Reviews tagging 'Death'

The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger

20 reviews

bearybooky's review

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Great storytelling. Difficult subject matter. I felt satisfied with the redemption. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Antisemitism, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Death of parent, Terminal illness, War, Fire/Fire injury, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Grief, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Violence, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Hate crime, Racism, Alcohol, Blood, Chronic illness, Pedophilia, and Rape

louisekf's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

 I’m a big fan of William Kent Krueger’s Cork O’Connor series, but for some reason, I hadn’t read one of his standalone novels until now. The River We Remember has us back in 1958 in a small town in southern Minnesota. 

 

When a local man is found dead in the local river, it sets off a chain of events. Lots of people had good reason to dislike Jimmy Quinn, a wealthy landowner, so there are plenty of possible suspects. However, one man is the focus of much of the suspicion, Noah Bluestone, a Native American, who also had the temerity to bring home a Japanese wife at the end of World War II. So there’s plenty of racism and prejudice among the townsfolk. Sheriff Brody Dern tries to keep things under control. He’s a war hero with dark secrets that he keeps inside. Krueger writes great characters, including the two already mentioned, a woman lawyer, a newspaper man, the diner owner and her young teen son, and more. Over the course of the book, secrets and personal histories come to light. 

 

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read a review copy of this book, although I was rather late to it. I bounced between the ARC and the published audiobook, courtesy of my public library. The narrator, C.J. Wilson, did a terrific job with the various voices and accents. All opinions are my own. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Murder, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Grief, Death, and Racism

Minor: Alcohol, Chronic illness, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, and Animal cruelty

craftyanty's review

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I found this book engaging from beginning to end.  Every time I had to stop listening, I couldn't help planning how quickly I'd be able to get back to it.  I loved the characters and how they interconnected. 

I've read this author's work before, but this one felt different to me. It often felt like a cross between Fredrik Bachman's Beartown and Sean Dietrich's Kinfolk.  

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse, Infidelity, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Incest, Child abuse, Violence, Murder, Emotional abuse, and Animal death

greatestheights's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Alcoholism, Death, Racial slurs, Violence, Incest, Grief, Hate crime, Murder, Racism, and Child abuse

Moderate: War and Suicide attempt

hcumbie's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Great book! Loved the mix of historical fiction and mystery.  This book definitely made me think. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Incest, Rape, Alcoholism, Xenophobia, War, Racism, and Murder

killerpancake's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I really like WKK’s books and this one was good but not my favorite. There’s no big dramatic reason either, it just didn’t grab me as much as the last one I read. The mystery was probably the least interesting part of the book and the focus on the town and characters was lovingly done. It also addresses some dark topics that are portrayed with care. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Xenophobia, Racism, Incest, and Child abuse

Moderate: Pedophilia, Physical abuse, and Rape

Minor: Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, and Suicide attempt

linda48's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Rape, War, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Murder, Death, and Incest

kimreads14's review

emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

Unfortunately, this wasn’t a great match 🫤 while I can understand the appeal of this book for some, it didn’t work out for me. 

Here are a few reasons why: 
- Sheriff Brody: I thought he was the least interesting character of them all, and he’s pretty much the leading “voice”. There are a few narrators in the book, but Brody’s voice is the one that comes up the most often. 
The books concentrate on the idea that everyone has secrets and that these secrets are likely to come and bite you in the “derrière”.  Yet, Brody’s main secret

his affair with his SISTER IN LAW

is discovered by Evangeline and… well nothing happens??? I mean seriously? I get that Evangeline herself has a big secret but… yeah no I’m sorry it doesn’t work for me

- The pacing: jeez was this book long… I even have a progress note that says “Things are happening and yet it feels like nothing is happening.” I only thought the pacing improved when Charlie took over part of the narration.

Honestly, the only reason I kept going with this book was Charlie and her chapters. Scott’s were ok but Charlie was the real start in this book. 

A few points to explain why I still gave it 2.5 ⭐️:
- Charlie: see above
- The fact that regardless of pacing and my hate for Brody this book still offers a good setting and discussion of American society in the 50s and the state of mind regarding the fall out of the two World Wars. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Incest, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Mental illness, Murder, Racism, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Death, Alcoholism, Cursing, Pedophilia, Terminal illness, Animal cruelty, Cultural appropriation, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, War, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and Violence

oceanwriter's review

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Try as I might, I don’t have a whole lot to say about this one. It was good, yet, I can’t say I particularly enjoyed it. The pacing was good, the writing was great, the mystery was as expected for the tone of the book, and yet, I was left uninvested. I struggled to keep the characters straight and overall didn’t connect with them. Not for me, I guess. I would recommend it to readers who enjoy a quieter mystery that emphasizes the prose over the thrill. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Rape, Murder, and Racism

Moderate: Sexual assault, Incest, and Child abuse

Minor: Animal cruelty

amandalachelle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Animal death, Sexual content, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Infidelity, Murder, Rape, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Incest, Torture, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, Blood, Death, Gun violence, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Suicide, and War