Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger

10 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

dkmorello's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Riveting story of secrets and love along the Alabaster River in Minnesota. The characters are rich and flawed. Nearly all the men are broken in small and big ways by world wars, and nearly all the women hold secrets that threaten their families and children. Highly recommend this book: The characters soar, the action unfolds at a brisk pace, and the central character, Brody, has a strong moral compass. The character of Brody is similar to Titus in All the Sinners Bleed by SA Cosby, specifically the moral compass. The author does a masterful job of moving the plot forward, even as he fills the story with bits of the past; chapters stayed chronological as opposed to splitting into flashback chapters. Thanks for that.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Grief, War, Incest, Physical abuse, and Blood

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

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

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

laurajenkins's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Physical abuse, Hate crime, Incest, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Racism, Suicide, Emotional abuse, and Murder

laheath's review

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

5.0

Tragic story of murder in a small town with beautifully written descriptions, flawed characters, and subplots that don't detract from the main plot.  The unfortunate prejudice of post-WWII Americans is prevalent.  There were so many characters battling their own demons, but they were easy to keep track of since they were so interesting.  A tense mystery with several twists.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Racism, Sexual violence, and Death

Minor: Suicide attempt, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Rape, Incest, and War

kimveach's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.25

I should have loved this book.  And according to Goodreads, many people have.  This book has everything I look for in a literary mystery - compelling themes, interesting characters, dilemmas with no easy solution, etc.  However, I found myself feeling like reading it was a chore.  I can't explain it, and I expect most people to enjoy it.  However, I won't be reading more from this author.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Blood, Chronic illness, Death, Dysphoria, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Confinement, Alcoholism, Bullying, Colonisation, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Vomit, Child abuse, Death of parent, Gore, Hate crime, Medical content, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, War, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Incest, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Addiction, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Medical trauma, and Mental illness

awebofstories's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Grief, Murder, Racism, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Blood, Death, Sexual assault, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Animal cruelty, War, and Infidelity