{{Short description|2024 crime novel by Australian author Vikki Wakefield}} {{Use Australian English|date=January 2026}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2026}} {{Infobox book| | name = To the River | title_orig = | translator = | image = To the River (Book Cover).jpeg | caption = | author = Vikki Wakefield | cover_artist = | country = Australia | language = English | series = | genre = Crime novel | publisher = Text Publishing | release_date = 27 February 2024 | media_type = Print | pages = 400 | isbn = 9781915798312 | preceded_by = | followed_by = | awards = 2025 Davitt Award, Best Adult Crime Novel, winner; 2026 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Paperback Original, winner }}
'''''To the River''''' is a 2024 crime novel by Australian author Vikki Wakefield. It was originally published in Australia by Text Publishing,<ref>{{cite web|title=''To the River'' by Vikki Wakefield (Text) |publisher= Text Publishing|url=https://www.textpublishing.com.au/books/to-the-river|access-date= 12 January 2026}}</ref> followed by No Exit Press in the UK,<ref name=Austlit>{{cite web|title= Austlit — ''To the River'' by Vikki Wakefield |publisher= Austlit|url=https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/27136662|access-date= 12 January 2026}}</ref> and Poisoned Pen Press in the US under the title ''The Backwater''.<ref>{{cite web|title=''The Backwater'' by Vikki Wakefield |publisher= Poisoned Pen Press|url=https://www.sourcebooks.com/the-backwater.html|access-date= 8 May 2026}}</ref>
It was the winner of the Best Adult Novel Davitt Award in 2025.<ref name=Davitt>{{cite web|title="Davitt Award Winners 2001-2025" |publisher= Sisters in Crime|url=https://sistersincrime.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Davitt-Winners_cumulative-table_2025.pdf|access-date= 12 January 2026}}</ref>
==Synopsis== Sabine Kelly's mother and sister were killed in a caravan fire when she was just 17. Sabine was arrested for their murders, plus the seven others that died in the blaze, but she escaped custody and has been on the run for 12 years.
Journalist Rachel has been made redundant from her job, is in the middle of a divorce and has always been fascinated by the cararvan fire. She tracks down Sabine and the two work to tell the true story of the fire, each for their own ends.
==Critical reception==
On the ''Books+Publishing'' website reviewer Brenton Cullen wrote: "Mixing in psychological warfare between two incredibly cataclysmic main characters, this is an action-packed, exciting, yet often thoughtful book."<ref>{{cite web|title="To The River (Vikki Wakefield, Text)" |publisher= Books+Publishing|url=https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2024/01/30/244997/to-the-river-vikki-wakefield-text/|access-date= 12 January 2026}}</ref>
Karen Chisholm, for AustCrimeFiction, called the novel an "interesting combination of a psychological thriller, with a couple of flawed, but engaging and very sympathetic central female characters".<ref>{{cite web|title="To The River, Vikki Wakefield" |publisher= AustCrimeFiction|url=https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/to-the-river-vikki-wakefield|access-date= 12 January 2026}}</ref>
== Awards ==
* 2025 Davitt Award, Readers Choice, winner<ref name=Davitt /> * 2026 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Paperback Original, winner<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://mysterywriters.org/2026-edgar-award-winners/ |title=Mystery Writers of America Announces 2026 Edgar Allan Poe Award Winners|access-date=8 May 2026|website=Mystery Writers of America}}</ref>
==See also== * 2024 in Australian literature
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Davitt Award – Best Adult Novel}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:To the River}} Category:2024 Australian novels Category:Australian crime novels Category:Davitt Award–winning works