paced romance that concentrated on the man's determination and satisfied my craving for a strong flavor of the period with plenty of historical backdrop. I was enthralled, captivated, and entertained by the dialog and the maneuvering of the characters' exchanges.
The plot was simple and straightforward but it never lagged or ceased to keep me reading.
From #1 New York Times bestselling author, and creator of the Bridgerton series, Julia Quinn presents the fourth and final installment in the Bridgerton adjacent Regency era-set world featuring the romantic adventures of the well-meaning but less-than-accomplished Smythe-Smith musicians. In this case, cellist Iris Smythe-Smith finds herself courted by a suspiciously eager nobleman—but is he only playing with her heartstrings?
Sir Richard Kenworthy has less than a month to find a bride. He knows he can’t be too picky, but when he sees Iris Smythe-Smith hiding behind her cello at her family’s infamous musicale, he thinks he might have struck…
A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.
German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…
The books I read have to draw me in like a good movie. It has to be relatable as far as characters and plot go. I want to see it, smell it, and taste it. We’ve moved a lot, and every time we’ve moved, we always check out the local history and geology. There are so many stories to tell. I’ll see the name of a road, a creek, or a mountain, and it will spark a story within me, like seeing a really good movie with great actors.
Simply put, Ms. Miller never fails to entertain me. She always gives a strong plot. I can count her to present strong women, and men who can appreciate them, even though they bug the hell out of them.
The purpose and goals of her characters are right up front in her stories. I like that, too; it keeps me turning the pages. Also, she places her stories in familiar territory. I can see myself there, among the citizens of her towns, her people. It’s relatable. I’m at home when I read her stories.
The books I read have to draw me in like a good movie. It has to be relatable as far as characters and plot go. I want to see it, smell it, and taste it. We’ve moved a lot, and every time we’ve moved, we always check out the local history and geology. There are so many stories to tell. I’ll see the name of a road, a creek, or a mountain, and it will spark a story within me, like seeing a really good movie with great actors.
It’s been a while since I read this one, but one thing I do remember is that it was full of descriptions of places I could see in my mind’s eye because I had lived near places that were similar in their remote, ruggedness. I could be there in my head as the story progressed.
She’s great at painting a picture or a situation with words. The splashes of historical fact ran through the story; I admire that. And I look for it when I’m searching for something to read that will keep me interested until the end of the story.
In 1844, two years before the Donner Party, the Stevens-Murphy company left Missouri to be the first wagons into California through the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Mostly Irish Catholics, the party sought religious freedom and education in the mission-dominated land and enjoyed a safe journey--until October, when a heavy snowstorm forced difficult decisions. The first of many for young Mary Sullivan, newlywed Sarah Montgomery, the widow Ellen Murphy, and her pregnant sister-in-law Maolisa.
When the party separates in three directions, each risks losing those they loved and faces the prospect of learning that adversity can destroy or redefine. Two women and…
Sine, a professor of creative writing, accompanies Sam, a neuroscientist, on a conference trip to a Hotel Castle. Sam wants to present a new device, the "monitor." Sine hopes to recover from tending to her mother who just passed away.
When they arrive, Sine is in a dream-like state. Real…
The books I read have to draw me in like a good movie. It has to be relatable as far as characters and plot go. I want to see it, smell it, and taste it. We’ve moved a lot, and every time we’ve moved, we always check out the local history and geology. There are so many stories to tell. I’ll see the name of a road, a creek, or a mountain, and it will spark a story within me, like seeing a really good movie with great actors.
This author is new to me, but she won’t be for long. As Western romances go, it was different. I liked that there was a quest. I also liked that the female character was intrepid, strong-willed, and fierce. And the man had to accept that.
Both of them were tough; they had to be, and yet both of them were soft-hearted, and they recognized that they were equal. It was a delight to read. It even brought forth a giggle or two as they spared and rangled like a really good John Wayne movie.
Be swept away by these passionate ALASKA COWBOYS and MOUNTIES! This heartwarming western historical romance series by USA TODAY bestselling author, Kate Bridges, celebrates sexy heroes and remarkable women as they fall in love.
Alaska and the Yukon, 1898
MEET COLT, the strong and silent Mountie who's forced to escort the beautiful, brainy and talkative Elizabeth through the northern wilderness.
Mountie Colt Hunter is on a dangerous undercover mission with his team of Mounties, traveling to Alaska and the Yukon, and the last thing he wants is the delicate doctor Elizabeth Langley joining them. He agrees to take her on…
I have always tried to find books that explain and explore my life stage. When I was a young mother of little babies, I read many books about early motherhood. When I was studying and travelling and working as a waitress, those topics were represented in my reading too. Now that I’m a woman writer in midlife, with growing children and an art practice, I’m keen to read books by and about women writers who evoke the joys and struggles of this period: aging, the tensions between freedom and responsibility, marriage and separation, ambition and desire.
I was absolutely riveted by this huge doorstop of a biography exploring the life of Sylvia Plath. I’m not a diehard Plath fan per se, but I am always drawn to books about writers’ lives.
The intersection of Plath’s death with her experiences of motherhood, her writing life, and the failure of her marriage also brings this story firmly into my wheelhouse. (While Plath might not technically have been in midlife, I would argue that she was already precociously facing many of its common pitfalls when she died.)
This book is meticulously researched and includes new archival evidence. I loved it so much that after I finished its 600-something pages, I wanted to start over immediately.
The first biography of this great and tragic poet that takes advantage of a wealth of new material, this is an unusually balanced, comprehensive and definitive life of Sylvia Plath.
'Surely the final, the definitive, biography of Sylvia Plath' Ali Smith
*WINNER OF THE SLIGHTLY FOXED PRIZE 2021* *A BOOK OF THE YEAR IN THE DAILY TELEGRAPH AND THE TIMES* *FINALIST FOR THE PULITZER PRIZE IN BIOGRAPHY 2021*
Drawing on a wealth of new material, Heather Clark brings to life the great and tragic poet, Sylvia Plath. Refusing to read Plath's work as if her every act was a harbinger…
I’ve always loved classic mystery fiction – why? Well, there’s always a “proper” story, where everyday life is plunged into chaos and then re-invented. There’s always a puzzle, of course, but in addition, there’s the characters and the settings. All the books I’ve recommended – and I could recommend so many more! – have a cracker of a story where emotion is fused with logic to give both an emotional and an intellectual treat.
Philip MacDonald fought in WW1 before becoming one of the most popular mystery writers of the 1920s and 1930s. Sheldon Garret, the successful American playwright, goes into a London tea shop and overhears two women plotting to kidnap a child and – maybe – murder. Sheldon turns to Anthony Gethryn and with the slender clue of an abandoned shopping list to guide him, Anthony must try to prevent a ruthless crime. Kidnap, murder and blackmail form the spine of this, one of MacDonald’s best novels as Anthony Gethryn races to prevent yet more deaths.
A brief shopping list is the only clue Anthony Gethryn has to help Sheldon Garrett, an American dramatist, find the two women he accidently overheard plotting a crime
In an age of splendor, a heretic king strips Egypt bare—forcing his queen to quell rebellion and plunging his children into a conspiracy against the crown.
Salvation in the Sun follows Nefertiti as she ascends the throne beside Pharaoh Amenhotep—soon to become Akhenaten—just as he declares war on Egypt’s ancient…
I’ve been teaching in prep schools for twenty-five years, and I also attended one. As both student and teacher, I’ve been fascinated by student social dynamics—how groups form, fracture, and define what they value or reject. I’m equally interested in how teachers’ experiences mirror yet differ from students’. Though I always looked forward to summer breaks, I was drawn to literature—especially mysteries—set in prep schools. These stories helped me better understand the complexity of these relationships while offering a lens to reflect on my own experiences, often with far more drama than real life.
I loved the storyline of an adult returning to teach at the school where she’d gone and how this return surfaces a host of memories that she hasn’t fully come to terms with yet.
I connected so deeply with the care the teacher has for the place as it is, the confusion she has about the place as it was, and how she struggles to not repeat the mistakes of the past. Plus, the mystery is so well-paced.
Jane Hudson never thought she would return to Heart Lake. Her years there as a scholarship girl ended in a fatal and mysterious double tragedy.
Now she is back, struggling to adjust to her new life teaching Latin and as a single mother. But the events that haunted her memories for so many years begin to recur in front of her eyes. It seems she alone can see what is happening, and only she will be able to prevent a second catastrophe...
Surrounded by the lake that gives the school its name, steeped in history and overflowing with the emotions…
PoppyHarp has at its heart the mystery of a forgotten children’s TV show from the 70s, so I wanted to share books that explore a similar idea–the fiction in fiction–be it an invented book, movie, or TV show that drives the narrative in some way. These five books all feature the enigmatic quality of something lost or some kind of age-old mystery waiting to be unraveled by its protagonists. They are also five books that I absolutely adore.
I absolutely fell for and into this seductive and sublimely entertaining book about a journalist investigating the enigma of Stanislas Cordova, an infamous and reclusive horror movie director. Nobody knows where he is or even if he’s still alive.
The invention of Cordova’s legend in the book is inspired; I love how Pessl builds layers of fake pop culture references and internet rabbit holes that feel so real you can almost hear the flicker of celluloid of one of Cordova’s movies playing out in your head. Even years after reading this book, I still recall it vividly in my mind’s eye.
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR • Cosmopolitan • Kirkus Reviews • BookPage
A page-turning thriller for readers of Stephen King, Gillian Flynn, and Stieg Larsson, Night Film tells the haunting story of a journalist who becomes obsessed with the mysterious death of a troubled prodigy—the daughter of an iconic, reclusive filmmaker.
On a damp October night, beautiful young Ashley Cordova is found dead in an abandoned warehouse in lower Manhattan. Though her death is ruled a suicide, veteran investigative journalist Scott McGrath suspects otherwise. As he probes the strange circumstances…
I love a book that pulls you into the story, one where maybe you see yourself in the characters. As a boy, I loved to read and would lose myself in books. I find I am drawn to many different types and genres, but especially military or crime dramas. My favorites include historical references and in my own writing I often place characters in an actual historical event, but with a fictional outcome. The most important thing to me is creating a character who is interesting enough to make the reader want more. My personal military experiences were used to begin my first novel while the characters came to life.
Have you ever traveled somewhere, and something doesn’t feel right? There is a world of travelers, nomads, and homeless who live lives none of us can explain or understand. Their world includes strange disappearances or accidents, and authorities who ignore or hide the truth. If you start digging for answers, it might make some people uncomfortable. This is a riveting yarn of a sister who refuses to just let it go and move on with her life. Her fierce determination for answers leads her into her own fight for survival. A can’t put it down thrill ride.
From the author of the “full-throttle thriller” (A. J. Finn) No Exit—a riveting new psychological page-turner featuring a fierce and unforgettable heroine.
Three months ago, Lena Nguyen’s estranged twin sister, Cambry, drove to a remote bridge seventy miles outside of Missoula, Montana, and jumped two hundred feet to her death. At least, that is the official police version.
But Lena isn’t buying it.
Now she’s come to that very bridge, driving her dead twin’s car and armed with a cassette recorder, determined to find out what really happened by interviewing the highway patrolman who allegedly discovered her sister’s body.
Born the heir of a master woodcutter in a queendom defined by guilds and matrilineal inheritance, nonbinary Sorin can’t quite seem to find their place. At seventeen, an opportunity to attend an alchemical guild fair and secure an apprenticeship with the…
On reaching my late 40’s, the topic of ageing and dying raised its head with a clarion call. This wake up call led me to draw upon my 25 years’ experience as a scientist to research why we age, how we die, and what (if anything) we can do about it all. I also looked beyond the physical into the social and emotional aspects. These book recommendations reflect my journey to understanding that a life well lived is about doing things you like with people you love, rather than swallowing vitamin pills.
The end of our lives is full of choices. This book brilliantly presents a range of fictional endgames.
I was leant it by my parents, who described it as hilarious – I, in turn, was somewhat traumatized. But the imagery and the choose your own adventure aspect of it have stayed with me ever since reading it on holiday in France when the last thing I wanted to be thinking about was how we might die.
Shriver is a brilliant wordsmith, and you will return to her thoughts long after you close the book.
When her father dies, Kay Wilkinson can’t cry. Over ten years, Alzheimer’s had steadily eroded this erudite man into a paranoid lunatic. Surely one’s own father passing should never come as such a relief.
Both medical professionals, Kay and her husband Cyril have seen too many elderly patients in similar states of decay. Although healthy and vital in their early fifties, the couple fears what may lie ahead. Determined to die with dignity, Cyril makes a modest proposal. To spare themselves and their loved ones such a humiliating and protracted decline, they should agree to commit suicide together once they’ve…
