Taking on Water

Secrets have a way of coming out, whether you want to or not. And sometimes its better if you choose when you want yours to be revealed. James, a social worker, suspects that a young teen boy is being abused by his father, but soon discovers the real reason behind the abuse, and James and his wife, a detective, becomes friends with the boy's family. Detective Morrow has to investigate a drug related death, and her investigation turns dangerous. For all. Throughout the book the reader feels that secrets will be revealed on the next page, and the next page.... leaving you wanting to finish the book! Thanks to netgalley for the opportunity. Highly recommended.

I enjoyed this book. The author's words paint a beautiful picture of the town, the ocean and the setting in general. He also captures the essence of small town living and the desperation felt by families living on the edge of poverty. It took awhile for me to get into the book. The beginning was kind of slow. It had a lot of seemingly unrelated scenes that made it a bit difficult to follow as the flow was choppy. However, everything came together nicely in the second half of the book. Once the action started it moved quickly and had quite a few surprising twists and turns. I don't want to say much about it because it would ruin the book for other readers. I did however especially like the ending.

Taking on Water totally took me by surprise! Set in a New Hampshire fishing town, David Rawding draws a deeply atmospheric picture of the connection between, and the devastating consequences of, poverty, drugs, crime, mental health and abuse. The story follows James, a social worker, who befriends Tucker, a lobsterman. Both men have personal demons they are struggling with. James is married to Maya who is a local police detective investigating drug trafficking. The lives of the two families become entangled resulting in tragic outcomes.
There is a slow build-up of tension and mystery as the author introduces the background and all the characters involved. The coastal setting with the fishing industry focus was really interesting and something quite different. I was impressed by how authentic the characters felt. I loved the relationship between James and Maya. I don't want to give the plot away, but there was an instance in the book where I actually shouted out loud OH NO!!! So yeah, I definitely felt connected to the characters. I read the last third of the book in one go. The action really picked up and it turned into an edge-of-your-seat page turner. The ending was absolutely brilliant and a thought provoking final twist. Thank you to the author and the publisher for providing me with a complimentary copy via NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Wow, I don't like to start off a review with a interjection unless I really mean it, but seriously this book grabbed me by my haunches and threw me overboard. James and Maya were so incredibly likable and relatable . I feel like I knew them or had at least met someone like them once in my life.

The story follows James a social worker with a past filled with being abused. He puts that all behind him when he meets his wife Maya. Maya calms the stormy seas within him and its smooth sailing from there that is until someone throws a crowbar into it. Maya is a local police officer investigating the increase in narcotics (specifically heroin) in their small fishing town in New Hampshire. Along the way James meets and befriends a local lobsterman named Tucker and their two families become very close until tragedy befalls one of the families -- I cannot explain much more without spoiling it for you, but believe me -- this story is a thrill ride from beginning to end.

My wife works in a field similar to this and I know a lot of people who work in social work -- all of the references to that and the police were seemed spot on to me. Now throw in James' history of being abused -- where those scenes were so vivid and visceral its hard not to feel bad for him. That is the only warning I would give people -- the scenes of abuse and writing about it could cause some issues to anyone who has been in that situation or known someone who was.

The story is definitely a builder, as in the beginning the author is setting the tension. Well, halfway through you can tell the tension is getting to be so tight it might snap soon. And by 3/4 the way through it it gets so tense it finally gives way, allowing the reader to flow to the end because they can't just leave it like that. Rawding has an incredibly knack for knowing what the reader wants to happen next and doesn't leave them hanging for long. I hope that he writes another story like this -- and I hope he writes it soon because I loved this book.

I don't like to think I'm overpraising a book -- but there was just something about it. Maybe its setting in the New England area (I've vacationed to Maine many times), or just the way he developed the characters. This was one of those books where when I was finished I had to take a few deep breaths because this didn't actually happen. This was just a book, just a work of fiction because I felt like it was all so real.

David Rawding -- you hooked me, now pull me up so I can keep going!

I have to say, this book really took me by surprise....
Set in a small fishing town in northern New Hampshire, Maya Morrow is a detective trying to find who is responsible for the drugs being transported through her town. Her husband Jack is a social worker who struggles with demons from his past. When looking into the possibility of a child abuse situation, Jack befriends Tucker, a down on his luck lobsterman who his own dark secrets that he struggles to keep buried. The two families bond and form a quick friendship that sets the stage for how the rest of the story unfolds.
The build up is slow and steady for the first half of the book, then BAM! You are thrown onto a speeding train with no breaks for the second half... Intense!!
I found myself a bit sad at the end as I was hoping for a better outcome for some of the characters...but I suppose once you cross over to the dark side there is no going back. An easy 4 stars from me and a new author to keep my eyes on!
My thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

While this book was not my cup of tea, I think that it would appeal to my patrons as we live near many fishing towns. This highly descriptive, atmospheric story included an interesting plot and characters.

I really enjoyed this book. I will definitely be recommending

I chose to read this novel because one of the protagonists is a lobsterman. Since I live in Nova Scotia, where lobster fishing is a huge industry, I thought it would be fun to read a mystery centered around this physically demanding, arduous way of making a living.

Let me introduce you to the two male protagonists in "Taking on water".

The main protagonist is James Morrow. A social worker, James works for New Hampshire Child Protective Services. He is married to Maya, one of the town's only black female police detectives. Crazy about each other, they are trying to have a baby. In his free time James volunteers at a Youth Recreation center. James comes from a dysfunctional family where his father was an abusive alcoholic. Like his father before him, James has anger management issues which he struggles daily to keep under control.

"We are the products of our memories, for better or worse. They make us into the people we are."

When James meets Kevin, a young boy with bruises at the rec center, he fears the boy may be abused, so he contrives to meet Kevin's parents. He learns that he is mistaken about the abuse, but finds a new friend in lobsterman Tucker Flynn. Tucker takes James out on his boat, and the two couples socialize.

Tucker Flynn, is a lifelong fisherman, married with a young son. (He had two sons, but the eldest one died). He inherited his lobster license and boat 'Periwinkle' from his father. Along with these, he inherited loads of debt and is in danger of losing his house. A volatile man, he is now being threatened by a fellow fisherman, his lines are being cut, and his livelihood sabotaged. When a devastating storm hits, Tucker loses thousands of dollars worth of fishing gear. He is now a desperate man.

"Lady Justice seemed to lift up her blindfold and wink at the privileged."

The novel is set in the small New Hampshire coastal town of Newborough. Heroin is taking its toll on the small community. Maya has been involved in the arrest of one of the supposed dealers, but fears that this is just the tip of the iceberg. A man jumps to his death from the town's bridge. A teenager overdoses at the youth recreation center where James volunteers. Maya has a theory as to how the heroin is entering the town. Proving her theory may endanger everything she holds dear...

David Rawding's writing has a wonderful flow. Nothing stilted or contrived - with equal skill at dialogue and narrative. The characters were fully rendered with a mixture of attitudes, thoughts, and past memories making them very 'real' for the reader. The plot itself had a realistic feel that I appreciated and I am very anxious to read more work by this author. This is a novel about the lengths desperate men will go to when they feel they have nothing left to lose. About how avarice breeds corruption, and how corruption can undermine even the most altruistic.

For me, the ending let the novel down in one respect. Since I never include 'spoilers' in my reviews, I can say only that the personality and moral fiber of one of the main characters changed drastically from what it was throughout the rest of the novel. This change seemed hard for me to come to grips with. Also, I must warn you that if you like books where 'they all lived happily ever after', then this book is NOT for you.

You WILL enjoy it if you like crime thrillers that are well-written and have complex characters. Recommended!