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The Night the River Wept
Everybody's got good and bad in them. In the end, it just depends which side wins out.
Arlene has lived in a small town on the edge of nowhere Georgia her whole life. Now married to her long-time high school sweetheart, Tommy, Arlene is itching to start a family and become the mother she always dreamed of being. But that's proving more difficult than she thought, and Arlene is desperate to find something to do to keep her mind off things. And get some distance from her husband, who is increasingly getting on her nerves.
As the summer gives way to a chilly, lonesome fall up in the mountains of northern Georgia, she takes a part-time job bagging evidence at the local police department, which involves about twenty minutes of actual work, and the rest of her shift she reads over old cold cases. One in particular fascinates - the mysterious deaths of three young brothers murdered on Deck River, followed by the suicide of Mitchell Wright, the prime suspect in the murders. Arlene becomes obsessed with the case, and with the help of the police department's receptionist and a family friend of the Wrights, she sets out on discovering the truth. She can't help but feel that if she solves the case of the Broderick boys' deaths, she'll find her footing in her young marriage and maybe find what she's been looking for all along.
From the author of The Floating Girls , a finalist for the Townsend Prize for Fiction and a Reader's Digest Editor's Pick, Lo Patrick has once again crafted a story bursting with charm, heartbreak, and memorable characters that leap off the page, a true delight for fans of Southern fiction.
Arlene has lived in a small town on the edge of nowhere Georgia her whole life. Now married to her long-time high school sweetheart, Tommy, Arlene is itching to start a family and become the mother she always dreamed of being. But that's proving more difficult than she thought, and Arlene is desperate to find something to do to keep her mind off things. And get some distance from her husband, who is increasingly getting on her nerves.
As the summer gives way to a chilly, lonesome fall up in the mountains of northern Georgia, she takes a part-time job bagging evidence at the local police department, which involves about twenty minutes of actual work, and the rest of her shift she reads over old cold cases. One in particular fascinates - the mysterious deaths of three young brothers murdered on Deck River, followed by the suicide of Mitchell Wright, the prime suspect in the murders. Arlene becomes obsessed with the case, and with the help of the police department's receptionist and a family friend of the Wrights, she sets out on discovering the truth. She can't help but feel that if she solves the case of the Broderick boys' deaths, she'll find her footing in her young marriage and maybe find what she's been looking for all along.
From the author of The Floating Girls , a finalist for the Townsend Prize for Fiction and a Reader's Digest Editor's Pick, Lo Patrick has once again crafted a story bursting with charm, heartbreak, and memorable characters that leap off the page, a true delight for fans of Southern fiction.
400 pages, Paperback
First published July 2, 2024
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11312 people want to read
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June 29, 2024
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I am an outlier once again but this time on the positive side, I enjoyed this book. I loved Lo Patrick's first book The Floating Girls so when I saw this on NetGalley I jumped at the chance to read it and am I ever glad I did. I love Southern fiction, especially the historical variety. This one takes place in the very early oughts (historical?) but the case being looked at happened in 1983. Most of the timeline is from twenty years ago, but we get journal entries, investigation details, and discussions about what happened back then.
I found the main character, Arlene, a little annoying. She was very immature at times and her thoughts seemed to ramble. The entire book is from her perspective and there is a lot of internal dialogue. I liked this because I felt like I got to know Arlene a little better. The unsolved case gives her something to do while she mourns a lost pregnancy and deals with her husband's alcoholism.
The crime itself evoked a lot of feelings in me, the death of children is hard on the psyche. Lo Patrick writes beautiful engaging stories and she makes the setting an atmospheric part of it all, whether it be tensions between characters or the temperature I felt like I was there. I was so disturbed by how different people are treated from the other side of the tracks and so was Alrlene. If you're looking for a haunting mystery, look no further.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.
The Book Review Crew Blog
I am an outlier once again but this time on the positive side, I enjoyed this book. I loved Lo Patrick's first book The Floating Girls so when I saw this on NetGalley I jumped at the chance to read it and am I ever glad I did. I love Southern fiction, especially the historical variety. This one takes place in the very early oughts (historical?) but the case being looked at happened in 1983. Most of the timeline is from twenty years ago, but we get journal entries, investigation details, and discussions about what happened back then.
I found the main character, Arlene, a little annoying. She was very immature at times and her thoughts seemed to ramble. The entire book is from her perspective and there is a lot of internal dialogue. I liked this because I felt like I got to know Arlene a little better. The unsolved case gives her something to do while she mourns a lost pregnancy and deals with her husband's alcoholism.
The crime itself evoked a lot of feelings in me, the death of children is hard on the psyche. Lo Patrick writes beautiful engaging stories and she makes the setting an atmospheric part of it all, whether it be tensions between characters or the temperature I felt like I was there. I was so disturbed by how different people are treated from the other side of the tracks and so was Alrlene. If you're looking for a haunting mystery, look no further.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.
May 16, 2024
✰ 2.25 stars ✰
“I started to cry, but it was a frustrated, abrasive kind of crying, and I found the more I got into it, the more it took on a life of its own.”
Probably the most accurate way to describe my overall feelings after I had completed The Night the River Wept - a title so hauntingly tragic that tragically failed to live up to the tragedy it encapsulated, due to writing that sadly did not seem to take itself as seriously as the very subject matter of which it concerned. Lo Patrick's sophomore novel follows twenty-four-year old Arlene as she tries to overcome the grief of her recent miscarriage by immersing herself as an evidence tech at Faber's local police department. 'It was like they were trying to make excuses for you. I didn’t need the excuses. I needed a distraction.' While unearthing old forgotten cases, her interest is piqued by the mysterious death of the three Broderick brothers - a death that should have shocked the small town, but somehow has been left quietly buried and unresolved for nearly twenty years - until now.
“Let me track these people down. Let me figure it out. I want to crack the case. I really don’t have anything else to do.”
It pains me even more so at how difficult it was to sympathize with the protagonist, Arlene - a young woman who starts her investigation simply to fill in the free time that she has while her real estate tycoon husband, Tommy, indulges himself in alcohol and the simple pleasures of his newly rich life to the point of increasingly antagonizing her with his less than appealing ways and to not feel the shame and hurt of not having a child to her name - a shame that is also wracked with guilt over her own past grievances that she holds herself accountable for. 🙁 It is in that pursuit of busying herself to stave off her boredom that she becomes obsessed with the unsolved murder that captured her attention entirely - driving her to do everything conceivable in order to figure out what really happened.
With the need to put some form of closure to a crime that did not resolve in a fitting manner, with the murders' prime suspect - Mitchell Wright, the boyfriend of the boys' older sister - committing suicide two weeks after that painful tragedy. In her dogged attempts to retrace the past and uncover clues from those parties that were privy to the events of that time which happened when she was very much a child herself, does she start to discover parts of her own personality and bring about changes to her own lifestyle - one that might just be the very thing she needed to not feel as remorseful over the loss of her own child. 😢
“Suffocated,” I said to myself. “And suicide. God, what is this country coming to?”
I shook my head in heavy dismay. Surely nothing like this had happened before my generation got the keys to the car.”
Mainly I think my lack of really empathizing with Arlene was how her character was portrayed - a very ambitious dreamer who never seemed to settle on pretty much anything - hopping from one context to the next, which may feel like it is her way of overcoming her own grief by having the chance to save the memory of the boys' existence to feel marginally better about losing her own. 😕 It was a bit uncomfortable to have that much focus of the story featured on her miscarriage - one that wasn't quite mentioned in detail in the synopsis, itself. It was that completely uncaring way in which she presented herself - or I guess, the writing did - at how she acted and communicated - this very self-centered and opinionated manner that made it feel that she held herself above others - 'I was the one who’d started this ball rolling.' 🙄
It bothered me how she demanded attention in a righteous tone that clearly stated that since it was her own interest in finding out the truth behind their deaths, that entitled her to be lead investigator - start up her own detective agency - derive personality traits from the women connected to the crime - it all seemed so random. 'I know they died—they were murdered!” I announced somewhere between a bellow and a shriek.' 🤨 Especially when at the start, it was only about her continuously mentioning her own loss that she felt made her deserving of sympathy - not to mention, her relationship with her husband, Tommy - one that was so plagued with ups and downs - disgust and understanding - yet clearly feeling that there really is no one else she would rather be with. Even as she traced the history, I could not care about her personally - only caring about whether or not the next reveal would lead to some traceable evidence that would finally bring some peace to those boys. 😟
“A moment is nothing more than a recollection in exactly the amount of time it takes it to pass.”
Be that as it may - I have to admit that this read was not an easy one; it has me divided on how can I explain my reasoning for disappointment, when I can even argue with myself that there is a justification for the portrayal of how the characters' behaved and treated one another - simply because it is a reflection of the backward area that they are depicting. Does that make sense? 😮💨 How can you fault the writer for writing the characters the way that they were, when they're simply being who they are - coarse and unpleasant to the point where their very actions makes them as unbearable as the way they felt about each other. The tone of the writing did not do justice to the subject; a serious matter that had very unserious writing that felt at times very jarring and disjointed.
Coupled with unlikable characters who didn't generate an iota of sympathy or compassion for what happened to those young boys, nor did it genuinely seem like they cared enough about Arlene to help her - a horrific death brushed away that mirrored the lazy and ineffectual stupor that clung to its residents. 😮💨 How do I explain my frustration over what had the potential to be a riveting murder mystery that failed to emanate the full feeling of a truly heartbreaking tragedy that had been buried for twenty years, simply because the denizens of a practically crimeless small town on the edge of nowhere, Georgia' failed to see how tantamount it was not to fully let their souls rest? It was to the point where there were certain questionable writing choices that did nothing to amplify the seriousness of the situation rather was a flagrant disrespect to it, instead. 🙍🏻♀️
“People’s tragedies are not for shits and giggles, that’s for sure,” Tommy said with an inappropriate lightness, which he quickly followed up with a belly laugh. “HaHA!”
See, what I mean? 😩 There were other examples that left me stunned and severely disappointed that had the writing been more effective in making it more serious, rather than having it feel like it was a mockery of the situation. Like, I said, it could be just to show how backward-minded this area is - and how the crime is befitting of their nature - but, I just couldn't appreciate it for what it was, considering how it all comes down to trying to bring justice to these boys whose lives were tragically stolen from them. 😔
“This was the kind of place where people kept their valuables in lunch boxes and angry family friends could become cops whenever they wanted.”
The story is told through three distinctive perspectives - Arlene, the diary entries of Mitchell's sister, and the murderer, himself. Getting a first hand account from the murderer's point of view was chilling and morbid; how it lacked any source of feeling or compassion or even remorse for their actions. I have expressed my concerns over how comical the writing was that made it difficult to really get involved with the mystery, which sadly was the most compelling part of the story. I wanted to know what really happened - I wanted to learn the truth about what happened to them. 😥 And it was in the perspective of which I was not expecting to have a surprising twist to it that left me stunned for how it wasn't something that I thought even possible, but oddly enough, it was fitting. And for that, I was glad I did not abandon it, despite how many times I was annoyed at other points. 😒
It was the ending that I started to tear up - that the story truly lives up to its name. 😢 I teared up at the senseless loss of innocence, the betrayal of trust, the vindication that lacked any remorse, the silence that cost so much, the secrets that outweighed the morality of justice, the pain that the characters felt no grief, the idea that this story could have been so much more impactful had it not been riddled by writing that failed to capture how achingly tragic the whole situation was. ❤️🩹❤️🩹 It also showed how sometimes even the right thing can be done by doing wrong - how we tend to overlook what is right in front of us, simply in order for us to cope with the past we wished we could forget. A memory that ceases to be one, once it is brought to light and one that only serves to hurt and harm more, despite how helpful it really could have been.
And yet, my mind argues that it, in fact, is such a perfect depiction of how it is that very mindset that makes it so easy to believe that this is the behavior that would befall them. 🤷🏻♀️ How society failed to help those of the poor white trash, simply because of who they were - that nobody cared enough to help them; and that was a saddening if not heartbreaking truth that made me want to weep, and applaud how tragically fitting the title was. For when all was said and done, I just felt so defeated at that realization - that even if justice is served, it did not feel like a fulfilling one. 😞
*Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
“I started to cry, but it was a frustrated, abrasive kind of crying, and I found the more I got into it, the more it took on a life of its own.”
Probably the most accurate way to describe my overall feelings after I had completed The Night the River Wept - a title so hauntingly tragic that tragically failed to live up to the tragedy it encapsulated, due to writing that sadly did not seem to take itself as seriously as the very subject matter of which it concerned. Lo Patrick's sophomore novel follows twenty-four-year old Arlene as she tries to overcome the grief of her recent miscarriage by immersing herself as an evidence tech at Faber's local police department. 'It was like they were trying to make excuses for you. I didn’t need the excuses. I needed a distraction.' While unearthing old forgotten cases, her interest is piqued by the mysterious death of the three Broderick brothers - a death that should have shocked the small town, but somehow has been left quietly buried and unresolved for nearly twenty years - until now.
“Let me track these people down. Let me figure it out. I want to crack the case. I really don’t have anything else to do.”
It pains me even more so at how difficult it was to sympathize with the protagonist, Arlene - a young woman who starts her investigation simply to fill in the free time that she has while her real estate tycoon husband, Tommy, indulges himself in alcohol and the simple pleasures of his newly rich life to the point of increasingly antagonizing her with his less than appealing ways and to not feel the shame and hurt of not having a child to her name - a shame that is also wracked with guilt over her own past grievances that she holds herself accountable for. 🙁 It is in that pursuit of busying herself to stave off her boredom that she becomes obsessed with the unsolved murder that captured her attention entirely - driving her to do everything conceivable in order to figure out what really happened.
With the need to put some form of closure to a crime that did not resolve in a fitting manner, with the murders' prime suspect - Mitchell Wright, the boyfriend of the boys' older sister - committing suicide two weeks after that painful tragedy. In her dogged attempts to retrace the past and uncover clues from those parties that were privy to the events of that time which happened when she was very much a child herself, does she start to discover parts of her own personality and bring about changes to her own lifestyle - one that might just be the very thing she needed to not feel as remorseful over the loss of her own child. 😢
“Suffocated,” I said to myself. “And suicide. God, what is this country coming to?”
I shook my head in heavy dismay. Surely nothing like this had happened before my generation got the keys to the car.”
Mainly I think my lack of really empathizing with Arlene was how her character was portrayed - a very ambitious dreamer who never seemed to settle on pretty much anything - hopping from one context to the next, which may feel like it is her way of overcoming her own grief by having the chance to save the memory of the boys' existence to feel marginally better about losing her own. 😕 It was a bit uncomfortable to have that much focus of the story featured on her miscarriage - one that wasn't quite mentioned in detail in the synopsis, itself. It was that completely uncaring way in which she presented herself - or I guess, the writing did - at how she acted and communicated - this very self-centered and opinionated manner that made it feel that she held herself above others - 'I was the one who’d started this ball rolling.' 🙄
It bothered me how she demanded attention in a righteous tone that clearly stated that since it was her own interest in finding out the truth behind their deaths, that entitled her to be lead investigator - start up her own detective agency - derive personality traits from the women connected to the crime - it all seemed so random. 'I know they died—they were murdered!” I announced somewhere between a bellow and a shriek.' 🤨 Especially when at the start, it was only about her continuously mentioning her own loss that she felt made her deserving of sympathy - not to mention, her relationship with her husband, Tommy - one that was so plagued with ups and downs - disgust and understanding - yet clearly feeling that there really is no one else she would rather be with. Even as she traced the history, I could not care about her personally - only caring about whether or not the next reveal would lead to some traceable evidence that would finally bring some peace to those boys. 😟
“A moment is nothing more than a recollection in exactly the amount of time it takes it to pass.”
Be that as it may - I have to admit that this read was not an easy one; it has me divided on how can I explain my reasoning for disappointment, when I can even argue with myself that there is a justification for the portrayal of how the characters' behaved and treated one another - simply because it is a reflection of the backward area that they are depicting. Does that make sense? 😮💨 How can you fault the writer for writing the characters the way that they were, when they're simply being who they are - coarse and unpleasant to the point where their very actions makes them as unbearable as the way they felt about each other. The tone of the writing did not do justice to the subject; a serious matter that had very unserious writing that felt at times very jarring and disjointed.
Coupled with unlikable characters who didn't generate an iota of sympathy or compassion for what happened to those young boys, nor did it genuinely seem like they cared enough about Arlene to help her - a horrific death brushed away that mirrored the lazy and ineffectual stupor that clung to its residents. 😮💨 How do I explain my frustration over what had the potential to be a riveting murder mystery that failed to emanate the full feeling of a truly heartbreaking tragedy that had been buried for twenty years, simply because the denizens of a practically crimeless small town on the edge of nowhere, Georgia' failed to see how tantamount it was not to fully let their souls rest? It was to the point where there were certain questionable writing choices that did nothing to amplify the seriousness of the situation rather was a flagrant disrespect to it, instead. 🙍🏻♀️
“People’s tragedies are not for shits and giggles, that’s for sure,” Tommy said with an inappropriate lightness, which he quickly followed up with a belly laugh. “HaHA!”
See, what I mean? 😩 There were other examples that left me stunned and severely disappointed that had the writing been more effective in making it more serious, rather than having it feel like it was a mockery of the situation. Like, I said, it could be just to show how backward-minded this area is - and how the crime is befitting of their nature - but, I just couldn't appreciate it for what it was, considering how it all comes down to trying to bring justice to these boys whose lives were tragically stolen from them. 😔
“This was the kind of place where people kept their valuables in lunch boxes and angry family friends could become cops whenever they wanted.”
The story is told through three distinctive perspectives - Arlene, the diary entries of Mitchell's sister, and the murderer, himself. Getting a first hand account from the murderer's point of view was chilling and morbid; how it lacked any source of feeling or compassion or even remorse for their actions. I have expressed my concerns over how comical the writing was that made it difficult to really get involved with the mystery, which sadly was the most compelling part of the story. I wanted to know what really happened - I wanted to learn the truth about what happened to them. 😥 And it was in the perspective of which I was not expecting to have a surprising twist to it that left me stunned for how it wasn't something that I thought even possible, but oddly enough, it was fitting. And for that, I was glad I did not abandon it, despite how many times I was annoyed at other points. 😒
It was the ending that I started to tear up - that the story truly lives up to its name. 😢 I teared up at the senseless loss of innocence, the betrayal of trust, the vindication that lacked any remorse, the silence that cost so much, the secrets that outweighed the morality of justice, the pain that the characters felt no grief, the idea that this story could have been so much more impactful had it not been riddled by writing that failed to capture how achingly tragic the whole situation was. ❤️🩹❤️🩹 It also showed how sometimes even the right thing can be done by doing wrong - how we tend to overlook what is right in front of us, simply in order for us to cope with the past we wished we could forget. A memory that ceases to be one, once it is brought to light and one that only serves to hurt and harm more, despite how helpful it really could have been.
And yet, my mind argues that it, in fact, is such a perfect depiction of how it is that very mindset that makes it so easy to believe that this is the behavior that would befall them. 🤷🏻♀️ How society failed to help those of the poor white trash, simply because of who they were - that nobody cared enough to help them; and that was a saddening if not heartbreaking truth that made me want to weep, and applaud how tragically fitting the title was. For when all was said and done, I just felt so defeated at that realization - that even if justice is served, it did not feel like a fulfilling one. 😞
*Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
June 15, 2024
Arlene and Tommy are childhood sweethearts, after she suffers from a miscarriage and he’s annoying her and she needs to get out of the house. Arlene’s employed by the local police department and her job is to bag evidence, this doesn’t take her long and she starts looking at old cold case files.
Twenty years ago three young brothers were murdered on the banks of Deck River, two weeks later the main suspect Mitchell Wright, committed suicide. Arlene is intrigued by the case, the receptionist at the police department Ronna was a friend of the Wrights and they appeared to be the picture perfect family. How did their teenage son, who had a promising future end up being responsible for Cedar, Colton and Chase Broderick’ deaths and she discovers their older sister Claire was dating Mitchell at the time and they had a baby together.
I have read and enjoyed Lo Patrick's previous book, The Floating Girls, the premise for her latest novel sounded promising and I was invested at the start and unfortunately I lost interest in the narrative quickly. The death of three little boys is heartbreaking and so is having a miscarriage, finding out who killed them is a serious topic and Arlene’s character didn’t meet my expectations and don’t get me started on her reasons for trying.
I received a copy of The Night the River Wept by Lo Patrick from Sourcebooks and Edelweiss Plus in exchange for an honest review. The idea for the story is a great one, I felt the main characters let it down, and the narrative is full of hidden secrets and lies, and how people judged others from the wrong side of town and three stars from me and read the book for yourself and make up your own mind about this one!
Twenty years ago three young brothers were murdered on the banks of Deck River, two weeks later the main suspect Mitchell Wright, committed suicide. Arlene is intrigued by the case, the receptionist at the police department Ronna was a friend of the Wrights and they appeared to be the picture perfect family. How did their teenage son, who had a promising future end up being responsible for Cedar, Colton and Chase Broderick’ deaths and she discovers their older sister Claire was dating Mitchell at the time and they had a baby together.
I have read and enjoyed Lo Patrick's previous book, The Floating Girls, the premise for her latest novel sounded promising and I was invested at the start and unfortunately I lost interest in the narrative quickly. The death of three little boys is heartbreaking and so is having a miscarriage, finding out who killed them is a serious topic and Arlene’s character didn’t meet my expectations and don’t get me started on her reasons for trying.
I received a copy of The Night the River Wept by Lo Patrick from Sourcebooks and Edelweiss Plus in exchange for an honest review. The idea for the story is a great one, I felt the main characters let it down, and the narrative is full of hidden secrets and lies, and how people judged others from the wrong side of town and three stars from me and read the book for yourself and make up your own mind about this one!
August 20, 2024
I really enjoyed Lo Patrick's debut The Floating Girls and was very intrigued by the synopsis of The Night the River Wept. Her covers sucked me in both times, and I loved the southern small-town feel to the story. Arlene is the main viewpoint of the book along with chapters titled 'A Condemned Man', and I liked the variety these 2 POVs gave us though I would have been just fine with only Arlene's. I was torn on how much I liked any of the characters, but I did quite love Arlene's sass and her no-nonsense attitude.
Daniela Acitelli narrates the audiobook as Arlene while Paul Brion narrates the condemned man chapters and I really enjoyed both of them. I thought Acitelli was exceptionally great as the voice of Arlene and she made my listening experience a very happy one. This is a really slow burn, but I loved the atmosphere in the book and the plot was interesting enough that it kept me going. While this is about the mystery of who killed the 3 brothers, it is also about Arlene and her life with her husband. There was a nice touch of humor that was helpful with the heavier storyline, and while the ending didn't blow me away, I was satisfied with how everything wrapped up. If you are looking for a character-driven, slow-burn mystery with a headstrong FMC, I would recommend giving The Night the River Wept a shot.
I received a complimentary copy of this book via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Daniela Acitelli narrates the audiobook as Arlene while Paul Brion narrates the condemned man chapters and I really enjoyed both of them. I thought Acitelli was exceptionally great as the voice of Arlene and she made my listening experience a very happy one. This is a really slow burn, but I loved the atmosphere in the book and the plot was interesting enough that it kept me going. While this is about the mystery of who killed the 3 brothers, it is also about Arlene and her life with her husband. There was a nice touch of humor that was helpful with the heavier storyline, and while the ending didn't blow me away, I was satisfied with how everything wrapped up. If you are looking for a character-driven, slow-burn mystery with a headstrong FMC, I would recommend giving The Night the River Wept a shot.
I received a complimentary copy of this book via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
August 8, 2024
If you enjoy books like “Where the Crawdads Sing” and “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,” this is a book that is definitely worth adding to your reading list.
》The Night the River Wept by is a captivating Southern murder mystery that defies expectations.
》 Set in a small town on the edge of nowhere in Georgia, the story follows Arlene, a young woman desperate to find purpose and distance from her increasingly annoying husband. Arlene takes a part-time job at the local police department, where she becomes obsessed with an old cold case involving the mysterious deaths of three young brothers on Deck River. As she delves deeper into the investigation, she hopes to find her footing in her marriage and uncover hidden truths.
》Patrick’s writing bursts with charm, heartbreak, and memorable characters that leap off the page.
》Fans of Southern fiction will find this novel a true delight, as it weaves themes of addiction, loss, resilience, and community bonds. A gripping read that keeps you guessing until the very end!
》The Night the River Wept by is a captivating Southern murder mystery that defies expectations.
》 Set in a small town on the edge of nowhere in Georgia, the story follows Arlene, a young woman desperate to find purpose and distance from her increasingly annoying husband. Arlene takes a part-time job at the local police department, where she becomes obsessed with an old cold case involving the mysterious deaths of three young brothers on Deck River. As she delves deeper into the investigation, she hopes to find her footing in her marriage and uncover hidden truths.
》Patrick’s writing bursts with charm, heartbreak, and memorable characters that leap off the page.
》Fans of Southern fiction will find this novel a true delight, as it weaves themes of addiction, loss, resilience, and community bonds. A gripping read that keeps you guessing until the very end!
May 16, 2024
I absolutely loved Lo Patrick’s first book, so it pains me to give this one such a low rating. Unfortunately, it felt like the two were written by completely different people. This one started off ok. A woman takes a part-time job at the police department and starts investigating a cold case. However, as more characters were introduced, the plot grew stranger and became increasingly disjointed. There was a central mystery involving the deaths of three boys, but this was overshadowed by so much other unnecessary stuff going on in the plot. Much of the characters’ actions seemed haphazard and, at times, silly. There was an attempted twist towards the end, but I found it to be completely far fetched. I feel like this could have used some serious editing. I really hope Patrick’s next book is more like her first.
Many thanks to Netgalley, Edelweiss, Sourcebooks Landmark and Lo Patrick for my complimentary e-copy ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Many thanks to Netgalley, Edelweiss, Sourcebooks Landmark and Lo Patrick for my complimentary e-copy ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
July 26, 2024
The early 80s small town Georgia cold case murder investigation that managed to highlight exactly what it means for children to grow up on the wrong side of the tracks. It’s a slow paced tale that digs deep into the heart of the class divide and just how far some people will go to protect the ones they love. This one hits different and I encourage you to give it a chance.
# The Night the River Wept
# 7/25/2024 ~ 7/26/2024
# 4.0 / 5.0
# The Night the River Wept
# 7/25/2024 ~ 7/26/2024
# 4.0 / 5.0
July 2, 2024
The author of the acclaimed debut, The Floating Girls, Lo Patrick, returns with her latest novel, THE NIGHT THE RIVER WEPT, another gripping, haunting Southern tale of heartache, trauma, crime, tragedy, wit, and dark secrets from past to present in this story of good versus evil in a small rural North Georgia town.
About...
How do three little boys get murdered in the middle of the evening right after Thanksgiving and then nothing is done about it for nearly two decades? Faber prided itself on its sense of community—a responsibility that was completely ignored.
PRESENT: Arlene is married to high school sweetheart Tommy and has lived in a small Georgia town her entire life. She wants more than anything to start a family and be a mother, but that has not worked out. She blames herself for her miscarriage.
PAST: Cedar, Colton, and Chase Broderick (brothers) died in November of 1983 on the edge of Deck River. Three innocent boys. Someone took their lives. They were suffocated. Who was the real murderer, and what was the motive? They thought the murderer was the one who committed suicide. But is the real murderer still living among them? Who helped cover it up?
It did not start with the murder or the memory of them, but it began with Arlene's miscarriage. The loss of her baby and the tragic murder of the Brodericks are intertwined in her mind, leading to a deep sense of unhappiness and guilt.
She drives to the police department and tells them she wants to be a detective. (sure, sign her up)? The next day, the Captain of the Faber Police Department called, looked over her application, and offered her a part-time job tagging evidence.
It does not take her long before she starts looking into cold cases. Twenty years earlier, three young brothers were murdered on the banks of Deck River; two weeks later, the main suspect, Mitchell Wright, committed suicide.
Arlene is intrigued by the case. The police department receptionist, Ronna, was a friend of the Wrights, and they appeared to be the picture-perfect family. She wants to make sense of things.
In the meantime, Arlene and Tommy do not get along. They constantly bicker back and forth. He drinks too much. Arlene is bored. He is supposed to be a high-powered real estate guy with his wife working for minimum wage at a local lockup (or so he says) that he thinks is nuts. He gets on Arlene's last nerve.
It is funny that Tommy thinks he is a big real estate tycoon when he is in commercial real estate selling strip space to a tire company and is embarrassed that his wife is working at a local lock-up making minimum wage. Arlene definitely puts him in his place, and in the end, they respect one another. He is more interested in golf, homes, society, and the right people, and Arlene is after a career, motherhood, or something to make her feel important and wants to be a detective. But in the end, after all is said and done, she finds her path.
Told from Arlene's POV, Natalie Wright's Journal entries from 1982-1984 (including removed pages from journal), and a condemned man (a sicko murderer, disturbing and unsettling), the narrative style of the book is as intriguing as the story itself.
The ongoing mystery revolves around the murderer's identity and all those who played a part in the coverup. Will there finally be justice for the boys? Natalie's journal entries are an essential key to solving the case.
My thoughts...
It is quite a challenging task to review a book with such a rich emotional tapestry with many conflicting emotions. The present is filled with humor, snark, and witty banter, particularly between Arlene, Tommy, and the women, which can be quite entertaining.
However, the past storyline, with its heart-wrenching murder and the surrounding mystery, is haunting, serious, heavy, dark, disturbing, and deeply unsettling. The book's direction is conflicting, a puzzle, and deciphering it is part of the reader's journey. This one will receive many different reviews and discussions, which would probably make it a good book club choice.
QUESTION: Is it a murder mystery, domestic suspense, literary, sleuth-detective mystery, historical narrative, Southern fiction, a coming-of-age story, a humor-filled family drama, or a satire? The book's genre is a delightful mystery in itself, keeping readers guessing and engaged. It blends drama, dysfunction, bleakness, darkness, and wit, making it a unique and intriguing read. But are you supposed to laugh or cry? There are very mixed signals and the overall tone of the book that will have trying to determine its direction.
While I sympathized with the struggles of the town and the poor uneducated families, the heartbreak, its characters, the poverty, the abuse, neglect, their dead-end lives, deaths, secrets, mental illness, and their losses, I think I enjoyed the murder historical part more than the present contemporary which overshadowed the murder mystery which should have been the main focus in my opinion.
This could have been a brilliant murder mystery, but the present-day back-bickering (about useless things) and dark humor did not fit with the overall theme. Maybe I read too many detective cop procedurals, and this one did not measure up there. It seemed disjointed and other reviewers have commented on this, with which I tend to agree.
The book delves into the lives of the 'haves' and 'have nots', those from the wrong side of town. It's a narrative filled with judgments, speculations, jealousy, mistrust, lies, and SECRETS in a small rural town, making for a compelling but questionable read.
Maybe because these ladies are not professional detectives but amateur sleuths (at best) which leaves you shaking your head at some of the things they do and think. Not by the book of course. Most books today, when looking at cold cases, involve a podcast, blog, social media, or sharp new detectives with new DNA. However, here we rely on two women with no education or credentials to be detectives or sleuths without proper evidence or protocols. Not their roles; however, they are tenacious and get the end result, but in a very untraditional way. Most definitely, not professional and by the book. So I would not take the investigation too seriously. They are impulsive and fly by the seat of their pants with no backup.
We are talking about a receptionist and an evidence bag tagger. How did they have enough time to be off sleuthing all the time? There is a lot of jealousy, bickering, lies, betrayal, and protecting one another. Then you have Alaina in the mix, further complicating the trio. Or did the writer portray the actual people who see things differently than the norm?
Arlene's obsession with the murders gave her purpose when she had nothing else eventful in her personal life. She wants to be a detective and make a name for herself, and all her husband, Tommy, wants is to attend dinner parties, golf, drink, connection, and mingle with the right people in upscale neighborhoods and pools. What is hilarious is that Tommy thinks Arlene is cheating on him with the women in her detective's club.
Arlene is quite naive at times for someone of her age. These women seemed like teens or younger. In the end, on her road to self-discovery, she learned something about herself and her marriage.
Overall, THE NIGHT THE RIVER WEPT is a haunting dark story of rural Georgia, gloom, sadness, and murder. However, the author uses the dialect of her characters cleverly for humor to balance the darkness. These small-town folks are a tangled mess. Almost a poor rural version of Big Little Lies.
You may reach a different conclusion after reading. I urge you to read and draw your own. Can you ever escape your past? PS There are several trigger warnings.
Recs... I'm sorry, but there are no recommendations here to compare to. I cannot think of any other book to compare this to. I have never read anything quite like it.
Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for providing a digital advanced reading copy.
blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 3.5 Stars (rounded to 4)
Pub Date: July 2, 2024
July 2024 Must-Read Books
July Newsletter
About...
How do three little boys get murdered in the middle of the evening right after Thanksgiving and then nothing is done about it for nearly two decades? Faber prided itself on its sense of community—a responsibility that was completely ignored.
PRESENT: Arlene is married to high school sweetheart Tommy and has lived in a small Georgia town her entire life. She wants more than anything to start a family and be a mother, but that has not worked out. She blames herself for her miscarriage.
PAST: Cedar, Colton, and Chase Broderick (brothers) died in November of 1983 on the edge of Deck River. Three innocent boys. Someone took their lives. They were suffocated. Who was the real murderer, and what was the motive? They thought the murderer was the one who committed suicide. But is the real murderer still living among them? Who helped cover it up?
It did not start with the murder or the memory of them, but it began with Arlene's miscarriage. The loss of her baby and the tragic murder of the Brodericks are intertwined in her mind, leading to a deep sense of unhappiness and guilt.
She drives to the police department and tells them she wants to be a detective. (sure, sign her up)? The next day, the Captain of the Faber Police Department called, looked over her application, and offered her a part-time job tagging evidence.
It does not take her long before she starts looking into cold cases. Twenty years earlier, three young brothers were murdered on the banks of Deck River; two weeks later, the main suspect, Mitchell Wright, committed suicide.
Arlene is intrigued by the case. The police department receptionist, Ronna, was a friend of the Wrights, and they appeared to be the picture-perfect family. She wants to make sense of things.
In the meantime, Arlene and Tommy do not get along. They constantly bicker back and forth. He drinks too much. Arlene is bored. He is supposed to be a high-powered real estate guy with his wife working for minimum wage at a local lockup (or so he says) that he thinks is nuts. He gets on Arlene's last nerve.
It is funny that Tommy thinks he is a big real estate tycoon when he is in commercial real estate selling strip space to a tire company and is embarrassed that his wife is working at a local lock-up making minimum wage. Arlene definitely puts him in his place, and in the end, they respect one another. He is more interested in golf, homes, society, and the right people, and Arlene is after a career, motherhood, or something to make her feel important and wants to be a detective. But in the end, after all is said and done, she finds her path.
Told from Arlene's POV, Natalie Wright's Journal entries from 1982-1984 (including removed pages from journal), and a condemned man (a sicko murderer, disturbing and unsettling), the narrative style of the book is as intriguing as the story itself.
The ongoing mystery revolves around the murderer's identity and all those who played a part in the coverup. Will there finally be justice for the boys? Natalie's journal entries are an essential key to solving the case.
My thoughts...
It is quite a challenging task to review a book with such a rich emotional tapestry with many conflicting emotions. The present is filled with humor, snark, and witty banter, particularly between Arlene, Tommy, and the women, which can be quite entertaining.
However, the past storyline, with its heart-wrenching murder and the surrounding mystery, is haunting, serious, heavy, dark, disturbing, and deeply unsettling. The book's direction is conflicting, a puzzle, and deciphering it is part of the reader's journey. This one will receive many different reviews and discussions, which would probably make it a good book club choice.
QUESTION: Is it a murder mystery, domestic suspense, literary, sleuth-detective mystery, historical narrative, Southern fiction, a coming-of-age story, a humor-filled family drama, or a satire? The book's genre is a delightful mystery in itself, keeping readers guessing and engaged. It blends drama, dysfunction, bleakness, darkness, and wit, making it a unique and intriguing read. But are you supposed to laugh or cry? There are very mixed signals and the overall tone of the book that will have trying to determine its direction.
While I sympathized with the struggles of the town and the poor uneducated families, the heartbreak, its characters, the poverty, the abuse, neglect, their dead-end lives, deaths, secrets, mental illness, and their losses, I think I enjoyed the murder historical part more than the present contemporary which overshadowed the murder mystery which should have been the main focus in my opinion.
This could have been a brilliant murder mystery, but the present-day back-bickering (about useless things) and dark humor did not fit with the overall theme. Maybe I read too many detective cop procedurals, and this one did not measure up there. It seemed disjointed and other reviewers have commented on this, with which I tend to agree.
The book delves into the lives of the 'haves' and 'have nots', those from the wrong side of town. It's a narrative filled with judgments, speculations, jealousy, mistrust, lies, and SECRETS in a small rural town, making for a compelling but questionable read.
Maybe because these ladies are not professional detectives but amateur sleuths (at best) which leaves you shaking your head at some of the things they do and think. Not by the book of course. Most books today, when looking at cold cases, involve a podcast, blog, social media, or sharp new detectives with new DNA. However, here we rely on two women with no education or credentials to be detectives or sleuths without proper evidence or protocols. Not their roles; however, they are tenacious and get the end result, but in a very untraditional way. Most definitely, not professional and by the book. So I would not take the investigation too seriously. They are impulsive and fly by the seat of their pants with no backup.
We are talking about a receptionist and an evidence bag tagger. How did they have enough time to be off sleuthing all the time? There is a lot of jealousy, bickering, lies, betrayal, and protecting one another. Then you have Alaina in the mix, further complicating the trio. Or did the writer portray the actual people who see things differently than the norm?
Arlene's obsession with the murders gave her purpose when she had nothing else eventful in her personal life. She wants to be a detective and make a name for herself, and all her husband, Tommy, wants is to attend dinner parties, golf, drink, connection, and mingle with the right people in upscale neighborhoods and pools. What is hilarious is that Tommy thinks Arlene is cheating on him with the women in her detective's club.
Arlene is quite naive at times for someone of her age. These women seemed like teens or younger. In the end, on her road to self-discovery, she learned something about herself and her marriage.
Overall, THE NIGHT THE RIVER WEPT is a haunting dark story of rural Georgia, gloom, sadness, and murder. However, the author uses the dialect of her characters cleverly for humor to balance the darkness. These small-town folks are a tangled mess. Almost a poor rural version of Big Little Lies.
You may reach a different conclusion after reading. I urge you to read and draw your own. Can you ever escape your past? PS There are several trigger warnings.
Recs... I'm sorry, but there are no recommendations here to compare to. I cannot think of any other book to compare this to. I have never read anything quite like it.
Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for providing a digital advanced reading copy.
blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 3.5 Stars (rounded to 4)
Pub Date: July 2, 2024
July 2024 Must-Read Books
July Newsletter
April 21, 2024
I’m someone that usually sticks with a book even if it stinks. This book however was beyond fixing. I scrolled through the end just to see the outcome because I couldn’t spend another minute reading this main characters thoughts. I didn’t like any character and the plot was sad and not planned out very well. I was not a fan of the author writing style and felt it a little messy. I was given this book from Netgalley and was very excited to read it, but I gotta say, I was unimpressed. I would give the author another chance in the hopes the writing would get better with age. Overall just very disappointed.
July 1, 2024
Unfortunately this one just wasn't for me. I didn't connect with any of the characters and although the storyline started off strong, it started to drag and felt like it could have wrapped up much sooner.
With that being said, I still plan on giving The Floating Girls a try.
My thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark for my gifted copy!
Content Warnings: Death Of Children/Child Abuse/Miscarriage/Murder/Rape/Postpartum Depression/Substance Abuse
With that being said, I still plan on giving The Floating Girls a try.
My thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark for my gifted copy!
Content Warnings: Death Of Children/Child Abuse/Miscarriage/Murder/Rape/Postpartum Depression/Substance Abuse
November 3, 2025
Almost 4… I listened to this one. Enjoyed her writing very much, her insightful thoughts about the location and its people, and the story was compelling.
June 28, 2024
I loved the Floating Girls so I was excited for this one but it just did not do it for me. The main character was very odd. I did not understand her at all. She felt much younger than she was; so naive and immature and just said very strange things. While I could appreciate the mystery itself, how was this random woman off the street allowed to work as a detective and open a cold case.
March 17, 2024
As winding as a river can be; this novel is intense, disturbing, and chilling as the events unfurl from years ago revealing what led to the murders of three little boys on the banks of the Deck River. No witnesses ever came forward and no one ever confessed until Arlene Ridel goes to work for the local police and delves into this cold case.
Having read Lo Patrick’s first novel and really enjoyed it; I wasn’t expecting this grittier, dark tale that set me on edge. I suspected one person, for sure, early on in the story. But, I didn’t know the killer until the author finally singled them out at the end. Author Patrick writes country well, with the slang and speech of Southern people.
I really thought this would be more of a women’s fiction novel than it was when I requested an ARC. I do admire Ms. Patrick for keeping each character’s train of thought clear as she spun this web of intrigue and managed to make sense of every character’s involvement. Overall, the story was too deep and troubling for my taste; however, many readers will enjoy it!
I honestly reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and Sourcebook Landmark. All opinions are my own.
Having read Lo Patrick’s first novel and really enjoyed it; I wasn’t expecting this grittier, dark tale that set me on edge. I suspected one person, for sure, early on in the story. But, I didn’t know the killer until the author finally singled them out at the end. Author Patrick writes country well, with the slang and speech of Southern people.
I really thought this would be more of a women’s fiction novel than it was when I requested an ARC. I do admire Ms. Patrick for keeping each character’s train of thought clear as she spun this web of intrigue and managed to make sense of every character’s involvement. Overall, the story was too deep and troubling for my taste; however, many readers will enjoy it!
I honestly reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and Sourcebook Landmark. All opinions are my own.
September 10, 2024
An addictive page turner. This book is about a cold case murder of three boys who died by the river. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, so you should know that going into it. This book is if Legally Blonde meets Grumpy Old Men but the men are women and then they solve a cold case murder and that is this book.
Read
April 7, 2025Did not finish. I could not get into this at all. I did not care one bit if they figured out the mystery or who did it! The main character is so aloof and I was not invested.
September 11, 2024
This was actually a very enjoyable book! It was about three murders that took place in a small town over 20 years ago. The main character, who was only 7 when the murders took place, is now in her thirties and living in the same town. She is married to a man who is very sweet but so incredibly tone def and unaware. When she miscarries and is unable to have children, the boredom and the silence when her husband is away, mixed with his alcoholism and inability to empathize with his wife, threatens to take her under. Despite her husband having a very successful career she decides to look for part time jobs to pass the time and take her mind off of all of the negative thoughts that are plaguing her - anxieties about being boring and not interesting enough, feeling like her life was already over and that she had never accomplished anything great, feeling like her relationship with her husband was not what it used to be - etc.
She finally lands on a part time job at the local police station bagging evidence. What started as a silly distraction soon turns into an all-out obsession as she happens to one day stumble upon an especially eerie case file - of a gruesome homicide with three victims - all under the age of ten. She’s shocked to see that despite being by far the most gruesome crime in the history of the small, southern town where you usually wouldn’t expect to read about anything worse than a bar fight or a D.U.I, the case was still unsolved 20+ years later. Something about the situation captivates her imagination and kicks her out of the dreary, half - dead stupor she had been wading in since the miscarriage. With special permission from the police chief she reopens the case, and takes a stab at solving the case and getting to the root of the mystery, once and for all.
The inner dialogue of the main character was very unique. I was able to relate on a lot of points; I’ve been on the same wavelength as the author/mc many times before. I also thought of alishma like the entire time I was reading. I feel like she’d be able to relate on a lot of the inner dialogue/ thought patterns of the mc as well. I don’t think it’s her type of book though - it’s pretty dreary at some parts, and I feel like she would get bored.
All in all, good book, never failed to keep me entertained on my travels.
She finally lands on a part time job at the local police station bagging evidence. What started as a silly distraction soon turns into an all-out obsession as she happens to one day stumble upon an especially eerie case file - of a gruesome homicide with three victims - all under the age of ten. She’s shocked to see that despite being by far the most gruesome crime in the history of the small, southern town where you usually wouldn’t expect to read about anything worse than a bar fight or a D.U.I, the case was still unsolved 20+ years later. Something about the situation captivates her imagination and kicks her out of the dreary, half - dead stupor she had been wading in since the miscarriage. With special permission from the police chief she reopens the case, and takes a stab at solving the case and getting to the root of the mystery, once and for all.
The inner dialogue of the main character was very unique. I was able to relate on a lot of points; I’ve been on the same wavelength as the author/mc many times before. I also thought of alishma like the entire time I was reading. I feel like she’d be able to relate on a lot of the inner dialogue/ thought patterns of the mc as well. I don’t think it’s her type of book though - it’s pretty dreary at some parts, and I feel like she would get bored.
All in all, good book, never failed to keep me entertained on my travels.
February 4, 2025
So I liked it — but could understand criticism of anyone who didn’t. The writing of the protagonist is so quirky… she’s a strange little bird, is the best way I can describe it. All of the characters, really, are written with this odd quirky style. I could imagine this is likely what turned people off from the book and made it unbearable to read through. Personally, though, I thought it was fine and added to the intrigue around the mystery since she was so all over the place and at times difficult to get straight. I liked the change in narrator to the killer at random chapters, even though I felt it was a bit obvious who it was a little early on. And I think as a whole, the first 3/4 of the book was written much better than the ending.
September 4, 2024
A bored housewife trying to get through a personal grief and a struggling marriage minds fulfillment investigating a triple murder and the suspect’s subsequent suicide. After the debut of The Floating Girls and my recent interest in Southern Fiction, I was keen to pick up the latest release from Lo Patrick. While something of a different animal when it comes to story, The Night the River Wept reprised the author’s wry style of writing, a full immersion for the reader into the setting, an engagement of senses and emotions, and a twisting path to the reveal.
The Night the River Wept exercised a push-pull on me from the get-go. I didn’t fully warm to the story, but at the same time, I was aware the writing was really good.
The reason for my struggle was the main protagonist, Arlene. I got used to her and was settled into acceptance by the end. In the beginning, however, Arlene danced on my nerves. I felt guilty about this because the woman had lost her child and lost her way as a result. She’s a bored housewife and wants a job as a detective to stave off boredom (she ends up getting hired part-time to tag and store evidence). She married her high school sweetheart, Tommy, who drinks heavily, golfs, and yearns for the country club life.
Tommy and Arlene are small potatoes in the big wide world outside their Northern Georgia town, but Tommy is recently wealthy real estate developer (this comes in all capital letters and a big shining marquee in his own mind). He wants in on the area high society group and Arlene just won’t get with the program which causes contention.
Instead, she’s content to work for the local police in a low-paid position with grandiose ideas of being the detective who solves a twenty year old cold case once she realizes the office gal has a connection to the deceased suspect. And, her coworker is unconvinced to this day that Mitchell had it in him to murder three young boys. Reading through reports, papers, and sifting evidence keeps Arlene busy, but is she also stirring up the dark shadows where the true murderer might lurk if Mitchell was innocent?
There are several complex elements addressed in this one and some not always handled in a way I was comfortable. I will say that I get that everyone processes grief differently. In Arlene and Tommy’s case, they get almost flippant about their miscarriage though I suspect this was meant for a defense mechanism. Arlene gets lost in her head a lot and I was okay with it, but sometimes just wanted things to move along. There’s a class difference ‘wrong side of the tracks’ side to the murder investigation that was sad. And, of course a marriage that was rocky, but Arlene wanted to work at it.
The story is a split timeline piece with Arlene’s narration anchoring the contemporary end and her investigation including the diary of the suspect, Mitchell Wright’s sister Natalie’s diary having some narration that shows the 1983 time frame. And, then there are little forays into the murder’s point of view. The past murder was dark and tragic and those ominous atmospheric overtones the author is great at writing just added to the tension as the cold case mystery developed and revealed.
In the end, I had mixed feelings. I was glad to have read The Night the River Wept, but I like The Floating Girls better. Lo Patrick has found her niche writing Southern Fiction and making her book a full-sensory reading experience. Those who can read a story with flawed character protagonists and a cross between women’s fiction and mystery should give this a try.
I rec'd an eARC via NetGalley to read in exchange for an honest review.
My full review will post at Caffeinated Reviewer 8.21.24.
The Night the River Wept exercised a push-pull on me from the get-go. I didn’t fully warm to the story, but at the same time, I was aware the writing was really good.
The reason for my struggle was the main protagonist, Arlene. I got used to her and was settled into acceptance by the end. In the beginning, however, Arlene danced on my nerves. I felt guilty about this because the woman had lost her child and lost her way as a result. She’s a bored housewife and wants a job as a detective to stave off boredom (she ends up getting hired part-time to tag and store evidence). She married her high school sweetheart, Tommy, who drinks heavily, golfs, and yearns for the country club life.
Tommy and Arlene are small potatoes in the big wide world outside their Northern Georgia town, but Tommy is recently wealthy real estate developer (this comes in all capital letters and a big shining marquee in his own mind). He wants in on the area high society group and Arlene just won’t get with the program which causes contention.
Instead, she’s content to work for the local police in a low-paid position with grandiose ideas of being the detective who solves a twenty year old cold case once she realizes the office gal has a connection to the deceased suspect. And, her coworker is unconvinced to this day that Mitchell had it in him to murder three young boys. Reading through reports, papers, and sifting evidence keeps Arlene busy, but is she also stirring up the dark shadows where the true murderer might lurk if Mitchell was innocent?
There are several complex elements addressed in this one and some not always handled in a way I was comfortable. I will say that I get that everyone processes grief differently. In Arlene and Tommy’s case, they get almost flippant about their miscarriage though I suspect this was meant for a defense mechanism. Arlene gets lost in her head a lot and I was okay with it, but sometimes just wanted things to move along. There’s a class difference ‘wrong side of the tracks’ side to the murder investigation that was sad. And, of course a marriage that was rocky, but Arlene wanted to work at it.
The story is a split timeline piece with Arlene’s narration anchoring the contemporary end and her investigation including the diary of the suspect, Mitchell Wright’s sister Natalie’s diary having some narration that shows the 1983 time frame. And, then there are little forays into the murder’s point of view. The past murder was dark and tragic and those ominous atmospheric overtones the author is great at writing just added to the tension as the cold case mystery developed and revealed.
In the end, I had mixed feelings. I was glad to have read The Night the River Wept, but I like The Floating Girls better. Lo Patrick has found her niche writing Southern Fiction and making her book a full-sensory reading experience. Those who can read a story with flawed character protagonists and a cross between women’s fiction and mystery should give this a try.
I rec'd an eARC via NetGalley to read in exchange for an honest review.
My full review will post at Caffeinated Reviewer 8.21.24.
May 30, 2024
3.5/5
Thank you @netgalley @bookmarked #partner for the free copy of this eARC!
Set in a small middle of nowhere town in Georgia this story picks up with a high school romance and relationship between Arlene and Tommy. Arlene is looking for something to fulfill her soul and fill her time as she increasingly gets a little frustrated with the changes she’s seeing in her husband Tommy. His drinking is starting to become a problem and she looks for something else. She finds a job working at the police department bagging evidence and since there isn’t a lot to do it leaves her with spare time to poke around in those rooms. She starts to look into a cold case that left three brother laying next to each other on a riverbank nearby. To top it off a suicide followed soon thereafter of the main suspect. Arlene becomes obsessed with this case and with the help of some other small town sleuths she sets out to uncover the truth of what happened.
I say this was written by the same author as The Floating Girls which has been on my TBR for a while so I jumped at the chance to start this one! I thought this was a solid small town cold case whodunnit. The mystery and history behind these poor boys deaths were hard to stomach at times given their background was already so hard! I also enjoyed the fact that Arlene dug into this crime in her spare time. Hey, if the police aren’t going to do it, someone has to! 😅 I did feel at times this story was a little slow with pacing but overall felt like if you are a fan of small town mysteries mixed with local gossip and relationship struggles this book is for you!
Thank you @netgalley @bookmarked #partner for the free copy of this eARC!
Set in a small middle of nowhere town in Georgia this story picks up with a high school romance and relationship between Arlene and Tommy. Arlene is looking for something to fulfill her soul and fill her time as she increasingly gets a little frustrated with the changes she’s seeing in her husband Tommy. His drinking is starting to become a problem and she looks for something else. She finds a job working at the police department bagging evidence and since there isn’t a lot to do it leaves her with spare time to poke around in those rooms. She starts to look into a cold case that left three brother laying next to each other on a riverbank nearby. To top it off a suicide followed soon thereafter of the main suspect. Arlene becomes obsessed with this case and with the help of some other small town sleuths she sets out to uncover the truth of what happened.
I say this was written by the same author as The Floating Girls which has been on my TBR for a while so I jumped at the chance to start this one! I thought this was a solid small town cold case whodunnit. The mystery and history behind these poor boys deaths were hard to stomach at times given their background was already so hard! I also enjoyed the fact that Arlene dug into this crime in her spare time. Hey, if the police aren’t going to do it, someone has to! 😅 I did feel at times this story was a little slow with pacing but overall felt like if you are a fan of small town mysteries mixed with local gossip and relationship struggles this book is for you!
March 7, 2024
Arlene struggles with grief following her miscarriage. To take her mind off things she gets a job as a "tag and bagger" at the local sheriff's department in small town Faber. While in the basement waiting for evidence, the lecherous sheriff allows Arlene to look into a cold case to see if she can solve it. [Right here I'm like, Seriously??] The case involves the deaths of three young brothers who came from the "wrong side" of town, their sister who gave birth to a baby fathered by their father and whom the sister abandons with her boyfriend (the "supposed" baby-daddy), who then hangs himself, and some hardly visible character names J.P. who works in a stable.
Lo Patrick's second book, The Night the River Wept, does have some charm. Arlene is quite clever for as simple as she sounds and she reads like the type of person "pert near anyone" could get along with. There are a few scenes that are humorous but wholly out of line with the plot, and I did appreciate the small-town references. But the charm wanes and the reader is left with a slow-moving, implausible, shallow story that was, at times, a chore to get through.
I didn't hate The Night the River Wept, I just didn't see the reason for reading it. The writing was good enough that I wouldn't completely discount giving Patrick's other book a go.
Lo Patrick's second book, The Night the River Wept, does have some charm. Arlene is quite clever for as simple as she sounds and she reads like the type of person "pert near anyone" could get along with. There are a few scenes that are humorous but wholly out of line with the plot, and I did appreciate the small-town references. But the charm wanes and the reader is left with a slow-moving, implausible, shallow story that was, at times, a chore to get through.
I didn't hate The Night the River Wept, I just didn't see the reason for reading it. The writing was good enough that I wouldn't completely discount giving Patrick's other book a go.
June 16, 2024
Small southern towns and all their dark secrets. There is good and there is evil. Arlene dealing with her own loss, finds a part-time job. I was not enamored of her husband. This could have triggers. The ending left me sitting on the front porch saying what? Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley. I freely share my thoughts and opinions. Nothing was requested or expected from me. #TheNighttheRiverWept #LoPatrick #SourcebooksLandmark #NetGalley
September 13, 2024
I felt like this book had so much potential that just fell flat. The plot tried too hard and there were parts that were just too ridiculous to be believable. The main character was not likeable at all. She came off as whiny and obnoxious. The only saving grace and why it got 2 and not one star was occasionally there would be good one liners that would make me laugh. Otherwise, a drawn out, obnoxious read
September 7, 2024
I had the pleasure of reading Lo Patrick's debut novel, "The Floating Girls" and absolutely loved it. This, her second novel, was equally well written, but I didn't connect with it quite as well.
Arlene, the protagonist, was a woman I didn't immediately take to. She seemed vacuous, shallow, and immature. As time went on, I realized that due to her young age (24), and her lack of life experience, she would grow on me. After a miscarriage, Arlene is in limbo. Married to an alcoholic, though charming real estate agent, she doesn't work outside the home and she is BORED! She naively decides she wants to work at the town's police station and after a brief interview she is hired. She is to work part-time, in the basement of the police station, tagging evidence. This is mind-numbing work, and to distract herself in the quiet times (of which there are plenty), she starts reading the cold case files which are stored near her desk.
Arlene reads of a tragic case that happened near her small Georgia town almost two decades previously. Three small boys were found dead on the river bank. They had not drowned, but were suffocated! The boys had a tragic history. Their mother had died in childbirth, their father was a drug addict and mostly absent, and their elder teenage sister was their only parental influence. She in turn, was married and the mother of a new baby girl.
This sad case strikes a chord with Arlene, and the reader can't help but be drawn into seeking justice for the three young boys. Because they were neglected, dirt poor, and lived on the wrong side of town, it seemed that the 'powers that be' had just dismissed them, and what happened to them, as a nuisance, something to be swept under the rug so to speak. The apathy was appalling! Another factor that led to the case being shelved was the fact that the main suspect, Mitchell Wright, the teenage husband of the boy's sister, Claire, killed himself just two weeks after their bodies were found. This was believed to be a sure sign of his guilt.
Complicity and cover-ups in a backwater town...
Arlene enlists the aid of a woman who was interested in the case back at the time it happened, as well as the station's office manager. Together they become obsessed with learning who really killed the Broderick boys back in 1983. However, truth be told, their collaboration was often farcical.
The lengths some young people will go to in a stifling, dead-end, town.
The story is told mostly from Arlene's point of view, interspersed with journal entries written by Mitchell Wright's sister, Natalie, and the rather disturbing chapters written from the point of view of a 'condemned man' (who is clearly a psychopath). Arlene's personal life played a large part in the plot, which made the overall novel a tad disjointed as it included trivialities that didn't factor in the mystery, and didn't seem to serve any purpose.
Along with the tragic cold case, the novel discusses the disparity in the social classes of a small, secretive, rural, southern town. Also, it explores how far-reaching a truly tragic event can linger, and permeate the fabric of a town. How nothing is ever really black or white, but a murky shade of grey...
Personally, I didn't really warm to the characters, or the story, the way I did to this author's first novel. Simultaneously, I have to acknowledge that I really enjoy her writing, so I'm glad I read this one. So, you can see how I am torn while writing this review.
There was a surprising plot twist, which I was not at all expecting.
I don't regret reading "The Night the River Wept", but I enjoyed "The Floating Girls" much, much, more.
Arlene, the protagonist, was a woman I didn't immediately take to. She seemed vacuous, shallow, and immature. As time went on, I realized that due to her young age (24), and her lack of life experience, she would grow on me. After a miscarriage, Arlene is in limbo. Married to an alcoholic, though charming real estate agent, she doesn't work outside the home and she is BORED! She naively decides she wants to work at the town's police station and after a brief interview she is hired. She is to work part-time, in the basement of the police station, tagging evidence. This is mind-numbing work, and to distract herself in the quiet times (of which there are plenty), she starts reading the cold case files which are stored near her desk.
Arlene reads of a tragic case that happened near her small Georgia town almost two decades previously. Three small boys were found dead on the river bank. They had not drowned, but were suffocated! The boys had a tragic history. Their mother had died in childbirth, their father was a drug addict and mostly absent, and their elder teenage sister was their only parental influence. She in turn, was married and the mother of a new baby girl.
This sad case strikes a chord with Arlene, and the reader can't help but be drawn into seeking justice for the three young boys. Because they were neglected, dirt poor, and lived on the wrong side of town, it seemed that the 'powers that be' had just dismissed them, and what happened to them, as a nuisance, something to be swept under the rug so to speak. The apathy was appalling! Another factor that led to the case being shelved was the fact that the main suspect, Mitchell Wright, the teenage husband of the boy's sister, Claire, killed himself just two weeks after their bodies were found. This was believed to be a sure sign of his guilt.
Complicity and cover-ups in a backwater town...
Arlene enlists the aid of a woman who was interested in the case back at the time it happened, as well as the station's office manager. Together they become obsessed with learning who really killed the Broderick boys back in 1983. However, truth be told, their collaboration was often farcical.
The lengths some young people will go to in a stifling, dead-end, town.
The story is told mostly from Arlene's point of view, interspersed with journal entries written by Mitchell Wright's sister, Natalie, and the rather disturbing chapters written from the point of view of a 'condemned man' (who is clearly a psychopath). Arlene's personal life played a large part in the plot, which made the overall novel a tad disjointed as it included trivialities that didn't factor in the mystery, and didn't seem to serve any purpose.
Along with the tragic cold case, the novel discusses the disparity in the social classes of a small, secretive, rural, southern town. Also, it explores how far-reaching a truly tragic event can linger, and permeate the fabric of a town. How nothing is ever really black or white, but a murky shade of grey...
Personally, I didn't really warm to the characters, or the story, the way I did to this author's first novel. Simultaneously, I have to acknowledge that I really enjoy her writing, so I'm glad I read this one. So, you can see how I am torn while writing this review.
There was a surprising plot twist, which I was not at all expecting.
I don't regret reading "The Night the River Wept", but I enjoyed "The Floating Girls" much, much, more.
February 24, 2024
Arlene and Tommy have been married for a while and are trying to have kids but recently experienced a miscarriage. Arlene is a housewife and she is getting sick of her husband’s behavior. He is an alcoholic and recently got a DUI. Tommy is a real estate tycoon. He makes a lot of money and thinks that Arlene should be a housewife but she’s bored. She decides to get a job at the police station where she bags and tags evidence but they live in a small town where nothing really happens so she has a lot of time to snoop through old police files. She stumbles on an unsolved case from 20 years ago. Three children were found killed by the river and the person that supposedly did it committed suicide but rumor has it that maybe he didn’t even do it. The book is a slow burn mystery about murder in a small town. The police department seems flat out incompetent. The people in this book fill all the stereotypes of small town life and honestly I kept having to remind myself that these people have money and live in nice houses. It felt out of place in the setting. I have a few issues with the plausibility of the book. I can’t understand how a women with no experience and a high school degree can go into a police station and just get a job. Then the chief basically just lets her investigate this old case. Is that even legal? Don’t you need to be a detective????? I also had a few other issues. Tommy is a screw up. Constantly getting hammered at 10 in the morning but also a successful business man? It seems everyone is ok with his drinking habits because he is loaded. Also why does Arlene desperately want his kids? I had a hard time staying engaged with this because the plot moved slow. Also the writing in the diary was basically like reading the town gossip from a 12 year olds perspective.
June 30, 2024
3.5 stars rounded up
I love southern fiction, and The Night the River Wept had that kind of feel, with a pretty good mystery wrapped in. I actually enjoyed the book quite a bit; the story is told from mostly the perspective of Arlene, a 24-year-old married woman who is looking for something to keep her busy until she is able to have a child, but it has short chapters that are excerpts from the diary of the sister of an assumed murderer and reflections from the actual murderer.
One theme of the novel is a community's biases about those who struggle financially, and the way people overlook and ignore the atrocities when they happen to 'those people'. When Arlene starts to look into the murders of three children that happened years ago, she runs up against the assumptions repeatedly. It is clear from the start that the story the public was told is not the actual truth, but the real murderer is not named until the end, and it seems that everyone is lying and covering for someone they are close to.
I did not like the main characters, which is usually not an issue for me, but I found Arlene to be almost stupidly immature and naive, her marriage seemed doomed to fail, and Ronna and Alaina's bickering was infuriating. Several scenes in the story felt almost slapstick-y, which made me cringe.
Overall, I think this will appeal to readers of southern mysteries, especially if they enjoy amateur detectives. Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the digital ARC of The Night the River Wept. The opinions in this review are my own.
I love southern fiction, and The Night the River Wept had that kind of feel, with a pretty good mystery wrapped in. I actually enjoyed the book quite a bit; the story is told from mostly the perspective of Arlene, a 24-year-old married woman who is looking for something to keep her busy until she is able to have a child, but it has short chapters that are excerpts from the diary of the sister of an assumed murderer and reflections from the actual murderer.
One theme of the novel is a community's biases about those who struggle financially, and the way people overlook and ignore the atrocities when they happen to 'those people'. When Arlene starts to look into the murders of three children that happened years ago, she runs up against the assumptions repeatedly. It is clear from the start that the story the public was told is not the actual truth, but the real murderer is not named until the end, and it seems that everyone is lying and covering for someone they are close to.
I did not like the main characters, which is usually not an issue for me, but I found Arlene to be almost stupidly immature and naive, her marriage seemed doomed to fail, and Ronna and Alaina's bickering was infuriating. Several scenes in the story felt almost slapstick-y, which made me cringe.
Overall, I think this will appeal to readers of southern mysteries, especially if they enjoy amateur detectives. Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the digital ARC of The Night the River Wept. The opinions in this review are my own.
July 3, 2024
Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark for my #gifted copy of The Night The River Wept!
𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐞𝐩𝐭
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: 𝐋𝐨 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝟐, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒
I went into this book completely blind and had no clue what to expect. This was such an interesting and well-written mystery and I really enjoyed it. This was my first book written by Lo Patrick and I certainly want to read The Floating Girls now that I’ve read this one.
Arlene needs something to do to take her mind off things, so decides to take a part-time job at the local police station bagging evidence. The job doesn’t take much time, and the rest of the time she reads over old cold cases. One in particular catches her eye about three young brothers who were murdered, followed by the suicide of the prime suspect, Mitchel Wright. Arlene is determined to help find the truth and becomes obsessed with the case, hopeful to find what she’s been looking for all along.
𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐞𝐩𝐭
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: 𝐋𝐨 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝟐, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒
I went into this book completely blind and had no clue what to expect. This was such an interesting and well-written mystery and I really enjoyed it. This was my first book written by Lo Patrick and I certainly want to read The Floating Girls now that I’ve read this one.
Arlene needs something to do to take her mind off things, so decides to take a part-time job at the local police station bagging evidence. The job doesn’t take much time, and the rest of the time she reads over old cold cases. One in particular catches her eye about three young brothers who were murdered, followed by the suicide of the prime suspect, Mitchel Wright. Arlene is determined to help find the truth and becomes obsessed with the case, hopeful to find what she’s been looking for all along.
March 7, 2025
3.5 star rating rounded up.
The Night the River Wept was a very interesting mystery. The murder of these children went unsolved, and the assumption of guilt was given to the wrong person who decided to commit suicide.
I didn't really like Arlene, but I respected her intentions and focus on finding out the truth with this case. The way she tried to force those women to be a part of her detective group, even though it was clear they had no desire to be around each other. Girl. Tommy was not a great husband, and he was lowkey embarrassing.
The plot twist actually made the most sense, based on the storyline and build up. I appreciate that Lo did not throw in a curve ball just to make it fit.
The Night the River Wept was a very interesting mystery. The murder of these children went unsolved, and the assumption of guilt was given to the wrong person who decided to commit suicide.
I didn't really like Arlene, but I respected her intentions and focus on finding out the truth with this case. The way she tried to force those women to be a part of her detective group, even though it was clear they had no desire to be around each other. Girl. Tommy was not a great husband, and he was lowkey embarrassing.
The plot twist actually made the most sense, based on the storyline and build up. I appreciate that Lo did not throw in a curve ball just to make it fit.
July 26, 2024
Arlene, the protagonist of The Night the River Wept bags evidence at the local police department. Her intrigue at a cold case from twenty years ago moves her to seek help in trying to solve it. Arlene has had a miscarriage and the case she explores concerns the death of three boys, found suffocated in a river. These sorrowful events are heartbreaking, and at times difficult to read. Arlene's voice narrating her thoughts and the dialogue with other characters reflect the atmospheric Southern setting of rural Georgia. Although this is an evocative tale with some disturbing moments, I felt this was a worthwhile read.
August 19, 2024
I won this on a Goodreads Giveaway for an honest review.
I was really into this book it had everything I like. The narrator is a witty wanna be detective trying to solve a cold case she just happened to read as she spends her day in the basement of her local police department, tagging evidence. She puts together a "detective agency" of a couple of women and, in the end, does solve the case.
I think this story could have been a hundred pages shorter but worth a read.
I was really into this book it had everything I like. The narrator is a witty wanna be detective trying to solve a cold case she just happened to read as she spends her day in the basement of her local police department, tagging evidence. She puts together a "detective agency" of a couple of women and, in the end, does solve the case.
I think this story could have been a hundred pages shorter but worth a read.
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