The River Knows Your Name by Kelly Mustian

Set in dual timelines across Mississippi, The River Knows Your Name tells the stories of Nell and Evie, two sisters living in 1971 North Carolina, along with Becca living in 1932 Mississippi. Becca struggles as a mother to her baby in the midst of the Great Depression, while Nell discovers family secrets back waiting in Mississippi when she starts to poke into her mother’s past.

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IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THE BOOK, STOP READING! SPOILERS AHEAD

When you first start reading a dual timeline book, you assume that eventually the timelines converge somehow. They do, in fact, and the character that does it is Evie.

Nell has an inkling that Evie isn’t really her sister, as she has memories of her mother having the two girls leave town in the middle of the night. Adding to the mystery is a document pertaining to Evie tucked inside her mother’s copy of a book, along with photos from her mother’s past hidden away in the closet. She decides to visit one of the locations in the photos, unlocking not only her mother Hazel’s deeply hidden backstory, but Evie’s real identity.

Evie is the baby we see Becca struggling with in the first timeline. She was wanted by Becca, but her insane mother-in-law orchestrated a plot to have her removed from her. She made a friend of Becca’s suggest an “open room” that ended up being at a brothel, amongst other oddities I had issues with as a reader, but Becca was none the wiser. This started my disconnect from the book.

Do we get a happy ending where Becca gets to meet Evie? Yes. Is it as satisfying as I hoped? No.

I really wanted to love this one. I love historical fiction, and the setting along the Mississippi, specifically in Natchez, was intriguing to me. However, there was just so much going on, and not a lot of payoff for me.

Roses

• Southern gothic vibes
• I grew up around the Mississippi so I love seeing river stories
• I also enjoy dual timelines

Thorns

• A lot of characters
• I knew the timelines would converge but I was expecting more
• Lost me at points

3/5 stars. I have friends who loved it. Just wasn’t my cup of tea, but a fine book.