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A Note from Kent about
The River We Remember

I finished the first draft of The River We Remember more than six years ago, then I abandoned it. Why? The narrative didn’t speak to me in a way compelling enough for me to understand how to tell the story truly.

Then, well over a year ago, when I’d exhausted all my other writing ideas, I pulled that abandoned manuscript off the shelf and began to reread it. I don’t know what happened in the intervening years. Maybe the story simply needed more time to gestate. Or maybe over time I’d just grown wiser as a storyteller. In any event, as I read the old version, I heard the voice of the story speak to me powerfully, and I knew this time I could do it justice.

I worked on it diligently for a year. Gradually the manuscript I’d once thought was hopeless became one that I believe in profoundly. For me, The River We Remember is a story of how we help one another heal from the wounds of the battles we fight in life, of how we transform hate and anger into compassion. I love this novel, and I offer it with a full heart and the hope that when you’ve finished reading it, you will love it, too.

Praise for
The River We Remember

Instant National Bestseller!
USA Today | New York Times | Washington Post
Indie | Wall Street Journal | Publishers Weekly
Edgar Award Nominee for Best Novel
Finalist for Book of the Month’s Book of the Year
Nominated for Best Mystery & Thriller in the Goodreads Choice Awards
Named to Amazon’s Top 100 Best Books of 2023
Indie Next Pick
Book of the Month Selection
B&N Most Anticipated Fiction for September | Amazon Editors’ Pick Best Literature & Fiction
CrimeReads Most Anticipated Crime Fiction of Summer 2023

“I can say without exaggeration that I’ve read every novel William Kent Krueger has written…So, please take note when I say that Krueger’s latest stand-alone, The River We Remember, may be his magnum opus, a literary mic drop.”

Minneapolis Star Tribune 

“It’s easy to describe a novel’s plot. It’s harder to capture the lyricism of Krueger’s writing, especially descriptions of the landscape and humans related to it… [W]hile The River We Remember could be considered a crime story, it’s also about community, its strengths, its prejudices, its secrets.”

Pioneer Press 

“William Kent Krueger’s page-turning, rewarding mystery The River We Remember is a superb exploration of the prejudices and complexities of post-World War II America”

Booklist (starred review)

“Absorbing. . . combines nostalgic settings with depictions of the lingering hardships and traumas of war and the home front . . . in the decade after WWII.”

Booklist (starred review)

“An empathetic portrait of a small town in distress.”

Publishers Weekly

“Fans of the die-hard Minnesotan author will appreciate his evocation of the landscape and people’s connections to it.”

Kirkus

“I loved this book so much!”

—Annie Philbrick, Bank Square Books

“Many view the ’50s with nostalgia, seeing it as a time of innocence, peace and stability. In reality, it was an era populated by people traumatized severely and permanently by warfare with communities still dominated by hatred, fear and bigotry in a country that refused to confront its own history of exploitation and violence. This is the realm of the author and he conveys it in a narrative rich in depth and detail that results in a portrait painted by words.”

—Bill Cusumano, Square Books

“Another home run from a great Minnesota writer, an Indie favorite since his first book, Iron Lake.”

—George Rishel, The Sly Fox

“A great novel I’ll recommend to everyone I know.”

—Jenni Hill, Avant Garden Bookstore

“Sympathetic and flawed characters with secrets and guilt make devastating decisions resulting in a tangled web of disastrous events. Surprising revelations abound in this unforgettable and heartfelt page turner.”

—Jane Simons, The Dog Eared Book

“Although I love the Cork O’Connor books, I think William Kent Krueger’s absolute best work resides in his stand alone titles—Ordinary Grace, This Tender Land, and now, The River We Remember. This book will reside in my heart for quite a time to come. Great message of truth, love and forgiveness.”

—Kate Lancaster, Back Forty Books

“Once again Kreuger has given us a beautiful novel and an in-depth character study about the town, the setting, and the people. It’s sad and sometimes tough to read, but it also shows us the beauty in human beings and what each will do to protect those they love and to right past wrongs.”

—Nancy McFarlane, Fiction Addiction

“Another wonderful satisfying novel by master storyteller, Kreuger. This engaging mystery reveals many issues that small towns face and prejudices that come to the surface when disasters occur. Thoroughly enjoyable with unexpected twists and turns. Loved it!”

—Stephanie Crowe, Page & Palette

“A wonderful mystery in a small town in Minnesota. Krueger creates characters that you know and understand with tremendous human insight. Once you start reading you won’t want to stop.”

—Betsy Schram, The Bookshelf

“Classic Krueger, deep characters, compelling story, and a town you feel like you can draw a map of by the end of the book.”

—Bob Lingle, Good Neighbor Bookstore

“Another home run from a great Minnesota writer, an Indie favorite since his first book, Iron Lake.”

—Gerard Villegas, Auntie’s

“William Kent Krueger is a great storyteller, and I sped through this suspenseful novel.”

—Margo Grimm Eule, East City Bookshop

“A beautifully written book set in 1958 when the horrors and prejudices of WWII are still fresh with veterans and civilians alike. This book has wonderful character development and explores guilt, forgiveness and finally redemption. A must read for the Fall.”

—Kathy Clemmons, Sundog Books

The River We Remember is unforgettable. The exquisitely rendered characters, the Minnesota setting, the lyrical prose—William Kent Krueger has it all within these pages. I was despondent about leaving when I had turned the last page. This is why we read fiction. Magnificent.”

—Pamela Klinger-Horn, The Valley Bookseller

The River We Remember is so tender, it’s easy to forget that the story is about hatred and the struggle to change that hatred into compassion. Krueger knows these people and does beautiful justice to each and every character who become part of our psyche while we are engrossed in the gentleness of his storytelling.”

—Vicki Honeyman, Literati Bookstore

William Kent Krueger is the #1 bestselling author of more than twenty books, including the Cork O’Connor series

William Kent Krueger is the New York Times bestselling author of This Tender Land, Ordinary Grace (winner of the Edgar Award for best novel), as well as nineteen acclaimed books in the Cork O’Connor mystery series, including Fox Creek, Desolation Mountain and Sulfur Springs. He lives in the Twin Cities with his family.

More about William Kent Krueger »

The Levee

An Audio Original Novella

An audio original novella from the bestselling author of Ordinary Grace and This Tender Land, The Levee is a powerful, captivating story of a family, a storm, a complicated rescue, and the true cost of survival.

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William Kent Krueger is at Sedona.
William Kent Krueger
There are places that speak to my soul. The great Northwoods of Minnesota. The vast and mysterious Kitchigami, Lake Superior. Almost any Midwest farm field in summer when rain has been plentiful and the wind moves among the planted rows and the crops bow as if to honor its presence. Sedona, Arizona, is another. I’m there now. It’s a place often crowded and plagued with souvenir shops, but only steps away from all the hurly-burly of tourism is a landscape that feels holy to me. I come for the Red Rocks. I come for the myriad trails that take me into the shadow of mountains and across threads of clear water and onto high places where the vistas shake my whole being. I find so many unexpected treasures on these trails, in the folds of the rock. I write about Minnesota because it’s home and it speaks to me in a familiar voice. Sedona speaks to me in a way I still don’t quite understand. It is a mystery. But we need mysteries, don’t we? We need places that touch our souls in mysterious ways. So, year after year, I return. And I listen. Although I may not understand the voice, I understand the peace that comes with it. ... See MoreSee Less
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