The Water Keeper


The Water Keeper is a riveting and breathless boat trip down the Florida Intercoastal Waterway

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SUMMARY
Murphy Shephard is a man with many secrets. He lives alone on a island in Northeast Florida, tending the grounds of a church with no priest and no parishioners. He has quietly dedicated his life to rescuing women in peril. No one know who he is or what he does. But as he mourns the recent loss of his mentor and friend, Murph himself may be more lost than he realizes.

When he pulls a beautiful woman name Summer out of the Florida Intercoastal Waterway, Murph’s cruise to lay his mentor to rest in the water of the Keys, takes a unplanned and dangerous turn. Drawn to help Summer find her missing daughter, Murphy is pulled once again, into the dark and dangerous world of human-trafficking.

Murphy gets help from some unexpected new friends, including a faithful Labrador he plucks from the ocean, and an ex-convict name Clay. Murph races against the clock to locate Summer’s daughter. At the same time he is unknowingly uncovering secrets of his past.


REVIEW
THE WATER KEEPER is another fabulously powerful novel by Charles Martin. It’s a story of love, friendship, sacrifice, dedication and forgiveness. The writing is absorbing and beautiful, and each of the characters are well drawn. This is a BlueStockingBest read for 2020.

Murph is an amazingly strong, sensitive and faith-filled man. His past, present and future collide in this smartly structured action-packed thriller. Just be prepared for a fast and furious roller-coaster of a boat ride.

There is danger around every bend, as Murph races down the Intercoastal to find the bad guys and rescue Summer’s daughter before it’s to late. A big shout out to Gunner, the resilient Labrador Retriever. Even he helps bring the story to life with his boundless energy, stamina and loyalty.

Author Charles Martin lives in Jacksonville, Florida and has portrayed the beauty of the eastern coastline of Florida magnificently. This is his fourteenth novel. His prior novels include Send Down the Rain Long Way Gone and The Mountain Between Us, which was made into a major motion picture

Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Publisher Thomas Nelson
Published May 5, 2020
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com



#netgalley, #thomasnelson, #thewaterkeeper #bluestockingreviews #bookreviews

Wow. What an intense page turner. Main character Murphy is one amazing man. His character lives out what it means to love others unconditionally. While love is the main theme and trust me it is crystal clear in theme, there is a LOT of action. Speeding boats, guns and much more as Murphy seeks to rescue women and girls from sex trafficking.

Secondary characters are well developed and complement the story. I especially loved Clay, a man recently released from prison after serving decades and Gunner, the canine hero of the novel.

Beautifully written novel that's both engaging and meaningful.

At first, I found this book rather hard to get into. It didn't help that there was this one scene near the beginning that reminded me of a similar scene in another of the author's books. It irritated me no end. Maybe it does happen often in real life? I don't know!

However, the last quarter of this story really grabbed me and I even forgot where I was and what time it was! So much going on! Love how caring the main character is, always out to help people. Inspiring. But he had his really dark moments too.

The Mountain Between Us is still my absolute favourite from Charles Martin. That was a 5 star.

Thank you Netgalley and Thomas Nelson for the ARC. This is my honest review.

2 stars
The Water Keeper by Charles Martin
Charles Martin is a long time favorite author of mine. But, I really struggled with this one. I just couldn't get into it and I tried multiple times. I hate to leave a negative review but I just didn't like this book
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

An entertaining and well written book. Great plot and well developed characters. I highly recommend this book. I received an arc from the publisher and this is my unbiased review.

My first read from this author, and I can honestly say that I haven't read anything like it before.

A mix of action adventure/romance/intrigue, I found the story a bit confusing in the beginning. The story is written in first-person narrative and revolves around the life (past and present) of a priest/government agent/best-selling fiction writer.

Murphy has dedicated his life to finding lost souls, more specifically those taken in human sex trafficking, while also struggling with his own personal loss. This books contains some exquisitely-written prose, deeply-felt insights and thought-provoking passages. However, it can also get a bit convoluted, switching between real life and his fictional character's life. There are also quite a lot of descriptive passages involving Florida's waterways, boat jargon, etc. that at times straddle the line between interesting and tedious. But while this book had its moments of unbelievable feats/plot points, overall I found myself liking and rooting for Murphy to beat the bad guys, save the day and reach some inner peace for himself. I did have some issues with the two female leads in their neediness and questionable tactics, but tried to keep my focus centered on Murphy and his growth and development.

This is the first of a series, and I'm intrigued to see where it leads. I will say that I hope to see further info and insights into Murphy's childhood and growing up years in future books.

My thanks to #NetGalley and #ThomasNelson for providing me the ARC. The opinions are strictly my own.

One awesome read! Themes of love and redemption run through this story surrounding the evil abduction of girls for sex trafficking. These themes are familiar in all the Charles Martin stories I've read so far. I am so in love with the hero, Murphy and everything he does in helping others. I highly recommend this and any of Charles Martin's books. His books touch my soul!

The characters are well-developed and interesting. The plot is engrossing. Then tension builds at just the right pace.

Many thanks to Thomas Nelson - FICTION through Netgalley for an advance copy.

Murph appears to be a simple man who maintains an island chapel until troubled Angel stumbles into his life. As the plot unfolds, we realize that Murph is anything but simple. His character has a complex history and has endured unspeakable hardships.

Although, a suspenseful novel about sex trafficking, Charles Martin brings together characters that have struggled. All of which are alone. The bond these characters creates is touching and gives us hope even in the most desperate times.

Martin weaves together a suspenseful and heartwarming tale that kept me up late wanting to know what would happen next. Thank you NetGalley for the arc of this enjoyable book.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The plot didn't work for me. I really struggled to finish the book.

This is the first book that I have read by Charles Martin, but it certainly will not be the last. There are some stories that you know will just stick with you long after the final page, and this was certainly one of those. Simply put, the story was captivating.

Murph is a man with a definite air of mystery surrounding him. We figure out early on that he's let an interesting life--- but it's not until the story progresses that we really learn all the ins and outs of that life. As more and more of his life is revealed slowly throughout the story, I found myself falling deeper and deeper into the events. The Water Keeper tackles the tough topic of human trafficking and slavery through an adventure story that reminded me of a timeless classic adventure--- complete with a rag tag group of characters, all broken in their own ways. As they set out in search of Summer's daughter Angel, I loved seeing how their stories would unfold...past and present. There are some twists and turns along the way...and while I admit that I did see some coming fairly early on, others took me by complete surprise and had me curious to go back and see where reality and fiction intersected and what I might have missed. The story truly was quite intriguing, with a beautiful message of love and it's ability to overcome all. Certainly not a typical romance novel, by any means... but a beautiful story of love nonetheless.

I will say that there was a lot of technical detail about the various boats and waterways traveled. For me, I must admit that it slowed the story down a bit in places and I personally could have done without it. Others may disagree if they are into that kind of thing. Still, it wasn't a big enough issue to keep me from thoroughly enjoying this story... while it might have kept it from being a 5 star from me, it was still very much a STRONG 4 stars. It's beautifully written and one I'm certain I won't soon forget.

**I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley for consideration. All thoughts are 100% my own.

Charles Martin is one of my favorite authors and can always render a story that calls to the human spirit. This book stayed with me long after I had finished it. It was very atmospheric and I loved the broken characters.
Many thanks to a Thomas Nelson Fiction and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Charles Martin gets you right in the feels with this book about a jaded secret agent searching for a girl who has been kidnapped by a sex-trafficking ring, and finding the way back to his own heart along the way.

This book wasn't my typical type of read, but I'm glad to have given it a chance. The characters have depth and you root for them from the beginning. It has a strong sense of place; I could feel the wind in my hair and smell the water as we sped along the Florida Intracoastal Waterway. I was kept guessing right up to the end.

If there is anything to complain about (and I'm not complaining), it does wrap up a bit too neatly. A few times I had to suspend disbelief when some events that happened seemed too convenient. But that being said, this is a story that kept me interested, invested me in the characters, and warmed my heart.

A heartbreaking story about a man who has made it his life's mission to rescue girls and young women from slavery in and around Florida. Lyrical and detailed descriptions make you feel as if you are along for the ride. That being said, the writing felt a bit rushed toward the end. It also felt like the end was being written for an action movie. Some of the things the severely injured protagonist was able to do seemed to be humanly impossible. Still, this book is not easily forgotten and definitely a recommended read. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is my first Charles Martin book and I will be reading more of them. I love how he wove together such a moving story with beautiful characters. Their pasts, struggles, hopes, dreams, mistakes and loves keep the story moving forward and engages the reader in a deep way. I stayed up way too late reading this one and it had me thinking about it long after the book was finished.

LOVED this book so much!!! Best book I’ve read in 2020 so far! Thanks for the opportunity to read this! Such an awesome writing style and loved all the characters! I will definitely check out more books by Charles Martin!

This is my 7th Charles Martin book I’ve read and everyone of them has been added to my top reads each year. When Crickets Cry is still one of my favorites of all time. But unfortunately, while reading this book, I had to check several times to make sure the author was the same Charles Martin that wrote all of those other awesome books. It was, and I almost didn’t want to write a review, but this definitely is not one of my favorites.
All of his previous books were believable love stories with so much heart, they would bring tears to your eyes or cause you to laugh out loud, and you came to care for all of the characters. This one is an action tale that has so much going on, it’s difficult to keep up with who and where Murphy and the bad guys are. The action overwrites all of the possible romance scenes.
My first con, it took me a little bit to figure out that this is a story inside of writing a story and there were multiple times I was completely lost of which timeframe we were in. My second con, several of the chase action scenes were so over the top, there is no way Murphy and the dog could have kept going after all the damage and injuries they went through.
I still have several books written by Mr. Martin to read and I certainly will, but I do hope he stayed with what works for him, wonderful loveable characters with so much heartfelt stories.
I was allowed an ARC from Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for my honest unbiased review. This one gets 3 stars.

I love anything I've read by Charles Martin. He's a gifted storyteller and he always manages to make me cry.
This story took me a little bit more time than usual to get into (kind of an info dump in the beginning) but as soon as I reached the hump, I coasted through the rest. A poignant and meaningful story.

I received a complimentary copy via NetGalley.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have read several books by Charles Martin over the past few months, and I have been struck by the way each book takes characters who have been broken in many different ways who then find their way to redemption. The Water Keeper is much darker than any of Martin's previous books, tackling human trafficking and one man's mission to save as many girls as possible along the Florida coast as a way to heal his own broken heart. I'm not sure why, but I find the first few chapters of most of Martin's books to be a bit confusing, but they are always worth the effort to continue reading to find how those opening chapters tie in to the rest of the novel. Highly recommend.

Classic Charles Martin. A privilege to read from beginning to end. Give yourself a gift and curl up w/ this novel...savor it...you will not be disappointed. Five Stars.

I like the characters in this book and have enjoyed other books by Mr. Martin, however, this one took a bit more to get into and some seemed a bit unrealistic. The subject matter is timely and important. I didn't like the ending. I'm wondering if there is going to be a sequel. If this was the first book that I had read by this author I probably wouldn't read any others, however, I have enjoyed his other books. He does a great job with his characters.
I received a complementary copy of this book for the purpose of an honest revies.