Reviews - The River We Remember

2.29k reviews for:

The River We Remember

William Kent Krueger

4.12 AVERAGE

laceyrenae's review

5.0

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

I wish I could give this book 10 stars!

The River We Remember is a beautifully written, deeply layered novel that lingers in your mind long after the final page. What stands out most is Kent Krueger’s masterful portrayal of character complexity—each person in this small town carries their own burdens, secrets, and histories, making them feel heartbreakingly real. No one is purely good or evil; instead, Krueger paints a rich, nuanced portrait of human nature.

I was especially drawn to how the story unfolds through multiple perspectives. Each character brings a unique lens to the central mystery, and their voices intertwine to create a broader understanding not just of the crime, but of the town’s collective past. This multifaceted storytelling adds depth and emotional resonance that elevates the novel beyond a typical mystery.

A haunting, thoughtful exploration of justice, memory, and redemption—this is storytelling at its finest.

tlyons818's review

4.5

dark emotional tense fast-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

sallyelizabeth's review against another edition

3.75

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

tchallis35's review

5.0

Now this is an author who can craft interesting side characters that a reader can invest in. One of the things I said about the last book I read was that the secondary characters were underdeveloped and flat. It was hard to care about them. This book had so many characters and subplots, but they were masterfully fleshed out and woven together.
This was a mystery but so much more. It was a terrific read.

robinlovesrain's review

2.0

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

It is possible to write fictional stories around and about the horrific violence enacted upon various peoples throughout history without fetishizing those people or the violence they endured. Unfortunately this book fails to meet even very low standards of giving the marginalized characters much agency in their own stories, and describes those characters' pain in a way that always centers the white male MCs.

Two stars only because the prose was good and the skeleton of the characters and the story was compelling, but unfortunately overall not executed well.

Content Warnings

allie_sas's review against another edition

2.5

challenging mysterious tense slow-paced

It did not have to be this long.

xenolinguistic's review

4.5

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

elimoo10's review

4.0

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

danimat's review

4.0

Great story, but one i had to push through to get to the ending. Worth reading, but just have to get through the slow build.

asomeone's review

3.5

emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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