What the River Buries

by Rocky Hirajeta, Lily Ganser (Read by)

Overview

THIS SECTION OF WOODS CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC FOR HABITAT RESTORATION. STAY TO THE PATH.

“You went back to the Acres, didn’t you?”

It’s a reasonable question, and I know Marisa’s asking it out of concern. “Yeah, I went there. To sketch.”

She sighs. “It’s just … I know it’s nice to be alone and whatever, but … at night? That’s dangerous. And besides, that’s probably not the best place for you to hang out, is it? Mentally?"

I give the most convincing smile I can muster. “It’s fine.”

Seventeen-year-old Natalie feels like a stranger to herself. Since her dad’s death, she’s withdrawn from her mom, and her best friend Marisa hardly recognizes her. She loses her job. She’s failing half her classes. But Nat doesn’t ask for help, doesn’t want to burden anyone. Instead, she retreats to an off-limits riverside forest—known as the Acres—where she snaps photos and makes sketches, seeking peace. But one night, this peace is shattered by the nightmare of a lifetime.

A young woman is shrouded in a tarp. Dead. A man in black is disposing of the body, and when Natalie photographs the tattoo on his neck, it’s only by a hair’s breadth that she escapes. Marisa begs her to go to the cops, but Nat’s stubbornness holds her back.

Then the killer delivers her sketchbook. To her door. Unseen.

Inside is a note. Going to the police, he says, would be “a grave error.” Leave it alone, he promises, and he’ll leave her alone, too.

But Natalie can’t leave it alone. Deep into the tangled web of clues she runs, and the closer she gets to her foe, the more protected he seems. As she chases an elusive justice, her life, and the lives close to her, will be changed forever.

If they don’t end first.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798212180047
Publisher:	Blackstone Publishing
Publication date:	05/30/2023
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 5.70(h) x 0.00(d)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Rocky Hirajeta was born in Raleigh, NC, two months early, and from that moment on, would struggle to be on time to any event. He loves making music and capturing photos. As though being a writer were not enough, his taste for classical music, obscure films, and vegan food alienates him even more. One of his dreams is to travel someplace far and unfamiliar, where, being still too afraid to photograph people, he will instead wander from café to bookshop, to café again.

Editorial Reviews

What the River Buries will keep you on the edge of your seat as small-town secrets are unburied.”

author of The Dead Lie Ivanka Fear

2023-05-03
Hirajeta’s debut YA mystery finds a teenager determined to unmask an apparent killer who’s anonymously threatening her.

For 17-year-old Natalie Bishop, sketching in the Acres—a secluded, woodsy spot in her small American city of Marton—provides solace. The high school senior has a lot on her mind, from a failed photography class project to the four-year anniversary of her father’s death. But these pale in comparison to what she sees in the woods one night: a masked man disposing of a body. She flees, shaken, and soon wonders if maybe she was mistaken about what she saw. Then someone drops something at her front door: the sketchbook she left in the woods. A scribbled note inside it assures her that she’ll be left alone—if she stays quiet about what she witnessed. Going to the cops might not be the best idea, as the author of the note also boasts of “friends in high places.” This drives Natalie to track down the writer herself, drawing on two important clues: a tattoo she glimpsed on the masked man’s neck and a wallet she found at the scene. But she’ll definitely need help, especially once the apparent killer’s threats escalate. Hirajeta’s tale thrives on the believability of the amateur investigation; Natalie makes several mistakes and even commits a crime or two, including driving someone else’s car sans permission. Although some of her decisions seem based on wild guesses and flimsy evidence, she also readily acknowledges her naïveté. The teen sleuth is surrounded by an outstanding cast of characters, namely her empathetic mother and her bighearted and more pragmatic best friend, Marisa. Animated descriptions enliven the pages, too, as when Natalie’s anxiety makes her heart a “tape on fast-forward” and her close proximity to a potential murderer makes her feel as if she’s in a “walk-in freezer.” Although Natalie’s suspect list is relatively short, her prey remains evasive, which generates a hefty amount of suspense. The final act wraps up things perhaps a bit too easily, but it’s a gratifying ending nonetheless.

A taut and entertaining whodunit with an appealing amateur detective.

Kirkus Reviews