Knife River: A captivating and atmospheric slow-burn debut thriller, perfect for fans of Chris Whitaker

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*LONGLISTED FOR THE JOHN CREASEY FIRST NOVEL DAGGER FOR BEST DEBUT CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR*

Slow-burn, beautifully written and soaked with atmosphere, Knife River is the debut novel of an exciting new voice in literary crime.

'A delicious smoke curl of a novel' JODI PICOULT

'A twisting, engrossing and beautiful mystery . . . Deeply moving and powerful' CHRIS WHITAKER

First, there were my mother's bones . . .

A young woman returns home to the small, claustrophobic town of Knife River. When Jess was thirteen, her mother went for a walk and did not return - now, fifteen years later, bones have been discovered in the woods nearby.

Jess's sister has remained in their childhood home - her life, their home and the town itself seemingly frozen in time. As days turn into weeks, Jess's understanding of the past, her sister, and herself becomes more and more complicated - and the list of suspects responsible for her mother's terrible fate more and more ominous . . .

'An intelligent literary mystery with a rich sense of place and a clever plot; but it is Champine's keenly-observed depiction of the aftermath of tragedy and the corrosive impact of loss that sets this novel apart'
PAULA HAWKINS

'I couldn't put Knife River down. An incredibly compelling literary mystery. Beautifully written'
OLIVIA KIERNAN

'Both a beguiling mystery and a tender exploration of sisterhood and first love, this beautiful, deep, winding road of a novel pulled me hard into its pages and wouldn't let me go. I was captivated by this debut'
EMMA STYLES

'Atmospheric, sharp, and skilled at twisting the reader's guesses in unimaginable ways'
JODI PICOULT

'An engrossing, powerful debut with a fantastic sense of place'
T.M. LOGAN

Reviews

Knife River is an intelligent literary mystery with a rich sense of place and a clever plot; but it is Champine's keenly-observed depiction of the aftermath of tragedy and the corrosive impact of loss that sets this novel apart -- Paula Hawkins
Knife River is a delicious smoke curl of a novel: atmospheric, sharp, and skilled at twisting the reader's guesses in unimaginable ways -- Jodi Picoult

A twisting, engrossing and beautiful mystery. Thrilling, yet also deeply moving, layered and powerful

-- Chris Whitaker, bestselling author of We Begin at the End
I couldn't put Knife River down. An incredibly compelling literary mystery. Beautifully written -- Olivia Kiernan
An engrossing, powerful debut with a fantastic sense of place. * T.M. Logan *
Both a beguiling mystery and a tender exploration of sisterhood and first love, this beautiful, deep, winding road of a novel pulled me hard into its pages and wouldn't let me go. I was captivated by this debut -- Emma Styles, author of No Country for Girls
A haunting, slow burning novel full of atmosphere and heart. Dealing with the aftermath of a beloved mother's disappearance, this book is full of meditations on loss and grief, anger and fear. Clever and beautifully written, it is a satisfying and moving read. * Araminta Hall *
An atmospheric and elegant literary thriller - beautifully written. * Laure van Rensburg, author of Nobody But Us *
Beautifully written, gripping and poignant, Knife River is a moving debut about love, women and buried secrets -- Jean Kwok, New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Translation
Knife River is a gorgeous, magnetic portrait of two sisters whose lives are shattered by the loss of their mother. Part mystery, part investigation into the nature of loss, this novel is both startlingly beautiful and unputdownable. Justine Champine has written a knockout debut -- Danielle Trussoni

Author Bio

Justine Champine's short fiction has appeared in The Kenyon Review, Epoch, and The Los Angeles Review of Books. She holds an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College and is a founding member of No Tokens Journal. She lives in New York City. Knife River is her debut novel.