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    • JON RICHTER
    • CAROLYN HUGHES
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    • JACK BYRNE
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    • JANINA DAVID
    • LAUREN EMILY WHALEN
    • LAURA E. GOODIN
    • SIMON VAN DER VELDE
    • DR. MANUEL MATAS
    • JANE BETTANY
    • REGINA PUCKETT
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    • LIZ MARTINSON
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    • EMILYA NAYMARK
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    • PATERSON LOARN
  • RECOMMENDED READS
    • THE UPRIGHT PIANO PLAYER BY DAVID ABBOTT
    • 'ROOM 15' BY CHARLES HARRIS
    • 'MISS, WHAT DOES INCOMPREHENSIBLE MEAN?' BY FRAN HILL
    • THE TRUE ADVENTURES OF GIDON LEV
    • NOTE TO BOY BY SUE CLARK
    • A VERY ENGLISH SCANDAL
    • BLACKWATERTOWN BY PAUL WATERS
    • BENEATH A SCARLET SKY
    • PANTHEON BY SAM BOURNE
    • C: BECAUSE COWARDS GET CANCER TOO BY JOHN DIAMOND
    • THEN ALONG CAME RUDY BY SAM SCHICHTER
    • LIGHT FROM OTHER WINDOWS BY CHRIS CHALMERS
    • 'THE UNMARRIAGEABLE MAN' BY ASHOK FERREY
    • 'METHOD' BY PHILIP HENRY
    • OPERATION MINCEMEAT
    • The Curious Rise of Alex Lazarus by Adam Leigh
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Blackwatertown
by Paul Waters

BLACKWATERTOWN BY PAUL WATERS
This magnificent tour de force is set in Northern Ireland in the 50s.

Paul Waters’ exceptional debut thriller is set in the Irish border village of Blackwatertown in the 1950s. The dialogue and sense of time and place have a completely authentic feel. You can almost smell the Irish peat and pints of Guinness. It’s one of those incredibly immersive books that grabs you by the collar and takes you there whether you like it or not.
It comes as little surprise then that Waters himself was born and brought up in Belfast and was involved in the political scene as a peace activist. Such books as this are always written by writers who really do know their characters and settings. And Waters clearly knows them very well indeed. It also has to be said that he writes majestically.
The story revolves around police sergeant Jolly Macken who is feeling jaded by his role in the police force but is compelled to find the killer of his younger brother who had followed him into the police and served in Blackwatertown prior to his untimely death. When Macken finds himself posted to Blackwatertown, he is in the perfect position to find out the truth about his younger brother. However, as a Roman Catholic in a police force that is primarily manned by Protestant Unionists, Macken’s position is a difficult one, to say the least. He has to tread carefully and watch his back.
Amid the politics and the outbursts of violence, there are deftly penned passages that will make you smile. One particular scene involving a dog and a wig is absolutely priceless.
But these wonderful details aside, the book at its core explores those deeply profound and universal themes of identity, trust, and love. And the two strands of the narrative that concern Macken and his brother are both ultimately governed not by politics but by tugs to the heartstrings.
This is a very human story with many surprising twists and turns. Its crescendo of a resolution is totally unexpected, painfully poignant, and heartrending. Blackwatertown is populated with characters who will move you and stay with you long after turning the final page. I couldn’t recommend it more wholeheartedly. It is a magnificent and powerful thriller that won’t disappoint. As a debut, it is nothing short of astonishing.



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  • Home
  • About
  • BOOKSHELF
    • REVIEWS
    • TRAILERS & READINGS
  • INTERVIEWS PAGE 1
    • PAUL WATERS
    • JESSICA NORRIE
    • DAVID F. ROSS
    • DREMA DRUDGE
    • CHRIS CHALMERS
    • MARK FARRER
    • SUE CLARK
    • HANNAH TOVEY
    • BELINDA HUNT
    • GLYNN HOLLOWAY
    • MARK EKLID
    • JANE RISDON
    • CHARLES HARRIS
    • GRANT PRICE
    • L. C. TYLER
    • MALCOLM KNOTT
    • ASHOK FERREY
    • JULIAN DUTTON
    • P. J. ROSCOE
    • PRAMUDITH D. RUPASINGHE
    • LILY IONA MACKENZIE
  • INTERVIEWS PAGE 2
    • FRAN HILL
    • JACQUI CASTLE
    • IAN CRITCHLEY
    • RON IMPEY
    • C. J. BOOTH
    • NIKKI DUDLEY
    • JENNIFER IRWIN
    • BETH DUKE
    • VICKI OLSEN
    • PETE LANGMAN
    • PAULINE MORGAN
    • JONATHAN PEACE
    • SANDY MANNING
    • SHELLEY WILSON
    • REBECCA MARSH
    • ALAN GIBBONS
    • FIONA MORGAN
    • TOM ATKINS
    • JADI CAMPBELL
    • CHRISTOPHER BOWDEN
    • ANTHONY NEIL SMITH
    • A. A. CHAUDHURI
  • INTERVIEWS PAGE 3
    • JON RICHTER
    • CAROLYN HUGHES
    • TRISH MORAN
    • MADELINE DEWHURST
    • JEFF POLLAK
    • LOUISE FEIN
    • A. B. KYAZZE
    • JACK BYRNE
    • M. A. HUNTER
    • TESSA HARRIS
    • M. J. MALLON
    • P. R. BLACK
    • NINA SODEN
    • BILL ARNOTT
    • E. CHRIS AMBROSE
    • SAM BLAKE
    • PAUL KANE
    • DOUGLAS SKELTON
    • LOUISE MUMFORD
    • PHILIP HENRY
    • HAZEL PRIOR
  • INTERVIEWS PAGE 4
    • JANINA DAVID
    • LAUREN EMILY WHALEN
    • LAURA E. GOODIN
    • SIMON VAN DER VELDE
    • DR. MANUEL MATAS
    • JANE BETTANY
    • REGINA PUCKETT
    • S. G. M. ASHCROFT
    • PAM LECKY
    • MICHELE KWASNIEWSKI
    • JUDY STANIGAR
    • ROBERT CRAVEN
    • JOHN DARLING
    • RICHARD DEE
    • SOPHY LAYZELL
    • LORNA DOUNAEVA
    • DIANA STEVAN
    • BRADLEY HARPER
    • PAUL GITSHAM
    • SION SCOTT-WILSON
    • JOHN DEAN
  • INTERVIEWS PAGE 5
    • LIZ MARTINSON
    • C. J. CARVER
    • TONY J. FORDER
    • SHARRON L. MILLER
    • PATRICK OSBORNE
    • PETER TURNHAM
    • JUDE LENNON
    • ANNA HOLMES
    • CHRIS CALDER
    • JANE BUCKLEY
    • RACHEL BRIMBLE
    • GAIL ALDWIN
    • ANNE COATES
    • IAN RIDDLE
    • CHRISTINA HAMLETT
    • JAMES MORGAN-JONES
    • SUE WICKSTEAD
    • ALISON HUNTINGFORD
    • GILA GREEN
    • HELEN PRYKE
  • INTERVIEWS PAGE 6
    • EMILYA NAYMARK
    • MARCIA CLAYTON
    • JAMES L'ETOILE
    • EDWARD TRAYER
    • MARK LEICHLITER
    • BERNETA L. HAYNES
    • LINDSAY J. SEDGWICK
    • DAVID LISCIO
    • KATE REYNOLDS
    • H. C. DENHAM
    • PATERSON LOARN
  • RECOMMENDED READS
    • THE UPRIGHT PIANO PLAYER BY DAVID ABBOTT
    • 'ROOM 15' BY CHARLES HARRIS
    • 'MISS, WHAT DOES INCOMPREHENSIBLE MEAN?' BY FRAN HILL
    • THE TRUE ADVENTURES OF GIDON LEV
    • NOTE TO BOY BY SUE CLARK
    • A VERY ENGLISH SCANDAL
    • BLACKWATERTOWN BY PAUL WATERS
    • BENEATH A SCARLET SKY
    • PANTHEON BY SAM BOURNE
    • C: BECAUSE COWARDS GET CANCER TOO BY JOHN DIAMOND
    • THEN ALONG CAME RUDY BY SAM SCHICHTER
    • LIGHT FROM OTHER WINDOWS BY CHRIS CHALMERS
    • 'THE UNMARRIAGEABLE MAN' BY ASHOK FERREY
    • 'METHOD' BY PHILIP HENRY
    • OPERATION MINCEMEAT
    • The Curious Rise of Alex Lazarus by Adam Leigh
  • ALEX'S BLOG
  • Articles for Huffington Post
  • FREE BOOKS
  • CONTACT
  • Untitled