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celineks's review
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
bethreadsandnaps's review
4.25
Justine Champine's debut KNIFE RIVER (publishes May 28, 2024) shows the reverberations of a woman's disappearance on her teenage daughters.
Main character Jess floats through life from girlfriend to girlfriend, but, when she's summoned back to Knife River after her mother's bones are potentially found, Jess has to confront the mystery around her mother's disappearance 15 years ago as well as reconnect with her sister Liz and her high school flame Eva.
This is a character study of how Jess and her sister Liz dealt with the disappearance of their mother. Liz refused to leave the family home, despite having wanted to go to across the country for college, and she chained herself to her job as a bank teller. Jess has much more wanderlust and doesn't want to be tied down in any way.
The ambiance of upstate New York makes the reader feel secluded, and much of it takes place during winter.
Two things that inhibited my enjoyment some:
1. There is very little tension in this mystery. I want to feel propulsion to find the killer, and that was lacking with some pacing problems (a lot of languishing).
2. The timeline in this didn't make sense. Now I had an ARC, and I'm hoping this is fixed in publication. And I think it can be easily fixed. "Present day" is 2010 in this story with the mother's disappearance happening 15 years prior (1995). The mother's birth year is 1965, which makes her 30 years old in 1995 - but she has a 19 year old and a 13 year old. That would make her a mother at 11 years old. But later in the novel it indicates she went missing in 2002. But if it's 15 years later, that would be 2017 instead of 2010. So hopefully the book will change "present day" to 2017. That would make everything work.
I found this to be excellent debut, and I enjoyed this character-driven literary mystery. If you like a slower burn mystery, I think you'll like this one.
maria001's review
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
jen_g_r's review
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Thanks to The Dial Press, Random House, & Justine Champine for this ARC. The writing was good, but the book wasn’t my cup of tea. Based on descriptions of this book I was expecting more of a mystery & psychological thriller. If that’s what you are looking for, it’s not this book. However, if you want a book that looks into the relationship between sisters many years after their mother’s death, this is the perfect book for you.
the_horror_maven's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mbplease's review
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
mandysbooknook's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
ehk317's review against another edition
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
alittlewrightreading's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Knife River comes out May 28, 2024.
Knife River takes place in the small town where Jess and Liz grows up. Jess left town when she was 18 and never came back until Liz called to tell her remains were found and that they were likely belonged to their mother who disappeared 15 years ago.
Once Jess returns home the story follows the sisters as they work through their pasts while trying to figure out what happened to their mother.
I really enjoyed reading Knife River. Knife River had me sitting on the edge of my seat trying to figure out who has killed Jess’s and Liz’s mom. I liked how the sisters were able reconcile after years of being estranged. And I appreciate that Justine touched on how trauma affects people differently.
I still don’t know how I feel about the ending. It just sort of happened and that was it. And I’m not sure I like how Jess didn’t tell Liz about what she learned about their mother’s death especially Liz life was so stagnant due to waiting for their mother to come back.
Overall, I recommend Knife River. If you like murder mysteries I think you’ll enjoy Knife River.
Thanks to Netgalley and The Dial Press for a copy of Knife River in exchange of an honest review.