The Tears of Dark Water

(Thank you Netgalley for an early release copy)

I rarely rate a book 5 stars...but as he did in A Walk Across the Sun, Corban Addison grabs of from the beginning of the wonderful book, and just doesn't let go.

Daniel and Vanessa Parker, and their teenage son Quentin, appear to have it all. But Daniel and Vanessa's marriage if failing, and Quentin is experience more than the typical teenage angst. To fix or develop their relationship, Daniel and Quentin use the one thing they both enjoy, and embark on a sailing trip around the world. The trip is everything they hope for and more...until the day they are kidnapped by Somali pirates.

But their captors don't seem like the typical Somali pirate. Ismail, the apparent leader, speaks fluent English, and seems educated. His motivation for the kidnapping is unclear. And they are all far from seasoned pirates; their first attempt at hijacking a ship results in the lost of one of their boats and half of their pirates. So who are they, and why do they find Daniel's sailboat a reasonable target?

Enter the cavalry, or in the case, the US Navy. Although more inclined to using might than negotiation, Paul Derrick, an experienced hostage negotiator is asked to participate in rescuing Daniel and Quentin. The victims aren't typical, the hostage negotiator isn't typical, and the process soon becomes one unlike anything the rules and regulation driven Naval commander has ever seen. Can the negotiations succeed and keep the hostages alive?

The Tears of Dark Water is gripping and suspenseful; I could not put it down. An outstanding book!

Fantastic! I went into this novel totally blind... deciding to read it based on the star rating and the beautiful cover. I wasn't sure if it was something I was going to enjoy once I discovered it was about a Somolian pirate hijacking. I was afraid it was going to be a retelling of a Captain Philips. Boy, am I glad I stuck with it. When I made the discovery that Addison was the author of A Walk Across The Sun, which I thoroughly enjoyed, I knew I was in for a memorable and insightful journey. Addison does such a wonderful job of taking current international events from around the world and relaying them in a very humanizing manner. I can not recommend this author enough. 4.5 strong stars.

This is a story about family, understanding, forgiveness. human dignity and justice. If that sounds heavy, yes it was challenging for me. What kept me reading despite the heaviness of the subject matter was Corban Addison's deeply layered and vibrant characters. There are so many themes addressed in this story that I can easily see it becoming a book discussion favorite. It was evenly paced, and the events were a bit predictable, but as I stated, the vivid characters and their reaction/response to events was what made the novel interesting. I will definitely read more from Corban Addison.
*I received my copy through NetGalley.com in response for an honest review.

Reading "The Tears of Dark Water" has been like a rollercoaster ride for me. First of all, this book is so rich in its character diversity and the themes it tackles are so broad and so many, that it is really difficult to briefly talk about it.

The way the various characters came together and connected with each other throughout the novel was really well-done. It was astonishing to see people who led such different lives and who came from such different walks of life to interconnect like that. The story was mostly fast-paced and the writing was stark and beautiful in just the places where it should be.

This book made me realise how truth is very often manipulated by the people in higher positions, and how media has helped us form an opinion about places so far away from us that may in reality be quite false. The author conducted a thorough research before writing this book, as he also states in his author's note at the end of the story, and I believe all this research and immersion in the Somalian culture has really paid off.

In the end, this book is about forgiveness, letting go of hurtful past events, moving on, and, ultimately, about life itself. I had never before encountered any book like this one, so rich in its thematology and so thought-provoking, and I am really glad I was given the opportunity to read it.