Book Review: "Peace Like a River"
- marthaengber
- Sep 28
- 2 min read
by Scott Gould
I’m a sucker for dysfunctional family stories that hinge on colorful characters, humor that hits home at just the right moment, and a significant emotional pivot that resonates. Scott Gould’s latest book, PEACE LIKE A RIVER, is that kind of a triple-hitter couched in the rich landscape of rural South Carolina, so much so that you can almost smell the swamp along which the story’s Black River flows.
Elwin is a grandpa-aged dad and English teacher turned shoe salesman who very reluctantly finds himself on a road trip with his estranged — and strange — 13-year-old son, Thom, the result of a one-night stand. Two forces converge to cause the mandatory journey: the boy’s feisty, much younger mother, Roma, wants to take her yearly vacation from single parenting, and Elwin has been summoned by his estranged elderly father, who may well be dying.
The river on which Elwin was reared, and on which his father has a hunting shack, literally and figuratively flows through the often comical, yet palpably tense events that draw this extended family closer until the moment Elwin confronts the ghost of a long-lost friend that’s been mercilessly swimming through his life. A source of guilt that, when finally confronted, opens up new pathways for love, connection and fatherly pride.
This is such a wonderful book of place, purpose and eventual peace!
___
For updates about Martha’s forthcoming books, news and giveaways, subscribe to her website: MarthaEngber.com.
SCATTERED LIGHT, a novel, sequel to WINTER LIGHT, (Nov. 2025)
THE FALCON, THE WOLF AND THE HUMMINGBIRD a historical novel
BLISS ROAD, a memoir
WINTER LIGHT, a novel, in paperback and audiobook
THE WIND THIEF, a novel
GROWING GREAT CHARACTERS, a resource for writers
Comments