What The River Knows is a combination of creative, vivd writing and a consuming and addictive premise and plot.  It follows Inez as she attempts to uncover the fate of her parents who seemingly perished in Egypt whilst on an excavation through her distant uncle and his enigma of an assistant Whit.
The characterisation throughout the novel was brilliant, Inez's ability to escape being sent home at every turn was a particular favourite of mine.  Additionally, while we received small snippets of Whit's point of view, he still feels like a massive mystery to me and there is so much more to know about him.
The magic system was weaved so well into the story that I didn't really question it, it just seemed so rooted in reality with a world that mirrored our own with the exception of small magical details.  It was weaved into a plot that moved at a respectable speed and was filled with action, nothing felt like pointless filler, I couldn't stop reading.
I liked the inclusion of real people, like Maspero, it helped to anchor the story and assisted in making me feel immersed.  The historical facts about Ancient Egypt's geography, mythology and general historical context were all correct which made my little historian heart sing.  I also liked the inclusion of Shakespeare throughout, it was tastefully done.  Furthermore, the commentary on negative colonial influences in Egypt, the looting of antiquities and general usurpation of control by the British was well written, it is incredibly important to include and I am so glad it was there.
What The River Knows is perfect for everyone who watched the 1999 cinematic masterpiece The Mummy as a child or owned the gold Egyptology book and never recovered.