Review—THE RIVER WE REMEMBER

 By William Kent Krueger

 Published by Atria Books, 2023

978-1-9821-7921-2

Mr. Krueger is well known and celebrated in the reading communities for his Cork O’Connor mystery series, and for   THIS TENDER LAND and ORDINARY GRACE. This long novel is another penetrating look into the lives of a group of small Minnesota town residents. The town of Jewel, apparently a county seat, is home to a fascinating and varied group of residents, including war veterans, foreign-born and other citizens, as well as firmly implanted Americans. The novel explores how events, history and memory influence our every-day lives.

When a prominent if not beloved wealthy farmer and land-owner is found dead on the river bank that flows near town, the circumstance of his death roil the waters of the river and the many rivers of memory and life that are found in the minds and souls of a range of characters.

The cast of this novels is large and wide-ranging from a Dakota veteran marine married to a Japanese woman, to fourteen-year old boys to a town drunk, an unmarried mother with a fraught past, to ordinary passersby. All are burdened in some way, large and small, with rivers of memory that have the constant ability to affect our actions. While the unraveling of the questions regarding the citizen’s death and discovery in the Alabaster River and the many associated events of that summer propel the narrative, it is the gentle speculation regarding the personal rivers we readers will remember that generate the adhesive of this fine novel that helps carry us to the final surprising and satisfying conclusions.

As always, the author’s attention to detail, to character and setting, to careful weaving of the net of plot, to rational thoughtful connections, will draw in readers and secure our interest to the very end.

Review--EVERYONE IN MY FAMILY HAS KILLED SOMEONE

 

Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone

By Benjamin Stevenson

U.S. Edition by Mariner books, 2023

 

Most of us have probably experienced a medium-level stand-up comedian’s act. Here’s one in print. It is a crime novel containing several asides from the author. The author’s asides to readers are amusing, distracting and help him maintain his adherence to the 1929 “Rules of Detective Fiction,” as articulated by British author Ronald Knox.

The narrative tells the story of his family’s gathering after the release from prison of one of the younger members of the family. The family, in several generations has gathered in a remote Australian mountain resort, in part to celebrate that release. In a blinding snowstorm, a murder occurs with a host of ripples that affect each of the family members, as well as the host owner of the resort.

Good descriptions of the snow storm and effects of the murder an search for the culprit do engage the narrative, as do some of the characters. But while the author adheres rigidly to Knox’s rule, he has not enhanced the attraction of the novel, nor do the several factual and typographical errors.

 

FAIL DEADLY--Review

 

Fail Deadly                       

By John Baird Rogers

ISBN: 9798986244204

A 2023 release from

Gotuit Publishing

 

Even with the scientific and cultural advances we’ll experience in coming decades, the future, according to this author, will be far from calm and peaceful. Fortunately creative literary talent abounds in our future reading. In this third adventure with Louise (Weezy) Napolitani and Joe Mayfield, that jewel from the author’s mind, Olegarten rises ever higher. Here is a creation of a fine mind, a group of cyber experts loosely organized to help protect the United States against computer hackers who would destroy the nation. It is an organization with strict rules of engagement.

Weezy is a brilliant computer specialist who often thinks outside the box. Her companion and lover Joe Mayfield is a financial whiz, Together, they form an active protective duo against a complex foreign threat to the nation. It is not a task they look for but are thrown into the conflict by circumstance and proximity.

The thread of this well-written and carefully organized novel take Weezy and Joe up and down the East Coast and through the twisted halls of Washington. The story, from page one, moves apace and will often leave readers breathless. From the careful descriptions of action sites travelers would never visit, through the logic of complex communications system and computer uses, the story never flags. The plot thread never descends so deep into technology that readers will become confused, nor does it ever fray into loss of direction.

This is an excellent novel in every sense and will engage any reader who enjoys good thrillers and intense emotional roller-coaster rides. The autocar awaits.

 

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