Book Review of Dead Water by C.A. Fletcher

Name of Book: Dead Water

Author: C.A. Fletcher

ISBN:  9780316538633

Publisher: Redhook 

Type of book: horror, water disease/ curse, history, discovery, isolation, hatred, North of Scotland, animals, birds, crows 

Year it was published: 2022

Summary:

A water-borne blight hits a remote community on a small island on the edge of the Northern Atlantic. The islanders are a strange mix, some island-born, some seeking a slower life away from the modern world. All have their own secrets, some much darker than others. Rumour says the illness may be a water-borne neural infection from the shellfish farm, a case of mass hysteria - or even a long-buried curse - but when ferry service fails, inconvenience grows into nightmarish ordeal as the outwardly harmonious fabric of the community is unnervingly torn apart.

A haunting, suspenseful tale of isolation and dread within a small island community -from the author of A Boy and his Dog at the End of the World, perfect for fans of The Loney and Station Eleven

Characters:

One of the main characters that I enjoyed was Sig, an outsider and a widow who had went through a lot of heartache and trouble. Sig seems to enjoy flirting with death, at least in beginning of the novel and also desires to be a loner and not be responsible for anyone else. There are a ton of other characters such as Matt, another local who is deaf and identifies as gay and who was related to Sigs husband. There are also newcomers, a male nurse and his son and new wife as well as a newborn daughter and technicians who will be trying to update the internet and so forth. 

Theme:

Nothing dies 

Plot:

The story is written in third person omniscient point of view. The exposition is pretty long before we get to the meat of the story, and I felt not enough information was really given,which sounds odd for 400 page story. I couldn't connect with any of the characters, I am sorry to say, although potential was there, and there were way too many characters to pay attention to. 

Author Information:
(From goodreads)

C. A. Fletcher has children and dogs. He lives in Scotland and writes for a living.

Also see Charlie Fletcher

Opinion:

I hate to admit that I found the novel and the story to be disappointing, because from the summary it seemed like a good thriller/horror to read. I think I expected it to have a Christopher Pike vibe because the summary made it sound as if its something he would write. But instead of Christopher Pike, I got an R.L. Stine. ( and yes those two have very different writing and distinct styles.) My problems with the novel include the exposition which lasted hundreds of pages, lack of warning when it came to switching points of views ( in one chapter the author would have two or three characters telling their sides.) I also was very confused about the background of the virus/curse as well as how it works, and vocabulary words that I hadn't seen before. I definitely think this novel had great potential for the story, but I am definitely the wrong audience for it. 

This was given for review 

2 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)