The River We Remember

I so enjoy curling up with a book by William Kent Krueger.  I just had the pleasure of reading The River We Remember (#1,172).  At its root, it's a murder mystery.  The richest man in town, Jimmy Quinn, is found dead in the Alabaster River in Jewel, Minnesota.  

So many people in town had a reason to wish him dead, but local sheriff Brody Dern would like to sweep it all the rug and act as though Jimmy's death was a suicide.  Fortunately, his deputy won't let him.  Things are still simmering in town a few years after World War II, with many veterans of World War I still around.  In fact, there's even a veteran in town who fought in the Indian Wars of the late 1800s.  There's plenty of resentment against Indians, Germans and Japanese.  It spills over onto the chief suspect in Jimmy Quinn's death: Noah Bluestone, a career Marine who happens to be a Sioux with a Japanese wife he brought home with him to his small farm.  Noah and Kyoko both worked for Jimmy Quinn and his second wife Marta for a time. When Brody Dern does finally arrest him, Noah Bluestone refuses to defend himself; neither will he admit to the crime.  Who is he covering for?  Things come to a shocking end before the facts which led to Jimmy Quinn's death are finally revealed and the lives of many citizens of Jewel are changed forever.

This is everything you can hope for in a book; a gripping story, plot twists and turns, and the landscape itself as an important character.  A thoroughly satisfying read, and highly recommended.  No wonder I'm a fan!