Estuary

by Josh Rank

ESTUARY opens in the disorienting aftermath of Megan Mostly nearly collapses when she finds her son, Lincoln, awake and watching television in the middle of the night-despite the fact that his funeral was only a week ago. As if grief weren't enough, Stephen Tremble appears at her door the day before, asking an impossible was Lincoln his son? For six years, Megan has lived inside a carefully constructed lie. Now it's cracking open. Stephen, newly returned to Atlanta, is unraveling too. After a fire exposes the hoarded remains of his isolated life, he clings to the one object that survived-a diary he can never seem to lose. Inside it, he finds an entry he doesn't remember writing. It speaks of a child he never knew existed. As Megan is drawn into a series of unsettling encounters with a mysterious woman who appears without warning, delivering cryptic messages that seem to echo Lincoln's presence, Stephen grapples with the fury and grief of a father too late to love. Pulled together by secrets, loss, and a child who refuses to stay gone, Megan and Stephen must confront their pasts where memory and longing converge-at the estuary between what was, what is, and what still refuses to let go.

Genres: Fiction, Magical Realism

333 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 23, 2026

Reviews

[Scott Lyons · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5⭐️

I adore Josh and his storytelling. What I love most about it is how he taps into the human reactions surrounding grief and loss. These are important feelings that many people don’t always get right when they’re depicting a story. I should also note that because I am a feelings guy, I tend not to gravitate towards magical realism based stories because I want to feel feelings authentically… but Josh has a way of integrating this component of magical realism that still feels authentic and necessary in telling his story about grief.

This is about two people, who had a strong love for one another in college, but life turned them apart. Now they are both dealing with the absolute worst life has to hand them when they’re depicting are thrust together again after a devastating loss. Soon the lines between reality and the mystical begin to blur as they see if they can rebuild their lives and start a journey of healing.

[Anny Wilkes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Estuary is a novel of loss and grief, but so too is it one of liberation and connection. At the center of this novel are two very broken people, each of whom are crumbling under the immense weight of their own grief.

Rank excels in his vast exploration of human sadness, yet is able to maintain the undercurrent of hope throughout. He not only captures the transformative nature of grief, but uses it to propel the narrative.

The choice to write this as a dual narrative allowed space for the reader to delve into the many emotional layers of both characters.

This is a beautiful story and serves as a reminder that we are not defined by our losses, and sometimes we need to lose everything to find our way back home.

[Sheila The Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Estuary was such an interesting little book, and I’m still kind of sitting with the heaviness of it.

It’s literary fiction mixed with magical realism, which is a really unique combination. And this is definitely one of those books where you have to be okay with some uncertainty. I tend to want a little more certainty from my books, so there were definitely times when I wanted it to give me more. But I also think that was completely intentional.

There’s just this somber, melancholy feeling that hangs over the whole story. And sometimes books like that can take a little bit of a mental toll on you. You’re spending all this time inside somebody else’s complicated existence, with grief and regret and all the things they’ve carried around without really dealing with them.

I think that was actually what interested me most. We collect so much stuff over the course of our lives, and I don’t mean just physical stuff. We collect hurt and guilt and secrets and things we wish we had done differently. And eventually we have to do something with all of it.

I’m glad I read this one. It was different, it gave me a lot to think about, and underneath all of that sadness, I did find a little bit of hope too. But only a little.

[Jennie Kirby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m so impressed by Rank’s character writing and cryptic storytelling. It’s rare I feel so connected with characters and having read The Present is Past recently and Estuary in one day-I can say I’m looking forward to everything he writes. Auto-buy author for me. Great story, amazing dialogue and intriguing plot. Well done!

[Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

A southern gothic lit fic about grief and recovery.

As always, I was in tears by the end on my emotional roller coaster

[Lee Collier · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read The Present Is Past maybe two years ago now and have been waiting for another full length novel by Josh to fill the void he left with that excellent novel upon completing. I adored his use of magical realism and overall approach to grief and familial connection. I can confidently say that he has shown up strong on his follow up novel, Estuary.

This novel had me in all the feels, another story of loss and grief but ultimately of love and found joy. His tale is so aptly titled and settles at the base of the story in such a dynamic way. If you are in need of an easily digestible story that leans nicely into magical realism but guts you along the way, please do yourself a favor and pick this one up. I am so thankful to have read this and will be a promoter as always for Josh, a modern master in emotional storytelling!

[Marlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Magic realism plays a key role in this emotional story of grief,and regret's. Stephen and Megan collage sweethearts are back in each other's lives after six years. A mysterious set of events starts happening to both of them,and they are forced to face the past and the future together.
"Silence shouts your regrets right back at you”

[Danny Mcmillan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay…not blowing smoke up Josh’s ass. This book was legitimately impossible to put down. I put it down twice in two days and finished it the third reading session. A very simple story of changing your perspective on life with just a sprinkle of the supernatural, made for a very compelling read. Highly recommend this one for anyone who needs a good quick read to jump start a reading slump.

[Amanda Rank · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished this in a day and took an emotional journey the entire time. It's not often a book can make me feel so much while keeping me completely invested from beginning to end. Rare 5-star read from me and worth every minute ❤️📚

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: 4.5 - This was a great book with interesting character work and a unique way of dealing with grief. I loved the use of magical realism and I really enjoyed the writing. Including a dog is also a way to get me to like something more as well.

[Josh Rank · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty good!

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another home run. Rank has a real skill for stories that are at once deeply personal but still universally relatable, and it leads to powerful novels that are impossible to put down.