The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger

 

"Our lives and the lives of those we love merge to create a river whose current carries us forward from our beginning to our end. Because we are only one part of the whole, the river each of us remembers is different, and there are many versions of the stories we tell about the past. In all of them there is truth, and in all of them a good deal of innocent misremembering."

                               -from Epilogue in the novel

This is a novel by my favorite author! I could hardly wait to read it, but I was a little disappointed at first because right away I started missing Cork O'Connor and family of Aurora, Minnesota. (Main characters in the Cork O'Connor mystery series of which I have read 17!) Within 100 pages, I was involved with new characters especially Brody Dern, the sheriff of Jewel, Minnesota, and Charlie, a very assertive female defense attorney. By the last 100 pages when the plot had thickened, I could barely put it down. Another 5 rating for Krueger!

The Prologue hints that a local man, Jimmy Quinn, has been eaten by catfish in the Alabaster River! Who wouldn't want to keep reading to find out how THAT happened? Of course, Sheriff Brody Dern is on the case, hoping the death was suicide or accidental. but that was not to be. 

The main suspect ends up being a Native American man, WWII vet with a Japanese wife, Noah Bluestone. Many locals believe there was no way Bluestone could have committed murder but sadly there are a few bigoted people ready to see him hang, so to speak. 

I really appreciate Krueger's powers of description. I can often visualize the natural environment of the setting and it makes me want to visit the area. I like how he advocates for Native Americans and other outsiders. The Epilogue is interesting in Charlie's point of view. I may recommend this one for Page Turners next year.