I grew up in Oregon and from an early age have fond memories of many of its rivers. The Columbia and Willamette are large and vigorous. The Deschutes is a tributary of the Columbia ambling through central Oregon. Another tributary of the Columbia is the Sandy River, much smaller, and perfect for float trips during the summer.
The author describes the river’s embracing waters ready to create memories of favorite swimming holes, perfect fishing spots, and pleasant banks for blankets and picnic baskets.
Mr. Krueger lures the reader in with the sense that this river will be a prominent player in this narrative. And it is, but perhaps not in the way you might think.
A Dark Day
The story begins in Jewel on Memorial Day in 1958 as townsfolk gather to remember and honor those who lost their lives in wars past. But then a devastating discovery shatters the event.The nearly naked body of a wealthy landowner, Jimmy Quinn, is found tangled in limbs floating in the river. Gruesomely, his body has been ravaged by channel catfish.
Celebrated as a war hero, Sheriff Brody Dern leads the investigation into Quinn’s death. Dern is not without his own demons. He bears the physical and emotional scars of his war-torn years in addition to a challenging childhood as the younger brother of his father’s favored son.
Dern calls in the former sheriff and his mentor, Conrad “Connie” Graff, to help him solve Quinn’s demise. It’s established that Quinn didn’t die from drowning but from a shotgun wound to his torso. Was it a suicide, an accident, or something more sinister?
The editor of the local newspaper, Sam Wicklow, also a veteran, hovers always near the scene to capture in words and photographs perhaps the biggest story of his career.
Quinn was a wealthy and influential landowner known for huge appetites when it came to power grabbing and exerting control. Many in the town and county feared him. He employed many on his large property.
One of those, a Native American named Noah Bluestone, is the immediate suspect. He, like Dern and Graff, is also a war veteran. Witnesses saw him arguing with Quinn the day before Quinn’s body was found.
Mr. Krueger introduces a cavalcade of red herrings and a myriad of characters that hover on the fringes as the mystery of Quinn’s death reveals itself.
There’s Quinn’s long-suffering wife Marta; Garnet Dern, Brody’s sister-in-law; Tom, his older brother; Angie Madison, who cooks up comforting food at the local restaurant, but with a past she always fears will spoil her current life; Scott, her 14-year-old son, who loves roaming the countryside with his best friend, Del Wolfe. Del Wolfe is a keen observer of the human heart. Bluestone’s wife, Kyoko, is young, beautiful and beguiling, and ever loyal to her husband Noah.
Charlotte “Charlie” Bauer is a town attorney who takes on Bluestone’s defense when he is eventually arrested as the key suspect in Quinn’s death.
What rural town wouldn’t have its rascals living in the hollows? In this story, it’s the Creasy family with Tyler Creasy emerging as one’s worst nightmare.
Mr. Krueger does a splendid job of connecting the dots between all these players and their various motivations. To say that this book is a page-turner is an underestimation. I suspect readers will devour each chapter, and barely take a breath for the next. It’s that good.
Redemption
The backdrop is the Alabaster River, specifically Inkpaduta Bend. It sets the stage metaphorically for the ebb and flow of the story’s rhythm, color, and mood. Depending on the light of day, either sunset or sunrise, twilight or under a full moon’s glow, the river can change from a tea tint to pure white.The same is true for Mr. Krueger’s characters. His players are intriguing, and his themes are rich and heartbreaking.
A term not used in the late 50s, PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), is what Brody Dern has from his time in combat and in a prisoner-of-war camp. The newspaper editor sports a prosthetic leg, a battle injury from Iwo Jima. The accused, Noah Bluestone, is a Dakota Sioux who stoically endures the prejudices of his community heightened by the fact that his wife is Japanese.
Mr. Krueger has masterfully blended the dark side of this mid-century American town and Quinn’s grisly death with the bright side of healing old wounds, wounds that are so deep yet cry out to be heard. There are many stories to be told.
Mr. Krueger alludes to the horrors of war and the effects on the human psyche. He touches on racism and domestic abuse. These are heavy and serious subjects, but he’s woven them compellingly in this drama. His messaging is effective. This spellbinding mystery reveals much about the human heart, its resilience and ability to survive and heal.
The current of the Alabaster River carries them all forward.
