How Did "The God of the Woods" by Liz Moore End? All the Spoilers and Twists!

How did "The God of the Woods" by Liz Moore end? Have you finished reading "The God of the Woods" and you desperately need to discuss? Or maybe you read it, but can you not remember how "The God of the Woods" ends, or you want to just skip to finding out all of the spoilers? Getting refreshed on "The God of the Woods" before heading off to book club tonight? Keep reading to discuss this historical fiction novel and all of the twists and turns at the end!

 

 

Spoilers ahead!

 

How Did "James" by Percival Everett End? All the Spoilers and Twists!

 

How did "James" by Percival Everett end? Have you finished reading "James" and you desperately need to discuss? Or maybe you read it, but can you not remember how "James" ends, or do you want to just skip to finding out all the spoilers? Getting refreshed on "James" before heading off to book club tonight? Keep reading to discuss this historical fiction novel and all the twists and turns at the end!

 

 

Spoilers ahead!

 

How Did "The Frozen River" by Ariel Lawhon End? All the Spoilers and Twists!

How did "The Frozen River" by Ariel Lawhon end? Have you finished reading "The Frozen River" and you desperately need to discuss? Or maybe you read it, but can you not remember how "The Frozen River" ends, or do you want to just skip to finding out all of the spoilers? Getting refreshed on "The Frozen River" before heading off to book club tonight? Keep reading to discuss this historical fiction novel and all of the twists and turns at the end!

 

 

Spoilers ahead!

 

How Did "The Wishing Game" by Meg Shaffer End? All the Spoilers and Twists!

 

 

 

How did "The Wishing Game" by Meg Shaffer end? Have you finished reading "The Wishing Game" and now you need to discuss the ending? Can you not remember how "The Wishing Game" ends, or maybe you want to just skip to finding out all of the spoilers? Get refreshed on "The Wishing Game" before heading off to book club tonight? Keep reading to discuss this fiction novel and all of the twists and turns at the end!

 

 

Spoilers ahead!

 

 

How Did "The Wishing Game" by Meg Shaffer End?

 

What Are the Twists and Spoilers?

The plot really starts to move towards the end of the competition. After competing in several days of events, the contestants are asked to face their greatest fears. When the main character, Lucy Hart, meets her worst fear she is faced with a conversation with her long-lost older sister, Angie. Much of Lucy's child was spent at the hospital because Angie was sick as a child. Lucy's parents abandoned her, forcing her to live with her grandparents. While that abandonment was devastating, on Angie's sixteenth birthday she told her sister that she was only born as a potential donor and that no one really wanted her. Lucy had yet to speak with Angie since. However, as part of the competition, Lucy agrees to speak with Angie. During the conversation, Lucy finds out that her parents were also cruel to Angie. They only loved their eldest daughter when she was sick. When Angie wasn't ill, their parents were constantly finding opportunities to put her in other treatments, inventing illnesses and mental health conditions. Angie is also no longer communicating with their parents. Angie and Lucy part ways with lukewarm goodbyes but hope they might reconnect someday.

 

The last event could result in a winner. The last event of the competition is worth five points and could result in any of the three competitors winning. They are all told that they can phone a friend but they need to find out what is written on page 129 of "The Secret of Clock Island". Lucy worries that Christopher will not answer. After all, he is afraid of phones because his parents' phones were repeatedly ringing when they died. However, with seconds remaining, Christopher picks up the phone and gives Lucy the winning answer for the competition, "I win!"


Lucy loses the competition. Although Christopher did find the correct answer and gave it to Lucy, it was too late. Lucy answered just as the timer went off. Before the competition began, the contestants had been informed that if no one won, the book rights would remain with the publisher. Jack Masterson is disappointed and apologizes to the contestants; letting them know he will do whatever he can to make it up to them. Hugo also offers a painting of his to Christopher to soften the blow.


Jack Masterson gifts Lucy the house on Clock Island. Jack Masterson comes to Lucy and offers her the house on Clock Island. Lucy initially thinks that he means a copy of his book, however he reveals a key and offers her the house. Masterson plans on continuing to live in the house as well and hopes that Christopher can also come to stay with them after he is adopted by Lucy.


Jack reveals that Christopher has been writing him. Jack shows Lucy letters he has received from Christopher stating that he wishes to live on Clock Island. Christopher has been writing to him for several months asking Jack if he could live on Clock Island. Promising that if he got another call he would be brave and answer the call. It was not the books but Jack Masterson himself who helped Christopher overcome his fear of phones. Jack also reveals that he has spoken with his attorney to start the process of adoption for Christopher. Ms. Hyde, the attorney who we thought worked for Jack's publisher, reveals that she is confident they will be able to finish the process in a few months. Lucy accepts, saying "I win", calling back to the winning book quote from earlier in the competition.


Hugo decides to stay on the island. The book jumps ahead three months as Hugo and Jack wait for Lucy and Christopher to arrive at the airport. While they are chatting it is revealed that Jack likely paid off the student loans of Dustin, one of the contestants who was kicked out of the competition for cheating early in the game. Letting readers know that Lucy is not the only one getting her wishes filled they talk about their other contestants. A bookshop owner who was worried about finances will be hosting the release of Masterson's newest novel and the man worried for his dying father has been helped in finding a donor kidney.


Loose ends are tied up. This is definitely one of those books where every loose string is tied up in the last chapter. The author even includes that Lucy reached out to her ex-boyfriend, Sean, told him about her miscarriage, and finalized that they would not be getting back together. Lucy also visits her sister, Angie, who has three months left to live at the cancer center. Coming full circle in healing from the start of their relationship when she was never able to visit her. In one of the last scenes of the book, Hugo presents Lucy with a copy of the soon-to-be-released book, "A Wish for Clock Island" so that she can read it with Christopher in their new home as mother and son.

And that's a wrap on "The Wishing Game" by Meg Shaffer! Did I miss any twists or major ending plot points? Wanna discuss? Comment below!

How did "The Measure" by Nikki Erlick End? All the Spoilers and Twists!

 

How did "The Measure" by Nikki Erlick end? Have you finished reading "The Measure" and now you need to discuss the ending? Can you not remember how "The Measure" ends, or maybe you just want to skip finding out the summary and spoilers? Get refreshed on "The Measure" before heading off to book club tonight? Keep reading to discuss this fiction novel and all of the twists and turns at the end!

Spoilers ahead!

Book Review of "The River We Remember" by William Kent Kruger

 

 

 

I just finished reading a popular Book of the Month pick for October 2023, "The River We Remember" by William Kent Kruger. Keep reading this blog post for all of my favorite moments from the book and find out whether or not you should read it, too.

 

 

The River We Remember

by William Kent Kruger

goodreads // amazon // library

On Memorial Day in Jewel, Minnesota, the body of wealthy landowner Jimmy Quinn is found floating in the Alabaster River, dead from a shotgun blast. The investigation falls to Sheriff Brody Dern, a highly decorated war hero who still carries the physical and emotional scars from his military service. Even before Dern has the results of the autopsy, vicious rumors begin to circulate that the killer must be Noah Bluestone, a Native American WWII veteran who has recently returned to Jewel with a Japanese wife. As suspicions and accusations mount and the town teeters on the edge of more violence, Dern struggles not only to find the truth of Quinn’s murder but also put to rest the demons from his own past.

Caught up in the torrent of anger that sweeps through Jewel are a war widow and her adolescent son, the intrepid publisher of the local newspaper, an aging deputy, and a crusading female lawyer, all of whom struggle with their own tragic histories and harbor secrets that Quinn’s death threatens to expose.

Both a complex, spellbinding mystery and a masterful portrait of mid-century American life that is “a novel to cherish” (Star Tribune, Minneapolis), The River We Remember offers an unflinching look at the wounds left by the wars we fight abroad and at home, a moving exploration of the ways in which we seek to heal, and a testament to the enduring power of the stories we tell about the places we call home ( from amazon.com)

 

Book Review and Discussion of
"The River We Remember" by William Kent Kruger

 

What Worked for Me

 

Excellent plotting

 

"The River We Remember" is told from many unique perspectives, but mainly: Brody, the town sheriff, Scott, a local teenager, and Charlie, a lawyer hired to represent Noah Bluestone. Multiple POV storylines can be overdone, but this ended up being one of my favorite aspects of Kruger's approach to the story!

 

It is incredibly common for an author to use this approach but have the same information presented to the reader each time. The story becomes incredibly repetitive and this technique can really slow down the plot. Instead, Kruger made sure that each perspective felt fresh and interesting. While not straying too far from the main plot, each character's perspective had its own part to play in uncovering the truth about the case.

 

 

What I Struggled With

 

Neatly tied ending

 

I loved so much about Kruger's writing, until the very end of the novel. This book had a similar ending to, "Where the Crawdads Sing" by Delia Owens. The mystery is solved, check - and the totally unnecessary, in my opinion, are the rest of the lives of the characters. How they lived out their days after and in many cases how each of those characters died. I'd rather just imagine them all riding off into the sunset. Finding out how the town sheriff died felt anticlimactic and really took away from the mystery and ambiance of the characters.

 

 

 

 

And that's a wrap on "The River We Remember" by William Kent Kruger. Have you read this novel? If so, comment below and tell me your favorite parts or what you struggled with while reading. I'd love to chat! If you haven't read this book yet, let me know your favorite historical fiction thriller or mystery! Thanks for reading, readers! 

 

 

 

 

Want to know what happens at the end of "The River We Remember" by William Kent Kruger? Check out the blog post below for all of the spoilers and twists!

 

 

How Did "The River We Remember" by William Kent Kruger End? What was the Twist?

How did "The River We Remember" by William Kent Kruger end? Have you finished reading "The River We Remember" and now you need to discuss *that* plot twist? Can you not remember how "The River We Remember" ends, or maybe you want to just skip to finding out the spoilers? Keep reading to discuss this historical fiction thriller and all of the twists and turns!

"Across the course of his whole life, Scott Madison would never forget the scene. It would play itself out in unexpected moments, in dreams and in nightmares, in those solitary reveries he couldn't share, in the parade of all his regrets." - The River We Remember, William Kent Kruger

 

 

Spoilers ahead!

 

 

 

The River We Remember 

by William Kent Kruger 

 

amazon // goodreads // library

 

In 1958, a small Minnesota town is rocked by a shocking murder, pouring fresh fuel on old grievances in this dazzling novel, an instant New York Times bestseller and “a work of art” (The Denver Post).  On Memorial Day in Jewel, Minnesota, the body of wealthy landowner Jimmy Quinn is found floating in the Alabaster River, dead from a shotgun blast. The investigation falls to Sheriff Brody Dern, a highly decorated war hero who still carries the physical and emotional scars from his military service. Even before Dern has the results of the autopsy, vicious rumors begin to circulate that the killer must be Noah Bluestone, a Native American WWII veteran who has recently returned to Jewel with a Japanese wife. As suspicions and accusations mount and the town teeters on the edge of more violence, Dern struggles not only to find the truth of Quinn’s murder but also put to rest the demons from his own past. Caught up in the torrent of anger that sweeps through Jewel are a war widow and her adolescent son, the intrepid publisher of the local newspaper, an aging deputy, and a crusading female lawyer, all of whom struggle with their own tragic histories and harbor secrets that Quinn’s death threatens to expose. Both a complex, spellbinding mystery and a masterful portrait of mid-century American life that is “a novel to cherish” (Star Tribune, Minneapolis), The River We Remember offers an unflinching look at the wounds left by the wars we fight abroad and at home, a moving exploration of the ways in which we seek to heal, and a testament to the enduring power of the stories we tell about the places we call home. ( from amazon.com)

How Did "The River We Remember" by William Kent Kruger End?

What Are the Twists and Spoilers?

First and foremost, the most important question - who killed Jimmy Quinn? 

Jimmy Quinn was murdered by his wife Marta. Marta confesses to the town lawyer, Charlie, that she found Jimmy with their daughter, Colleen. It is clear that he is planning on raping her, something Jimmy has a history of doing to women when his current wife is sick. When Marta finds them, she shoots Jimmy with the shotgun. She then calls upon her son, J.P., and Noah to help her clean up the scene. That's why there was incriminating evidence, the bloody tarp, at Noah's property. Side plot twist, Noah is actually J.P.'s father, not Jimmy!

Ultimately, the true murderer, Marta, does not face any legal consequences and most will continue to believe that Noah committed the murder. Charlie tells Marta that her secrets are safe with her.

What happened next? Well, A LOT!

Drunk and angry, Tyler Searcy goes to the Quinn's barn, lights it on fire, and shoots a shot from his shotgun. Everyone on the scene is not sure whether Searcy killed himself, someone left inside the barn, or if he escaped. The fire is extinguished, and as it turns out, Searcy escaped through the back and is still on the loose.

While the authorities are distracted by that scene, Searcy runs back to the Bluestone place and rapes Noah's wife, Kyoko. Brody returns to the jail to tell Noah what has happened to his wife and then agrees to let Noah Bluestone see Kyoko. 

While they are driving back to his cell, Noah claims that he is going to be sick and asks Brody to park the car. But this is actually a trick to get free from the sheriff. Noah strangles Brody, just a bit so that he can get loose, and then he heads to the river to try to find Searcy. The boys, Scott and Del, are also there trying to find Searcy, too. They all converge around the same time at the Alabaster River. Creasy shoots at Bluestone, and then Scott shoots Creasy to save Del. In the end, both of the young boys are safe, but Noah and Creasy are both deceased. 

Happy ending?

At the end of "The River We Remember", a small time jump occurs and Kyoto is leaving town. She leaves her land to J.P., showing that she knows J.P. to be Noah's son.

A larger time jump occurs and we find out how most of the main character's lives are spent, and for many how they end. For example, Scott becomes a lawyer and marries Holly. He also has a procedure done to fix his heart. Del joins the Army and loses his life in Vietnam. Angie and Brodie stay together, and many years later Brody passes away after falling off a roof. 

After Brody's passing, Angie finds a lock box with a ring inside labeled with Colleen Quinn's name. This ring was found on Jimmy Quinn after he was murdered. This note lets the reader know that although Brody never heard the confession from Marta, he connected the dots and knew that Noah Bluestone was not the murderer and that the ring was for Colleen from her father.  A sinister gift considering what Jimmy planned to do to Colleen.

 

And that's a wrap on "The River We Remember" by William Kent Kruger! Did I miss any twists? Comment below! Or tell me your favorite mystery set in a small town. Thanks for reading, readers!

 

Book Review (without spoilers ) of "The River We Remember" by William Kent Kruger

Everything All At Once by Steph Catudal - Book Review and Discussion

"What a blessing and a curse to learn in an instant that pain is the intercessor of empathy." - Everything All At Once, Steph Catudal

Are you considering picking up a memoir for your next read? Check out my thoughts about a recently released memoir, " Everything All At Once" by Steph Catudal.

10 Things I Learned from "NurtureShock" by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman

I absolutely love reading parenting books, and "Nurtureshock" by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman is a new favorite. An astounding amount of research went into the creation of this non fiction book, as well as the studies that the book is based upon. There are so many interesting chunks of wisdom in "NurtureShock". Keep reading to find out ten things I learned from "Nurtureshock" by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman. 

How Did "Friends Like These" by Kimberly McCreight End? What was the Twist? Spoilers!

"But close friends can also let you get away with too much. And what feels like total acceptance, what masquerades as unconditional love, can turn toxic... letting you be your worst self just so you can be terrible together is cruelty, not kindness. And it's got nothing to do with love." - Friends Like These

How did "Friends Like These" by Kimberly McCreight end? Looking for an explanation for all those twists and turns because this thriller was super twisty! "Friends Like These" by Kimberly McCreight had a very busy and character filled plot with a major ending twist! Keep reading and remember, spoilers ahead!

How Did "Notes on an Execution" by Danya Kukafka End? Spoilers!

 

How did "Notes on an Execution" by Danya Kukafka end? Looking for a plot summary for book club or an explanation of what happens to the characters at the end? "Notes of an Execution" by Danya Kukafka is an emotionally charged literary fiction novel that left me reeling with thoughts and questions. Keep reading for a deeper dive into this heartbreaking read!