Book Review: The River Runs South by Audrey Ingram

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thirty-five-year-old lawyer Camille Taylor’s life is upended after the sudden passing of her husband, Ben. In the months that followed, coping with this tragic loss proved harder than she could have imagined. Unable to concentrate on her work and struggling to maintain a work-home balance as a single mother, she is forced to go on leave from her job. When a panic attack lands her in the hospital, she decides to visit her parents in her hometown in the coastal town of Fairhope, Alabama with her six-year-old daughter Willa over the summer for a change in scenario and some much-needed emotional support. Camille had left her hometown at the age of eighteen, leaving her small-town life behind, eventually pursuing her dream to be a lawyer and settling down in Washington DC. As Camille and Willa explore Camille’s hometown, Camille is drawn back into the familiarity of the sights and smells and the warm embrace of her family. When she finds out that her father Sam, owner of a landscaping business is being sued for environmental damage on account of his association with a large land development firm whose unethical actions resulted in the spillage of pollutants into the local river, she joins his defense team where she is pitted against the owner of a local fishing business, who has been both kind and considerate to Willa and Camille from their first meeting. Both Sam and Camille love their hometown, and Camille works to find a way to protect her father while bringing the actual culprits to justice. With new friendships, a renewed passion for her profession, and the warmth and comfort of family and home, Camille just might finally be able to make a fresh start.

The River Runs South by Audrey Ingram is a beautifully penned, emotional story that revolves around family, grief, healing and new beginnings. The narrative is fluid, and the characters are well-thought-out, real, and relatable. I loved the Southern setting and the vivid descriptions of the rivers and the locale, not to mention the food! Issues such as environmental damage and ecological concerns are deftly woven into the narrative. Willa is adorable, and I loved her enthusiasm even though I thought she was portrayed as a bit too mature for a six-year-old on certain occasions. The author has done a remarkable job of depicting human emotions, the debilitating effects of grief and the importance of friends and family, and a support system in the healing process. The relationship track evolved gradually and in a mature fashion in keeping with the characters’ personalities and the pacing of the story. I really liked how the author addresses the dynamics of mother-daughter relationships across generations – the bonding, the expectations, the tensions, and the unconditional love. The bond between Willa and Camille was heartwarming, and I also thought the tense and somewhat strained interactions between Camille and Marion were portrayed very realistically. Overall, I found this novel to be an engaging, heartwarming read that I would not hesitate to recommend.

I have to mention that I absolutely love that beautiful cover!

Many thanks to the LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program, the author and publisher for the digital review copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.