I needed a good thriller to get me out of my book slump and this hit the mark for me. I enjoyed exploring the sister's relationship with each other and the impact of losing their mother, and was kept guessing till the end about what really happened.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved finding out more about Jess and Liz and how they were both dealing with their mum's disappearance and then how they dealt with after her remains were found fifteen years later. Jess was our main character and as the youngest of the two sisters she has less memories of her mother but was still affected by her loss. This affected Jess's life choices in terms or relationships and living status.

I really enjoyed reading about the relationship between Jess and Liz and the fact that there were times when things were really awkward between them and others when they had some really lovely moments and bonded over the silliest of things. I really felt for Liz, whilst she was older when their mum disappeared and she had to look after Jess and the house, there were also things that she had hidden from Jess as they were growing up so that there were things that Jess didn't see about her mum.

I thought that the storyline as to who was responsible for their mum's disappearance was really intriguing - whilst some people had a clear culprit that they thought was responsible, Jess was more open to looking at other possibilities. Even when it looked like we were not going to get the answer, Jess persevered until she found out the truth and then made a decision to protect Liz.

This was a great read which was really well written

I wasn’t blown away by this book and the two sisters Jess & Liz may have been to blame because I couldn’t say I liked either of them very much.
The thriller part of the book if developed more could have been a stand alone story with for me the romance side more of a distraction.

This was a definite slow burn read, I normally go for fast-paced thrillers with lots of twists, but I still really enjoyed this book & honestly can't believe it's the authors debut novel, it's a fantastically written book & I'll definitely be watching out for this author going forward.

Because this was more of a slow burn read, the author was able to go into great detail with the characters, allowing the reader to get to know them on a much deeper level, the story mainly focuses on Jess & her complicated relationship with her sister Liz, their past & the town she left behind. It's a very thought-provoking & often heartbreaking read as both sisters come to terms with their mother's disappearance, how it has affected their lives & how much grief can impact your life.

This was a very different type of thriller & it was great to read something a bit different. I would absolutely recommend.

Fifteen years ago, when Jess was thirteen, her mother went out for a walk and never returned. From that moment on, the lives of Jess and her older sister were transformed: her sisters hopes of college dashed, while Jess left town the moment she could. But now, bones have been found in the woods, and Jess is drawn back to Knife River to confront the ghosts of her past.

Knife River was billed as a thriller, but I would categorise it more as a family drama - and a very accomplished one, at that. The long shadows that childhood trauma casts were well drawn, and although as a reader I didn't always like the characters, I always understood what was driving them. Recommended for fans of Liz Moore.

Knife River has the perfect tone and pace for a small-town American murder mystery. I am such a big fan of this type of story where an unsolved case comes back into light after new evidence is uncovered. ⁣
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There were two things that I really enjoyed in this particular book - the first was the fact that the two sisters looking for answers were forced to push the local police into action, not satisfied for the case to be swept under the rug for a second time. Even though the investigation wasn’t initiated by the pair, the police seemed to be happy to let the case trundle along with no urgency, and this led to a really interesting dynamic throughout the story.⁣ The second thing I loved was that obviously this book was a murder mystery, but the real story was actually about the devastation left behind after a person goes missing (or is murdered). The sisters lives are totally destroyed by the incident and they never really got over it, especially as the case was unsolved. It was also important to see the small-town attitude towards same-sex relationships and how that came into play as part of the story too. ⁣
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I thought that Knife River was incredibly powerful for a debut, and the atmosphere was pitched perfectly for a slow-burn but captivating thriller.

I love a literary thriller and this is one of the best I have read in ages. Sisterhood, trauma, loss, this goes much deeper than a typical thriller. Haunting and atmospheric , I had to double check this was a debut as the writing is so assured and beautiful. It is a slow burn but very much more about the destination than the journey. I really liked this one. Jess was a fascinating character. Looking forward to more from Champine.

From the off this book had me! Knife River by Justine Champine. Knife River is a slow burning murder mystery set in a town frozen in time - with two relentless protagonists. What I really enjoyed about this book was the unique writing style - whether it was done intentionally to match the characteristics of our main character, who knows, but it was good! This book is very character driven with quality detail given to the decaying and claustrophobic town of Knife River, we follow the story of two sisters, Jess and Liz and the devastating effects of their mother’s disappearance, 15 years ago.
This book really kept me guessing right up until the end - making me second guess myself, very much like our main character, Jess. I found myself spiralling and wanting to know more about their mother’s disappearance.
That being said, although their mother’s disappearance is one of the main focus’ of this book, this is a multi-layered story surrounding family and sisterhood, love, ‘flawed’ women and how our own memories can change and shape our perceptions of those we think we know and love.

This was a real slow burn murder mystery. Two sisters end up back together after their mother's bones are found about 15 years after she first went missing.

There's a contrast between the two sisters, the eldest that stayed in the family home forever waiting for her mum to come back, and the youngest who left the small town and tried to spread her wings - leaving behind everything.

Although I found the book a bit slow for me in places, I really wanted to carry on to find out what had happened to their mum.

This book focuses on two sisters and the aftermath of their mothers mysterious disappearance, and how it's shaped their lives.
When a body is found they come together to dig up the past, and hope to find the answers they've been searching for over the last 15 years.
It explored their grief and family dynamics, alongside the small town drama and gossip, and police investigation.
I'd say it was more of a slow burn crime mystery than a typical thriller, but it had interesting twists especially in the final chapters.
It explored the flaws in the characters well, and how Jess and Liz were complete opposites but just wanted the truth. Her relationship was Eva was interesting too, and I like the nods at the end.

I really enjoyed this book through the majority of it, just I felt maybe the mid section was a little bit dragged out too much for me. I loved reading about the characters and how they dealt with their lives after their mother's disappearance/death. I also liked reading about Jess and Eva's relationship and how it developed through the story and how it was connected to the story in a bit of a way. The ending of the book was incredible to read and see what happened to their mother but also nice to read how the book was rounded up to a close.

I chose to read this book based on the artwork and the Blurb - it sounded like a really good thriller.

The story follows Jess as she returns home after the bones of her mum are found. We also followed her as they tried to find out the creepy reason why she died.

I love the relationship between the sisters and how Justine slowly reveals what really happened.

She offers you just enough to hook you!

It is a slow burn, which I don't usually like, but given the subject matter, I think it really worked.

It is an incredibly complex story, with complex relationships and lots of threads that make the whole picture, so you really need to have your full concentration on the book!

What a great debut novel for Justine, plus it's perfect for this month with it being Pride!

If you love thrillers, then this is for you!

A fractured family, an unsolved murder, small town gossipmongering.

Jess and Liz had hopes and dreams to get away from their small town, mundane lives but their mother going missing robbed them of that. Jess fled the town as soon as she could and Liz stayed behind, staying in their former family home, slowly turning from a sympathetic figure into someone to be pitied.

When their mothers remains are finally found, Jess and Liz will have to deal with the scuttlebutt and rumours starting again. But has the murderer finished with the family? Will the sisters finally get closure? Will they finally be able to put the past to bed and move on with their lives?

Jess is a complete nomad - she drifts through life, with nothing more than a few bags of clothes to call her own. She flits from job to job and girlfriend to girlfriend. Liz is her complete opposite and seems to have grabbed onto her old life and refuses to let go. But her dreams have rotted away, and in turn she has turned bitter and shrewish.

This was a really complex novel where women are all the driving relationships and the bonds that they share, the connections they forge, as the impetus of the storyline. I must admit that neither Jess nor Liz made for very likeable main characters in my opinion. Jess could come across as selfish and rootless and a bit of a user. She certainly had no qualms in moving on from her live in girlfriend when her first love came back on the scene! Liz is quite a harsh character too. I suppose being left to deal with the aftermath of your mothers disappearance would jade you but she just felt so downtrodden sometimes.

When Jess gets a call from her sister telling her that her mother’s remains have been found,15yrs after she went missing, she has no choice but to return to the town where she grew up. A town that she chose to leave behind to help move on from all the tragedy. Will they now be able to put to rest what happened all those years ago and move on?

This is a story about grief and relationships and how complex life can be when you suffer a loss. The story really focuses around Jess and Liz who, even though they are sisters, are trying to navigate an adult relationships with each other. It deals with the complexity of small towns and how dated some peoples views can be making it hard for Jess to be herself.

I normally read fast paced books full of twists and turns so this was quite the change for me. However I enjoyed getting to know the characters in depth and the writing really allowed you to feel the emotions of the characters. The descriptions of Jess’ feelings were so emotive that you felt as though you were right there with her.

You will struggle to believe this is a debut novel for Justine Champine and I’m really looking forward to what’s next.

This book is described as a crime thriller and while a large part of the backstory is a murder, I felt this was more about exploring grief and family dynamics.

With that said I really enjoyed this book, the wrong was beautiful and the insights into loss were really powerful and relatable.

The characters were flawed but completely understandable and their journey was emotional. The relationship between the sisters was extremely complicated and often very sad, but had a lot of touching moments too.

The pacing was good and while I did feel it could have possibly been a little shorter, I think with it being very character driven rather than plot it gave the story the space to explore these characters.

This was a real slow burn thriller. I loved the pacing of the story and felt like I really got to know the characters.

I love the relationship between the sisters. How the tragedy forced them apart, not that they seemed close before. and then the discovery of their mums bones drew them together again. It felt like so many real sibling relationships.

The whole story was just so tragic. From the murder fifteen years ago, to the conclusion in the present day. I think I suspected almost everyone at some point and wouldn't have been surprised at whoever the killer turned out to be.

This story is completely pulling, once you get started you go fully in trying to work out ideas of what may have happened and it just makes you want to keep reading.

The story starts with the discovery of remains being found by children, we then meet Jess & Liz who discovered that these remains were of their mother who has been missing for the last 15 years. Jess returns to her small town where she grew up to help her sister work out the mysteries that unfold.

What drew me originally to this book was the genre of it, I have recently been enjoying a mystery/thriller and this and the blurb instantly pulled me in. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and found my self flying through the chapters, some chapters very small which aided me in completing its.

Knife River is a beautifully written and atmospheric novel that I became completely absorbed in. It’s a slow burn thriller that looks at the relationship between two sisters- Jess and Liz- in a small town when Jess returns home after the discovery of their mother’s body. Their mother disappeared many years ago and her disappearance was barely investigated by the local police. The sisters are determined to get justice for their mother now her body has been discovered.
This is not a traditional thriller with a fast paced plot but the quality of the writing really stands out and it’s a beautiful character study that I’d recommend.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

Knife River by Justine Champine is a quality debut. It's a very well written family drama with plenty of tension throughout. It's atmospheric storytelling at its best with enough bite for any fans of mystery thrillers.

Familial Drama..
The past meets present in this slow burn, claustrophobic familial drama come mystery set in a small town seemingly frozen in time. Atmospheric with great attention to detail, keenly observed and with a deftly drawn and credible cast of characters and a gradually drawn out plot making for an intriguing and multi layered tale.