What the River Knows is an immediately captivating novel that dives into the idea of what makes a family and how far one will go to find out answers. From captivating descriptions of the Egyptian desserts to relationships that are truly given time to grow and thrive, this book is easy to become entirely immersed in.
It drives me crazy in books when there is non stop action and a timeline that simply does not make sense. In, What the River Knows, time is taken between each action scene. Inez’s journey from Argentina to Egypt takes several weeks and the timeline makes that obvious. The reader is aware of the journey and everything she had to do to get to her destination, without it taking up too big of a chunk of the book. Similarly, the rest of the book keeps the pace of a realistic time jump from location to location.
In the same way that the timeline and pace of the plot was well managed, the relationship of the characters were able to take time to grow and develop in a way that felt natural. Inez, her Uncle Ricardo, and Ricardo’s assistant, Whit, were all given a chance to grow in their own way. The mysteries that surrounded the dig site and the disappearance of Inez’s parents brought out characteristics that may have remained hidden without the prompting of a good mystery. The only flaw I found in their development was that while I loved the way they each grew individually, their relationships with side characters felt forced. These side characters were one dimensional where I would have loved to see more interaction and development.
While I cannot say much about the ending without giving away spoilers, let me just say that by the last words on the page, I was staring in shock. I even went as far as flipping pages to make sure I didn’t miss anything. It was a brilliant way to end the book and it made me anxious to see what comes next for the characters that quickly won over my heart.
4.5/5 stars for a well paced adventure that truly kept me on my toes.
Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
The Novel Llama 