Riverflow by Alison Layland

 

⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Blurb...

After a beloved family member is drowned in a devastating flood, Bede and Elin Sherwell want nothing more than to be left in peace to pursue their off grid life. But when the very real prospect of fracking hits their village, they are drawn into the frontline protests. During a spring of relentless rain, a series of mysterious threats and suspicious accidents put friendships on the line and the Sherwell's marriage under unbearable tension. Is there a connection with their uncles death? As the river rises under torrential rain, pressure mounts, Bede's sense of self begins to crumble and Elin is no longer sure who to believe or what to believe in.

My Review...

This is a lovely unusual book. It does not really fit into a genre. Or I should say it fits partially into several genres and possibly even invents a small new genre of it's own. Those of us who read a lot often get struck in the straight lines of a genre or trope. There is a lot to be said for the certainty of genre. You know where you are, where you are going and how you are going to get there. A good writer can deliver a good narrative inside any given genre. But what most of us regular readers long for is something different that bends the lanes of formulae. There are plenty of allegedly genre busting books out there but very few are well written. This one is well done and does not bust genres but does blur the lines between genres.

This book is fiction and there is a crime but it is not really "crime fiction," as the crime only becomes really evident in the last few chapters, even though there are hints and whispers through-out the book.

It is nearest to a psychological thriller. However in most thrillers the threat and danger are more evident through-out. In Riverflow we do not even see the threat. It only slowly emerges from the narrative.

Riverflow begins as sort of country soap opera, where an eco-friendly couple are trying to assimilate and inspire the rural community. Slowly, one by one, things start to go wrong. So , from the idyll, a slow downward spiral for them begins to materialize. Is it just what happens in life? is it bad luck?or is something more sinister involved. I am going to have to place this book in several of my categories including Welsh interest because it set on the Welsh Marches and the author is a member of "Crime Cymru."

Even the main protagonist  of Riverflow is not your run of the mill. Bede is a self-sufficient, long haired, mechanic. He has a chip on his shoulder, is surly and an all round sanctimonious knob head ( yes! I know he sounds like me!) The inconvenient truth is constantly hammered home by Bede. The author has taken a big gamble by having this moody loner as the hero.

The author has a lovely comfortable style of writing. It is easy to read. It is like reading downhill, you just sort of freewheel.

This book is an entertaining pastoral and moral tale with a thrilling culmination.

Selected quotes...

"Elin sometimes conceded that they were not so much teaching by example as simply living by their consciences."

"During one visit to his mum's hospice bedside, as he braved the veneer of cheer and kindness thinly cloaking the inevitability of death."

"It's the human race needs saving! the world will keep turning long after we've pushed ourselves to extinction."

"She picked up her book, ready to escape to someone's world."

"Nothing stays the same. You know that as well as I do. Like the riverflow. There are peaceful times but even theres the scratch, scratch, scratch or erosion. imperceptible but...there. Until its time for big change, for renewal and the floods come."

About the author

Alison Layland is a freelance writer and translator who lives and works on the Welsh borderlands. She is the author of two novels, Someone else's conflict and Riverflow, both published by Honno Pres and also translates from German, French and Welsh.