Same River Twice: A Novel

by Wiley Cash

From award-winning New York Times bestselling author Wiley Cash comes a transcendent story based in the contemporary South, a pressure-cooker novel set in motion when human remains are unearthed on a former plantation.

Bennett Place was once a thriving North Carolina rice plantation, built on the backs of the enslaved. Now, its new owner plans to transform it into a historic landmark celebrating his family heritage. But when human remains are unearthed during construction, a complex chain of events is set in motion bringing together a cast of characters haunted by the region's legacy.

There's Jessica, the ambitious site manager who is wrestling with crippling college loan payments and an ethical dilemma as a result of the find.

Aaron, a successful writer, who returns to the land his ancestors worked, searching for the truth about his father's disappearance.

And Kevin, the district attorney, whose professional duties and private life collide as he investigates a mystery that hits dangerously close to home.

Aaron, Kevin, and Jessica must confront long-hidden secrets and the complex inheritance of the South—a place where the ghosts of the Confederacy still linger—as they grapple with their own complicated pasts.

Suspenseful, richly layered, and written with masterful prose, Same River Twice explores the fraught intersections of race and class with stunning acumen. It's a powerful, indelible story about who owns history, who has the right to tell it, and the price of digging up truths that some would prefer to forget. This is Wiley Cash’s most ambitious and accomplished novel yet.

Genres: Literary Fiction

336 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication April 6, 2027

About the author

Wiley Cash is theNew York Times best selling author of The Last Ballad, A Land More Kind than Home, and This Dark Road to Mercy (William Morrow/HarperCollins). He currently serves as the writer-in-residence at the University of North Carolina-Asheville and teaches in the Mountainview Low-Residency MFA. He lives in North Carolina with his wife and their two young daughters. Please visit wileycash.com to check the scheduled events for his book tour in the fall of 2017.

Reviews

[Jerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite the compelling characters, I found the book lacking in a clear central theme or purpose. The storyline felt underdeveloped, and I believe I may have overlooked some key elements.
Nevertheless, this was my first encounter with this author, and I am inclined to explore more of his work based on the intriguing characters I encountered.
I would like to express my gratitude to NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy of the book.

[Mary Taber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many thanks to NetGalley and to William Morrow for allowing me to read this book and to provide honest feedback.
I have read and loved several books by this author, so I was thrilled when I saw that this one was available. This story took place in North Carolina near the University and the Cape Fear River. The author began by introducing his characters and then having them meet each other later in the novel. First, there was Jessica, a young woman who possessed a doctorate in Archeology and massive college debt. She is unable to find work, until she interviews with a man called Blandine Bennet, a gentleman who is developing a museum from the land of his ancestors.
Second, there is Aaron, a black man who is found camping out at the museum site, claiming that this land was his ancestors’ land; his grandfather had worked there for years. Then, there is Kevin, the elected District Attorney and his family, Carrie, and their two children Amelia and Charlie.
These characters encounter each other under the backdrop of racism, Black Lives Matter, and hatred, and become related in unusual ways. First, according to Mr. Bennet, Aaron must be told to leave his property. Then he finds out that Aaron is a famous writer affiliated with university and suddenly, it is okay that Aaron stays. Kevin, the District Attorney, is asked to do a favor for Aaron and he doesn’t quite come through. Kevin’s children and wife also encounter the other characters in interesting ways.
This book is about how modern racism still exists at least in North Carolina. The characters were well drawn and understandable, and I found myself wanting to know more about them. The story was well paced and kept my interest. Told from multiple points of view and in several time frames, I found myself enjoying the sections about Kevin and his children best. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of racism and how to overcome it.

[Alissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will think of the ending of this novel for a long time to come. Mr. Cash has developed a masterful ability to take on multiple points of view in his work. This book starts slow, and then *BURNS* as it concludes - giving vibes evoked in his last (great!) WHEN GHOSTS COME HOME of a buried story that you just know will rear its head again one random day when no one is expecting it.

As someone who grew up in the area this novel in set (southeastern, coastal NC), I would be remiss if I didn't shout out a particular storyline that resonated with me - that of teen-aged Amelia, learning to drive as she deciphers the machinations of others in her quickly expanding orbit. Never before has a male author I've admired ever attempted, much less succeeded, in describing the thought patterns of a young woman as her eyes open to her surrounding community, and her tentative place in it, with such nuance and tenderness. I am in awe at the heft of this work, and I can't wait to celebrate more of Mr. Cash's career as we both his fantastic books some differing vantage points of our great state of North Carolina.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A writer you can count on. Very well written and interesting story. Timely..still a lot of racism in the South.

I am a genealogist. Something happened with a DNA test in the book that choked me. The whole story was very good though.

Besides that, I found it very timely to me personally..I am Canadian but have many US roots as well. I have a large number of black relatives (I am white) that I am related to by my Scottish DNA. Many of them have only 1% Scottish and they share that with me. There are no Scottish ancestors in any of their trees. I have traced them all back to the same plantation in Mt. AIry, North Carolina. I’ll figure out their mystery Scot eventually.

[Stephanie (aka WW) · Rating 3 out of 5]

(2.5 stars) I never quite got a handle on what this book was trying to say. While the characters were well-defined and the story was adequately set up, the book did not seem to follow through on its early promise. The ending was also problematic. Another reviewer said they “may have overlooked some key elements” and that’s exactly how I felt, like I must have missed something. I have enjoyed Wiley Cash’s novels in the past and will look out for what he writes in the future, but this one was a miss for me.

Much thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for allowing me to read an e-ARC of this title prior to publication. Opinions are my own.

[Libby Reidy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a fan of Southern Literature and was thrilled to receive an advanced copy of this book. Set on a former North Carolina rice field, the reader is introduced to the three main characters, Jessica, a debt poor archaeologist, who has taken the job as a site manager to help rennovate the old home; Aaron who has returned to his boyhood home to find the secrets about his missing father, and Kevin, the district attorney who is struggling to keep his job. History, family secrets and murders make this a quick moving book. Be aware, some parts of the book might be upseeting to some readers.