Genre: Mystery/Suspense
Description:
“Following a life-shattering accident, conscience-stricken Will Archer
seeks refuge in a small Ohio River town, where he plans to live out his life as
a virtual hermit. But a chance encounter with Essence Warner, orphaned daughter
of a jazz saxophonist and an aristocratic socialite, entangles him in a quest
to discover the truth behind the cold case of her parents’ mysterious deaths.
As Will deciphers clues, he becomes romantically entwined with
Essence, forming a relationship that draws him into a sordid underbelly of
small-town existence that threatens his own life. At the same time, he uncovers
a dark secret that could set Essence free from her own path of
self-destruction—or does she have a plan of her own?
Soft as Water is a novel about bridges—between strangers
across a river—and the dangers of mutual attraction when worlds divided by
race, wealth, and culture collide. In the end, though, the novel offers a
glimmer of hopefulness that survivors of trauma—physical, emotional, and
sexual—can transcend their circumstances and find redemption through
connection.”
Author:
The author describes himself as thus:
“I live in Columbus, Ohio, where I navigate the unpredictable moments
of family life with my spouse, three kids, four cats, and a ferret. I enjoy
nature walks, reading everything from Pop-Tart labels to Proust, and
cartooning. I’m also an avid coffee drinker but try to limit myself to five
cups a day. My debut novel, An End to Etcetera, placed as a finalist in
the suspense category of the 17th Annual National Indie Excellence® Awards.”
Appraisal:
This is a unique story with elements that you don’t see very often..
That starts with a protagonist that while one of the good guys, is far from
perfect with lots of skeletons in his closet that impact the story in many
ways. Then you’ve got multiple people with some strange histories who are
challenging to figure out in many ways, from whether they’re good people, what
they’re doing and why, and how all of that is going to impact others. Then
throw in a few strange things (what appeared to be a ghost or other
supernatural element at play a few times and some pet tigers for a couple
examples) and you’ve got a story that is not likely to be like one you’ve read
before. At least it was stretching my normal reading material. In spite of
this, I didn’t find myself unable to suspend disbelief and go along with what
was happening. A very entertaining read.
Buy now
from: Amazon US Amazon UK
FYI:
A small amount of relatively mild adult content.
Format/Typo
Issues:
No significant issues.
Rating: *****
Five Stars
Reviewed
by: BigAl
Approximate word count: 95-100,000 words
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