What the River Keeps

By Cheryl Grey Bostrom

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 worldA poignant and emotive contemporary novel perfect for fans of Delia Owens and William Kent KruegerIncludes discussion questions for book clubs

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1496481585
• ISBN13: 9781496481580
• Release Date: August 2025
• Publisher: Tyndale Fiction
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.4" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Beautiful story of redemption

This book was so moving! A young biologist, Hildy, had to return home after years away from her family. This was never something she was going to look forward to because of her childhood and loss. Her relationship with her mother had scarred her emotionally and the loss of her father hung heavy in her heart years after he went missing. The hardest part were the memories from her childhood that may have all been just fantasy and misremembering of details and events. She did not trust her memory of anything anymore. Hildy captured my heart right away and I loved being part of her discovery even when it was hard to fathom. So many people live every day with family dysfunction and feelings of hopelessness. Hildy had some very low moments but she kept picking herself back up and moving forward. In the midst of her constant feelings of weakness she proved over and over to be a relentlessly strong woman. Her battle for her sanity and future was a long hard-fought journey. Would the battles be worth it all in the end?