The River We Remember is another terrific historical fiction mystery from author William Kent Krueger. Set in a small Minnesota town in the late 1950s, the novel tackles meaty topics such as prejudice, PTSD, family, and redemption, as well as being a smart murder mystery.
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Here’s a quick summary of The River We Remember.
The town of Jewel, MN is shocked when the body of a wealthy citizen is found in the Alabaster River, chewed up by catfish and with a shotgun wound. It’s up to Sheriff Brody Dern, a decorated WWII vet, to determine what happened. Was the gunshot self-inflicted, or was the guy, who was not well-liked, murdered?
Any number of Jewel’s citizens could have had motive to kill Jimmy Quinn – he was a drunken turd. However, some of the people in town decide, without evidence, that the killer must be Noah Bluestone, a native American who recently moved back to the area after retiring from the Army.
Noah had worked for Jimmy Quinn, but the two men had a falling out. Noah’s wife Kyoko, a Japanese woman, had also worked for the Quinns, but left for an undisclosed reason. So, in the eyes of some of the townsfolk, Noah has three strikes against him: he argued with Quinn, he is an American Indian, and he married a former “enemy” – wartime experiences in Asia are still raw and fresh to some of the men. Even the sheriff, who was held in a brutal Japanese POW camp, is triggered when he interacts with Kyoko.
Noah handles the charges stoically, neither admitting guilt nor claiming innocence. His stance and lack of transparency frustrates his lawyer Charlie, but she begins her own investigation to discover the information Noah won’t share with her. She and Sheriff Brody race to find the truth before more violence erupts in their town, but they might be too late…
I always enjoy and appreciate William Kent Krueger’s historical fiction novels, including The River We Remember. His writing is straightforward with few embellishments, yet he is able to immerse the reader in a different place and time.
The River We Remember shows both the beauty and ugliness of small-town life in the late 1950s. Jewel is a town that can welcome strangers and absorb them into its culture. It’s also a place where family and friends are important, and you can easily find a generous person to lend a helping hand. That’s the version of the town I liked.
On the flip side, the town has some citizens who are closed-minded about Noah even though he is a fellow war veteran who had served his country for twenty years in the army. As for Kyoko, I think the sheriff’s PTSD-driven reaction is understandable, but at least he tries to overcome it, rather than holding Kyoko in contempt like some of the other local men do.
To sum it up, I’m glad the author put both lipstick and warts on the town of Jewel.
The characters in The River We Remember are similar to the town they live in – some good, some bad, and no one perfect. In addition to introducing the murder, the first part of the book is largely devoted to character development. This makes it a little slow-paced, but it also invests the reader into caring about the main characters. And the pace steadily increases to the climax at the end.
I think anyone that enjoys historical fiction and/or murder mysteries with plenty of substance will like The River We Remember and may even share my little touch of sadness when it ends and it’s time to say goodbye to the characters.
For more amazing stories from William Kent Krueger, check out:
Book Thoughts from Bed 