"A well-woven story that also plumbs the depths of the human heart, intertwining the power and wildness of the natural world and the risks people take for love. A novel about both running from the past and running after it, The River Knows Your Name woke me up early and kept me up late." ―Ash Davidson, author of Damnation Spring

"With masterful prose, Kelly Mustian weaves together a generational saga that explores the ties that bind and the forces that seek to tear them apart. The River Knows Your Name is a richly atmospheric tapestry of hidden pasts, resilient spirits, and the human heart's proclivity for tenacity and truth." ―Meagan Church, bestselling author of The Girls We Sent Away and The Last Carolina Girl

"The River Knows Your Name is a captivating tale of love, loss and found family set in the lush and wild Mississippi Delta. Mustian's plucky, determined female characters grip your heart. You won't be able to put the book down until the last puzzle piece of their dual-timeline family mystery clicks into place." ―Emily Matchar, author of In the Shadow of the Greenbrier

"Kelly Mustian is a flat-out master storyteller. With a plot as woven and tumultuous as river current, this story is a profoundly human tale simply dripping with will and strength and heart. Mustian's storytelling insists there is magnificence amidst darkness if we only persevere. I am a fan." —Andrew J. Graff, author of True North and Raft of Stars

Write your own review

Rated of 5 by Elizabeth@Silver's Reviews
Elizabeth@Silver's Reviews - Fantastic - A Must Read!!
Which character is keeping the most secrets in this beautifully written dual timeline read?

The writing and storyline are just pull-you-in amazing.

We meet Hazel, Nell, Evie, Becca, Ben, and Mildred.

Evie is the connection to both time periods and families in both the 1930s and in 1971.

We follow Becca and Evie as they go through their days without Becca’s husband and Evie’s father Ben.

Becca finds out that her nasty mother-in-law, Mildred, kept information about her husband from her, and she does some other horrible things to Becca.

We also follow Hazel, Nell, and Evie as adults as we see what their life is like now and as they try to figure out what really happened during their childhood and the secrets their mother kept.

A marvelous, heartfelt, as well as heartbreaking read with wonderful characters you will love and feel for.

You will not want to put the book down, and you will need tissues at times.

THE RIVER KNOWS YOUR NAME has intrigue and is a you-have-to-know-how-it-all-happened read and how it all turns out. 5/5

Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Rated of 5 by Susan L
The River Knows
This book swept me away like the eponymous river that ran through its pages. Becca, Lottie, Nell, Evie, and the rest of the characters jumped off the page. I felt like I knew them by the end and shared their losses and regrets. This book made me feel, in the best way. I loathed Mildred. Felt for Hazel, Evie, and Nell. Ached for Becca. It started slow, but kept pushing me forward in by inch to understand what happened and how it would all play out in the end. I highly recommend this book.

Rated of 5 by Jill
An Immersive Read
The River Knows Your Name by Kelly Mustian

This haunting atmospheric southern story paints a vivid picture of the Mississippi Delta and its people. The characters are well developed; complex and nuanced with compelling backstories. Kelly Mustian created an immersive read that engaged me from start to finish. We follow Nell and her sister, Evie, who discover their mother, Hazel, is not Evie’s mother. For nearly thirty years, Nell promised to never reveal what they found. Told in dual storylines, Nell, forty-two in 1971, delves into her past to uncover buried secrets, and Becca, a struggling young mother trying to survive during the thick of the Depression in 1930s.

A story touching upon secrets, heartache, betrayal, survival, endurance, love, family, mother-daughter relationships. Enjoyed her debut book, The Girls in the Stilt House, and I enjoyed this one, as well.

Thanks to BookBrowse and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC of this beautifully written book.

Kelly Mustian is the USA Today bestselling author of The Girls in the Stilt House and The River Knows Your Name. She is the recipient of the Mississippi Library Association's 2023 Author Award for Fiction, and The Girls in the Stilt House was shortlisted for the 2022 Crook's Corner Book Prize for best debut novel set in the American South. Her work has appeared in numerous literary journals and commercial magazines. Originally from Mississippi, she currently lives in North Carolina.