Jewel, Minnesota, is a quiet town. Sheriff Dern has his fair share of trouble to deal with, but it’s mostly kids with too much time on their hands. That is, until Memorial Day 1958 when Jimmy Quinn’s body was found floating in the Alabaster River. As one of the most powerful men in the county, Quinn had many friends, and many more enemies, and the town rumor mill is running strong with theories on who must of killed Quinn before his autopsy was even started. Now Dern has to plug the leaks in his investigation and sift through the long list of potential murderers living in his town, while shading his own potential scandal from public view. Will he solve this crime before an innocent man is killed in retaliation?
William Kent Krueger is a reader favorite with novels such as Ordinary Grace and the Cork O’Connor series. Like these works, his latest The River We Remember released in 2023 is set in Minnesota and focuses on a murder mystery that shocks the community. Focused on racial and class tensions in rural America in the 1950’s, this book shows the power bias and money has on our communities. This is a book about dealing with the demons of our past and retribution for our sins.
I give The River We Remember 5 out of 5 stars. The author’s writing style leaves the reader feeling as though they are listening to a narrator describing the events. While some aspects of the plot are dark, this book wasn’t disturbing to the point where I couldn’t keep moving forward. I found many of the characters relatable and I found myself rooting for several of the lower-class citizens in town. I did find myself feeling like a few of the characters could have been developed a little better – it was my only complaint. The cast of characters in this story is so large and varied, this did not detract much from the overall story. I love the way the author builds the scenes till the reader feels like they are really right there with the characters along the riverbank or in the field!
If you are a fan of writers like Ernest Hemingway or F. Scott Fitzgerald, you will appreciate this writer’s style. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy other western crime novels like Craig Johnson’s Longmire series or historical fiction like Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove. With topics of murder, sexual assault, and other crimes, this book may be best directed to audiences over 16.
I chose The River We Remember for the US States reading challenge prompt “Minnesota”. With so many of his books set in Minnesota, I knew I wanted to read something from William Kent Krueger for this prompt before I even started the journey. I originally planned to read award-winning Ordinary Grace, but then received this novel with my Book of the Month box at the end of last year, so made the pivot. I am hoping to be able to add more of his works to our reading schedule this year – I love the prose and the plot development of this novel! Do you have a favorite book by this author?
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