★★★★☆
Krueger weaves a strong sense of place and respect for the land into his historical fiction novels. In the case of The River We Remember, the Alabaster River, which flows through Black Earth County, is as integral to the story as the main characters, Sheriff Brody Dern and several other residents of Jewel, Minnesota.
On Memorial Day 1958, Jimmy Quinn, a local land tycoon, is found floating the Alabaster during a town celebration honoring veterans. Suspicions immediately land on Native American Noah Bluestone, who has recently moved back to Jewel with his Japanese wife. As the investigation progresses, the novel gives a portrait of life in a small town grappling with racism, the lingering effects of war service, and a host of family secrets and betrayals.
Kreuger has a unique writing style. His writing is moving, evoking emotion and nostalgia for a place while unflinchingly portraying the wrongs of the past. I fell in love with his writing when I read Ordinary Grace, a coming-of-age story set in New Bremen, Minnesota, before I started reviewing books a few years ago.
The different types of love are an unexpected theme of The River We Remember, which is, on its surface, a police procedural story. In the prologue, Krueger contrasts people’s love for each other with their love for the land, noting, “With people, we fall in love too easily, it seems, and too easily fall out of love. But with the land, it’s different. We abide much.” Throughout the novel, he observes, “The most frightening thing we do in our lives is to love.” He also notes that friendship is “perhaps the purest form of love.”
I recommend this book for readers who enjoy historical fiction, eloquent writing, and place-based storytelling.