Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

I felt this book talked way too much about the landscape and fishing in the town. It took the murder away from the book.

Fascinating. Truly fascinating, bewitching, inspiring, terrifying - there are so many words that I could use to describe this true crime story that hooked me from the beginning. The author truly took us to the center of the community where this crime happened as if we were walking down the very streets and seeing their faces in front of us. I really enjoyed this and would be happy to read another book by this author.

Blood in the Water: A True Story of Revenge in the Maritimes is late Canadian journalist, author, playwright and teacher Silver Donald Cameron's account of a horrifying crime that occurred in June 2013 near Isle Madame, Nova Scotia, Canada, the resulting legal proceedings and community disquiet that followed.
As anyone who has ever had personal involvement or knowledge of a sensational crime will know, the true story is often substantially more complex than that portrayed in the media, or even before a jury in court. Silver Donald Cameron paints a nuanced picture of the small fishing community of Petit-de-Grat, and the years of personal and community provocation and frustration that led inexorably to the death of islander Phillip Boudreau on 1 June 2013.
Boudreau was a lifelong petty criminal and nuisance, who was notorious for poaching lobster from the traps placed by hardworking career fishermen. He'd often flaunt his loot, waving it at the disgruntled trap owners as he sped off in his faster speedboat. He also had a history of flagrantly stealing vehicles and other property from islanders, usually to sell on for cash. Boudreau spent much of his adult life in and out of prison, but local law enforcement, either by reason of apathy or due to the constraints of the legal system, were unable to control his frequent crime sprees. Any islander who expressed his or her displeasure or reported Boudreau's crimes was likely to find themselves on the receiving end either of property damage or threats of violence to themselves and their families.
On the day of his death, Boudreau had set out early to steal lobster from the traps of long-established Petit-de-Grat fisherman James Landry, who was in business with his daughter and son-in-law. Catching Boudreau in the act, and at his wits end after suffering years of damaged property and lost business, Landry shot at Boudreau with a gun he had on board Twin Maggies. Landry and his crew then pursued Boudreau, crushing his smaller vessel, Midnight Slider. Exactly what happened thereafter remains a matter of conjecture, but Boudreau was never seen again, nor his body ever recovered.
A week after the incident, Landry and his son-in-law Dwayne Samson, skipper of the Twin Maggies, were charged with Boudreau's murder, after deckhand Craig Landry (everyone on Isle Madame seems to be interrelated) gave police a statement to the effect that they'd forcibly drowned Boudreau using a gaff hook.
Cameron's account of the ensuing trial of James Landry is interwoven with his descriptions of the complex history of Isle Madame and its inhabitants. The book brings to mind Truman Capote's classic true crime novel, In Cold Blood, for its richness of detail in examining the ripples created by a notorious crime. While Cameron's prose isn't lyrical in the sense that Capote's is, his longstanding personal experience of the area brings invaluable texture to the narrative.
Cameron explores the moral ambiguity surrounding the death of Phillip Boudreau - many details of which the jury hearing Landry's case weren't entitled to be privy to. He also highlights the Isle Madame community's mingled feelings of shared guilt and relief at Boudreau's death - while the dispensing of vigilante justice can't be condoned, it's clear that many, Cameron included, felt a great deal of sympathy for James Landry and Dwayne Samson, and the predicament in which they found themselves.
I found Blood in the Water: A True Story of Revenge in the Maritimes a fascinating and thought-provoking read, and would recommend it to readers who enjoy a more thoughtful form of true crime writing, or have an interest in the vagaries and limitations of the legal system.
My thanks to the author, Silver Donald Cameron, whose death in 2020 (ironically on the seventh anniversary of Boudreau's) I was sorry to read of, publisher Swift Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this fascinating title.

What an atmospheric and clever story! I couldn’t help but keep turning pages until I finished the book!

I wanted to read this book as the story sounded so fascinating but on the other hand I hadn’t read any true crime books before so I wasn’t sure what to expect but I was really impressed. This book is written so well, it brilliantly captures all sides of the story and manages to maintain an impartiality all the way through. The main part of the story follows the court case that followed the death of the victim but that is perfectly embedded in the context of the history of the community, and the families that live there, which was fascinating in itself. Come the end of this book I was actually quite moved as I could feel the sense of loss and the impact that the whole incident had had on the families and community involved.

Blood in the Water is a stunning example of a true crime novel. The book covers the circumstances around the death of Phillip Boudreau in Isle Madame, Nova Scotia, where three (normally law abiding) citizens are accused of his murder. It is a very unusual case, as usually you would expect the local people to side with the victim, but here they all seem to give their support to the suspects - even creating petitions for their release on bail.

The account was so detailed, I doubt if you would have gained more information if you had actually been present at the trial. There was background information on everyone involved, looking at every point of view. The history of the area was covered going back hundreds of years, which built up a picture of the conditions at the time of the murder, and gave an idea of the mindset of the people living there. More importantly, this history ultimately showed why one particular phrase ‘murder for lobster’ had such a profound impact on the case.

I was particularly interested in the discussion about the different techniques used during the investigation to get to the truth (or force a confession), and also in the exploration into small island living. How a small, close-knit community dealt with conflict and the way they treated outsiders. It gave the impression that they were like one large family – relationships were complex, there was no privacy and disputes could become volatile, but at the same time, issues were easily forgotten. This all gave fantastic background into the reasons why the accused group pulled together to help each other out.

Blood in the Water is a reflection of a system where the police were not able to provide a suitable answer to an ongoing problem. This left the residents in a situation where eventually somebody was going to take matters into their own hands, regardless of the consequences. A fascinating and extremely detailed true crime account.

Thanks to NetGalley and Swift Press for the opportunity to read an ARC.

As a fan of crime novels and true crime stories I was immediately drawn to the synopsis of this novel of a murder occurring in a small fishing community. With the tag line of the trial as 'Murder for Lobster' Silver Donald Cameron describes the events leading up to the murder (and beyond) with an unbiased eye and lets the reader know that this wasn't merely about lobster poaching but about a long history in the small community and the impact that was felt long after the trial had ended. A truly gripping read 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review

This was a clear cut above the usual level of true crime - a genre which, of course, has produced some wonderful examples of transformative writing, especially in recent years, but there is a slushy and sensationalist level much of it sits at. Cameron takes the time not to hone in on what is gory or reductionist (murder for lobster), but has the knowledge to explore the circumstances around the murder with nuance, both horizontally - taking in a variety of different, kaleidoscopic perspectives - and vertically, back through the centuries until the local culture and understanding of legal process and justice makes sense. This approach has more chance of capturing 'reality' and 'truth' than most that seek to clearly grasp for it - Cameron is careful never to claim that he knows or can deliver this, but he so carefully works up the circumstances around the death of Phillip Boudreau that the reader is able to see that institutional justice can't do this, either.

Silver Donald Cameron is as very strong writer. He is very descriptive and a shrewd analyst, he cuts to the heart of the subject matter with very deft sentences.

This book covers an act of vigilante justice where beleaguered lobster fishermen take the law into their own hands when a local poacher taunts them one too many times.

The bulk of the book covers the court case, which is interesting enough. However, the court case relies on the tesimony of those who were on the accused's fishing boat and the accounts given to police are not given much scrutiny. To me this is a weakness, we go on rambling side stories about the early years of this seemingly idyllic corner of Canada and how various artisans have opened businesses in the area recently but we don't really cover the nuts and bolts of the police investigation.

I think this book would have been better served by making the key players front and centre and showing in more detail what they said to the police and what their particular angles were. Really the court case was based on hearsay and circumstantial evidence and I think a deeper dive into this aspect of the case would have been more interesting.

Still, a good book and easily worth three stars.