Cold Cold Water is a short novel about the bonds between women and how people deal with and recover from trauma. Ramona is an emotionally closed-off and tough-as-nails bounty hunter who is accompanied on her jobs by the friendly Jo, a former pilot and POV camp survivor – of an American Civil War in recent times. It’s not clear whether this is an alternative history or speculative fiction, but it works either way. It’s an exciting, quick-moving, but also a poignant story about women trusting women. While the end result of the story is not surprising, it’s still satisfying. The story moves almost too fast at times, but there are several quiet moments between Ramona and Jo interspersed throughout. There isn’t enough space to give either character the depth I would have liked, but I understood their motivations. The novel is very violent, reminiscent of a western or a post-apocalyptic narrative. It was refreshing to have a story with women warriors who aren’t bogged down by feelings of guilt over the justified violence they dispense.

The novel is also unapologetically feminist, which I found wonderful. Often times, mainstream media has to approach any feminist theme with a subtle hand, so to not “offend” that small but vocal contingent of super-sensitive men who think any critique of misogyny or patriarchy is an affront to them personally. This novel is not shy about proactive violence towards threats and there is an overall theme of women helping and trusting other women – with good cause. There are good men in the novel, but the book is less about gender balance than the vicarious enjoyment of seeing bad men get theirs. And the bonds of sisterhood.

It’s a dark, gritty, fun, story set in one of my favourite regions in the world.

I have been reading a lot of books of late that are alternative history and am fascinated by the story’s that writers are telling, I love the subversion of chronological history and the possibilities that allows the author investigate, you don’t need to be a sci fi fan to enjoy this book, just a fan if reading quality writing and storytelling