The River We Remember

By William Kent Krueger,

Book cover of The River We Remember

Book description

In 1958, a small Minnesota town is rocked by the murder of its most powerful citizen, pouring fresh fuel on old grievances in this dazzling standalone novel from the New York Times bestselling author of the "expansive, atmospheric American saga" (Entertainment Weekly) This Tender Land.

On Memorial Day, as the…

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Why read it?

3 authors picked The River We Remember as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

William Kent Kreuger is my favorite mystery writer. I have read all his books and am a huge fan of his Iron Lake mystery series, so I was eager to read his newest novel. I was not disappointed. It pulled me in from page one and didn’t let go even after I turned the last page.

Set in the rural Midwest in the 1950s, it's that rare mystery, a whodunnit that is as much about the mysteries of life. Its sheriff protagonist, Brody Dern, is a complicated character, a good guy who’s also keeping a secret that could blow up…

I have devoured all of Kent Krueger’s books, from his popular Cork O’Connor mystery series to his three standalones. Although I’m hooked on his Cork O’Connor mysteries, his standalones are beautifully written and his characters come alive on the page.

I had the opportunity to meet Kent when a group I belong to—Roswell (GA) Reads, a one city-one read program, brought him to town for an event in September 2023. He is as nice a person as he is a brilliant writer. His characters are wonderfully developed, although some are flawed, and his stories are fast-paced and engaging. His love…

The River We Remember is a nostalgic tone poem of a book set in the American Midwest a decade after the end of World War II.

The war lingers like a shadow over a number of the characters' lives. The story centers on the small town of Jewell, Minnesota, and a close-knit community of people who nevertheless harbor personal demons and shameful secrets that boil to the surface when the body of a prominent (and universally despised) landowner is found floating in a nearby river.

The investigation into his murder stirs up barely concealed prejudice and bigotry camouflaged by the…

Let Evening Come

By Yvonne Osborne,

Book cover of Let Evening Come

Yvonne Osborne Author Of Let Evening Come

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up on a family farm surrounded by larger vegetable and dairy operations that used migrant labor. From an early age, my siblings and I were acquainted with the children of these workers, children whom we shared a school desk with one day and were gone the next. On summer vacations, our parents hauled us around in a station wagon with a popup camper, which they parked in out-of-the-way hayfields and on mountainous plateaus, shunning, much to our chagrin, normal campgrounds, and swimming pools. Thus, I grew up exposed to different cultures and environments. My writing reflects my parents’ curiosity, love of books and travel, and devotion to the natural world. 

Yvonne's book list on immersive coming-of-age fiction with characters struggling to find themselves amidst the isolation and bigotry in Indigenous, rural, and minority communities

What is my book about?

After her mother is killed in a rare Northern Michigan tornado, Sadie Wixom is left with only her father and grandfather to guide her through young adulthood. Miles away in western Saskatchewan, Stefan Montegrand and his Indigenous family are displaced from their land by multinational energy companies. They are taken in temporarily by Sadie’s aunt, a human rights activist who heads a cultural exchange program.

Stefan promptly runs afoul of local authority, but Sadie, intrigued by him and captivated by his story, has grown sympathetic to his cause and complicit in his pushback against prejudiced accusations. Their mutual attraction is stymied when Stefan’s older brother, Joachim, who stayed behind, becomes embroiled in the resistance, and Stefan is compelled to return to Canada. Sadie, concerned for his safety, impulsively follows on a trajectory doomed by cultural misunderstanding and oncoming winter.

Let Evening Come

By Yvonne Osborne,

What is this book about?

After her mother is killed in a rare Northern Michigan tornado, Sadie Wixom is left with only her father and grandfather to guide her through the pitfalls of young adulthood.
Hundreds of miles away in western Saskatchewan, Stefan Montegrand and his Indigenous family are forced off their land by multinational energy companies and flawed treaties. They are taken in temporarily by Sadie's aunt, a human rights activist who heads a cultural exchange program.
Stefan, whose own father died in prison while on a hunger strike, promptly runs afoul of local authority, but Sadie, intrigued by him and captivated by his…


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