What the River Keeps

In the beautiful Pacific Northwest, a young woman’s discovery of her hidden past illuminates her present in this new novel from the award-winning author of Sugar Birds, “an engrossing tale” (Kirkus Reviews), and Leaning on Air, “an exquisitely nuanced love story” (BookTrib).

Hildy Nybo is a successful biologist, her study of the Pacific Northwest’s wild fish both a passion and a career. But behind her professional brilliance, Hildy’s reclusive private life reflects a childhood fraught with uncertainty. Despite her father’s love and her mother’s sympathy, she grew up constantly losing even her most cherished belongings, unable to recall where she misplaced them. Haunted by the confusion of those early years, she now records her life in detailed diaries and clings tightly to memory-prompting keepsakes.

Then her mother’s health fails, and Hildy accepts a job near her childhood home, joining a team of scientists who will help restore her beloved Elwha River after the demolition of two century-old dams. There Hildy settles into one of the cabins on her family’s rustic resort―a place she both loves and dreads, for reasons she can’t fully explain.

When local artist Miranda Rimmer rents an adjacent cabin for her pottery studio, Hildy shrinks from such a close neighbor. But then Miranda’s carpenter brother, Luke, shows up to help with construction and captures Hildy’s attention. Now a few years beyond a tragedy that brought him to his knees, Luke recognizes a kindred soul in Hildy, and they build a relationship that dismantles the walls Hildy’s built to keep people out. As troubling pieces of the past surface, Hildy dares to wonder if she can banish the shadows that have burdened her and follow her river’s course to freedom.

A compelling story of forgiveness, redemption, and overcoming painful secrets that explores the beauty of the natural world A poignant and emotive contemporary novel perfect for fans of Delia Owens and William Kent Krueger Includes discussion questions for book clubs

1. Opening Credits
2. Dedication
3. Epigraph
4. Prologue: Fish
5. Chapter 1: Underground
6. Chapter 2: Phone
7. Chapter 3: Meeting
8. Chapter 4: Laundry
9. Chapter 5: Weck
10. Chapter 6: U-Haul
11. Chapter 7: Decor
12. Chapter 8: Renter
13. Chapter 9: Measures
14. Chapter 10: Jangles
15. Chapter 11: Encounter
16. Chapter 12: Frame
17. Chapter 13: Worker
18. Chapter 14: Cedar
19. Chapter 15: Dave
20. Chapter 16: Tour
21. Chapter 17: History
22. Chapter 18: Evasion
23. Chapter 19: Notes
24. Chapter 20: Dance
25. Chapter 21: Sashay
26. Chapter 22: Breached
27. Chapter 23: Dock
28. Chapter 24: Vitamins
29. Chapter 25: Gathering
30. Chapter 26: Window
31. Chapter 27: Leap
32. Chapter 28: Knife
33. Chapter 29: Snorkel
34. Chapter 30: Warning
35. Chapter 31: Split
36. Chapter 32: Empty
37. Chapter 33: Siblings
38. Chapter 34: Solo
39. Chapter 35: Bryce
40. Chapter 36: Slick
41. Chapter 37: Settle
42. Chapter 38: Lunch
43. Chapter 39: Strait
44. Chapter 40: Capture
45. Chapter 41: Alert
46. Chapter 42: Cut
47. Chapter 43: Voice
48. Chapter 44: Hair
49. Chapter 45: Offline
50. Chapter 46: Shoreline
51. Chapter 47: Ceremony
52. Chapter 48: Discoveries
53. Chapter 49: Confrontations
54. Chapter 50: Find
55. Chapter 51: Process
56. Chapter 52: Confession
57. Chapter 53: Vigil
58. Chapter 54: Avulsion
59. Epilogue: Dippers
60. A Note from the Author
61. Closing Credits