Set against the harsh backdrop of early nineteenth-century Newfoundland, River Thieves follows a sequence of expeditions made under the order of the British Crown to establish contact between the native Beothuk Indians and the settler communities. The fallout from the expeditions is devastating for all parties involved. The Beothuk vanish and the web of secrets guarded by the settlers for so long slowly begins to unravel. Michael Crummey is an important new voice in literary fiction. River Thieves is a lyrical, haunting novel, told with startling eloquence and sensitivity.

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