When I heard Diane Setterfield was coming out with this book I couldn’t contain my excitement! The Thirteenth Tale is one of my favorite books ever. Did Once Upon A River exceed my love for The Thirteenth Tale? No, but I did really enjoy this one!
How do I best describe Once Upon A River? I would say is a historical Gothic style mystery with a touch of magic realism… This story also had a folklore-like quality. I would recommend Once Upon a River to fans of Kate Morton, as Morton & Setterfield have similar tones. If you’ve never read either of these authors, you are really missing out.
Once Upon A River is one of those books where you are introduced to a new character every chapter for the first several chapters. It was definitely overwhelming at first to try and keep track of all the characters & side plots. It did take me a while until I was able to get into my reading groove. Once we were introduced to all the key players and it was easier to keep everyone straight, my reading was smooth sailing.
I would like to acknowledge that Setterfield did a wonderful job of including a diverse cast of characters. Not only do we get diversity, but I felt they were well represented & the author took great care in presenting these characters. Oftentimes I feel like an author will include a characters just for the sake of diversity, but it did not feel like this here.
I loved how atmospheric Once Upon a River was. Not only did the plot line have eerie tones, but the river-side town setting also enhanced the eerie tones. The river was almost a character in and of itself, which I always appreciate in books.
I was absorbed in the mystery of who the little girl really was. I just had to know who she really was, and where she came from. Setterfield really does a great job of keeping the reader on their toes. I will say that I did not guess correctly who the little girl really was, but the reveal definitely fit the story. Once Upon a River is very much a slower moving mystery, so do not expect a fast-paced thriller style book.
***Trigger/content warnings: suicide, rape, domestic violence, racism, etc.***
How do I best describe Once Upon A River? I would say is a historical Gothic style mystery with a touch of magic realism… This story also had a folklore-like quality. I would recommend Once Upon a River to fans of Kate Morton, as Morton & Setterfield have similar tones. If you’ve never read either of these authors, you are really missing out.
Once Upon A River is one of those books where you are introduced to a new character every chapter for the first several chapters. It was definitely overwhelming at first to try and keep track of all the characters & side plots. It did take me a while until I was able to get into my reading groove. Once we were introduced to all the key players and it was easier to keep everyone straight, my reading was smooth sailing.
I would like to acknowledge that Setterfield did a wonderful job of including a diverse cast of characters. Not only do we get diversity, but I felt they were well represented & the author took great care in presenting these characters. Oftentimes I feel like an author will include a characters just for the sake of diversity, but it did not feel like this here.
I loved how atmospheric Once Upon a River was. Not only did the plot line have eerie tones, but the river-side town setting also enhanced the eerie tones. The river was almost a character in and of itself, which I always appreciate in books.
I was absorbed in the mystery of who the little girl really was. I just had to know who she really was, and where she came from. Setterfield really does a great job of keeping the reader on their toes. I will say that I did not guess correctly who the little girl really was, but the reveal definitely fit the story. Once Upon a River is very much a slower moving mystery, so do not expect a fast-paced thriller style book.
***Trigger/content warnings: suicide, rape, domestic violence, racism, etc.***