This book was good. Not my usual read, I don't tend to like anything historical. However, I enjoyed it overall. Thank you netgalley for the arc!

Two lives intermingled over centuries, Will, a modern detective filled with regrets and depression, and Wilhelm, who witnesses the atrocities of Vikings to his community, his love. Both of these souls find themselves bound to the ground over which the Blackwater River runs. There is a ghostly atmosphere over both twin-told tales, that compels one with interest in history and this damp landscape of England's people, past and present.

There is a modern mystery interwoven with a historical battle that actually took place and was documented in ancient poetry, with a feeling that both Will and Wilhelm if not just see, are actually assisted by a particular woman.

A Sincere Thanks to Paul Smith, Matador and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review. #TheBlackwater #NetGalley

The recurring theme of reincarnation adds an uncanny, other-worldly element of tension and the battle scenes are all written with the flair and confidence of Bernard Cornwell.
Set in and around Maldon in 991 and 2014 two apparently separate stories collide in an emotional and breath-taking finale.

Fantastic story that ebbs and flows and leaves you constantly guessing. Highly recommend reading it. Thank to the author, publisher and NetGalley

This book wasn’t for me but it may well be for other people.

Very well written but not the kind of book that I like.

A modern thriller travelling in parallel with an ancient story is no longer a novelty, since it is a literary artifice now adopted by many authors. In this case, I have to say that the historical part is, in my opinion, much better than the modern one, since the latter is guilty of some too much "matapsychic" intervention, perhaps trying to make the reader (who in any case would have arrived at it on his own) understand that some characters of the present are sort of reincarnations of some protagonists of the past. As I was saying, the historical part, even though it refers to another literary artifice, namely that of the rediscovered manuscript, is much more enjoyable and certainly accurate than that which takes place in the present. All in all, a decent entertainment product.

The title daunted me before delving into the full narrative but once I jumped headlong it was much more enjoyable. A completely different read and original storyline.

It was very hard for me to finish reading this book. That's actually a compliment to Paul Smith's writing. The first person narrator of the present day part of the book suffers depression. It's very well done and an emotional milieu I don't like revisiting.. The mystery gets buried by his negative thinking. The tenth century plot is straightforward and really interesting, but both sections are full of foreboding. It's well written, although the amount of detail could be reduced. Probably most readers wouldn't find it all that gloomy. Thanks to Matador and NetGalley for the eARC.

The book ran 2 stories side by side, while it was clear that they would eventually merge, I found both parts of the book engaging, it was a slow burn that came to a fast end. It was a mixture of crime fiction and a love story with a villan and a ghost story thrown in for good measure. I enjoyed the book and found it an easy read. At times it was a bit predictable but had a few surprises up its sleeves. Overall I enjoyed the book and would recommend it as a light and easy read.

I found this book somewhat challenging to read / hold my interest. However I did like how the past and present collided and the whole mystery behind the story. Although different from most books that “ grab me” , it did hold me until its conclusion.

Cleverly written with dual timelines to keep you focused. Loved the lead character and the way he attacked the mysteries. He is a really appealing character who is human and credible with his flaws.

How to say something positive about this book? Before I do, I have to say the opening chapter was totally unexpected--a man attempts suicide by train but when he fails, he just goes to work? As a detective in charge of a massive drug sting? Second weirdness was being tossed back to the year 991, over and over with no hint how this related to the detective story until many chapters in. Okay, if this oddness doesn't turn you off then this might be your kind of book. I'd already decided 'not for me' but since I'd promised someone I'd read it, I kept going but it was a slog. The book was actually a DNF for me but I gave it a good try. The positive bit? This could be a really good story with more work and strong guidance from the editors. Main characters (especially in detective stories) swallowed up by angst seem to be big right now but I'm not so sure someone in the depths of true depression could function even this well.

This is a fast starting suspense novel. I started so quickly I thought it might have been a sequel. When you get to the point to settle in you find the author has a new trick to keep you in suspense and turning pages in this dark thriller.

DCI William Constable is a tortured man - tortured by his personal past and his professional present trying to apprehend a drug trafficking ring. Interwoven is the story of Wilhelm in 991, a Saxon caught up in the Viking invasion. All of this taking place in the Blackwater area of the historic Battle of Maldon.

‘As time melted into the mist, I sensed a stillness.’

In the present, DCI William Constable is deeply depressed. His life, as he sees it, is full of failures. His marriage has failed and the international drug ring he is investigating keeps missing its targets. William Constable is contemplating death:

‘Entombed by the slavery of my depression, a cloud of loneliness enveloped me as I waited to die. Gripped by a choking sadness, I knew what I must do.’

A chance vision stops him from taking his life, but he is reassigned to community policing in his hometown of Maldon in Essex, UK.

In the past, over a thousand years earlier, the Vikings invade the Blackwater Estuary with the town of Maldon as their goal. Wilhelm is one of the men called on to defend the town as they wait for the king and his army to arrive. The fighting is brutal.

‘A picture of pain assaulted his vision, and before the image had time to disappear, it became etched into his memory, so that even after the fleeting glance had passed, Wilhelm continued to see it.’

In the present, as part of a murder investigation he becomes entangled in, William finds some clues to the drug case he had been investigating. He is determined to find the truth and places himself at risk as he investigates.
In the past, Wilhelm tries to save the woman he loves from the invaders.

‘Transcending time, I found myself transported from the present into the past.’

I had very mixed feelings about this novel. While I found the focus on William’s mental health interesting, the writing frequently jerked me out of the story. I itched to edit, to tighten up the language and remove some of the verbiage, to move beyond William’s thoughts into his actions. And while Wilhelm’s story has me interested in the Battle of Maldon (about which little is known), I found it difficult moving between past and present.

‘I was walking into a trap from which there could be no escape, a fight I could never hope to win.’

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Matador for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

The Blackwater called out to me because of its 10th-century setting. Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres, but so little is available from this era. This leads me to what I loved about the novel.

The setting - Maldon, the Blackwater Estuary, and Osea Island. I've heard of Maldon salt, but I had no idea the salt works date back more than 1000 years. This region of England was the site of the Battle of Maldon, between Anglo-Saxons and Danish Vikings.

The battle's details haven't survived, but Paul Smith presents a thoroughly researched fictional recounting of the invasion. He describes the weaponry, battle strategies, and mud-dominated battlefield with details that made me feel like I was there. The slow pace of armies setting up, shield lines, archer lines, and foot soldiers all facing off and waiting for the call to fight. It must have been excruciating to wait for hours, knowing a brutal death was the likely outcome.

Smith's descriptions of the Viking armada, valkyries, and methods of execution were fascinating to read about - and the latter was memorably gruesome. The historical details in Smith's novel inspired me to go off and read more about the specific battle (not much) and Viking invasions of England in general (much more).

The Blackwater is a dual timeline novel, bouncing between the Battle of Maldon story and a modern-day crime story. The two accounts link up via Viking imagery, Danish villains, and a female apparition that reveals herself to the lead character at critical moments. So it's also a bit of a ghost story that works.

The plot of the crime aspect of the novel is well constructed. I enjoyed some of the twists and turns. Character development was pretty good, as well, and I did connect with most of the cast. However, the lead character suffers from unrelenting depression and suicide ideation. I understand this is a real experience, and I think the author did it justice, but it was pretty dark to read - unrelenting. Readers should consider this before they read the book.

My primary complaint with Smith's debut novel is the clumsy writing. It needed some solid editing. There were some redundancies of phrasing, and dialogue often felt unrealistic. I enjoyed the vocabulary stretch and occasionally looked up unfamiliar words, something I also want in a good read.

So for the plot and the original subject matter, I give the book 4-stars. For the writing, I give it 3-stars. If you are interested in Anglo-Saxon England and the Vikings or just crave a "new" period of history to read about, I can recommend The Blackwater. If you are very picky about your prose and read mainly for the language, this book may not deliver.

For me, I hope Paul Smith writes another novel. I'll read it.

I received a NetGalley e-version of this book in return for an honest review.

This was an interesting book, with its dual narrative, and its focus on the mental health of its main character.

Narrative 1 in the present day:
DCI William Constable has been investigating an international drug ring, in concert with the Danish police. They’re on the trail of a biker gang, but no matter what they do, they keep missing opportunities to capture the criminals bringing the drugs into Britain. Mmmmmmm is seriously depressed from these successive failures, and his crumbled marriage. After a failed suicide attempt, he is given a one-year assignment working as a community police officer in his hometown, Maldon, and gratefully leaves behind his responsibility for cases. This helps to slightly ease his hatred for himself, and his sense of failure and depression. He almost immediately stumbles on a possible connection to the drug case, and a murder.

Narrative 2 in the year 991 in and around the Blackwater Estuary:
After years of peace, the Vikings are coming for the riches at the town. All the men must defend the town, and are also waiting for the King to arrive and beat back the surprise invaders.


I was surprised, but glad, that the author showed the mental cost of the long-running investigation on the mental health and the marriage of William. He’s not great at dealing with people at the best of times, he admits, and his professional problems and ensuing depression exacerbated his social anxiety. I welcomed the author's dealing with the emotional difficulties of professional and personal issues.
The author’s speculation on what happened at the Battle of Maldon in 991 was interesting, though I found it actually dragged in longer than I liked, and actually did not keep my interest.
As a longtime mystery story reader, I found that in the present day narrative that William missed several easy to see clues, and I was not sure if the author intended this to illustrate the effect of depression on his character's analytical ability, or that the narrative was not set up as skillfully as I had hoped for.

While I liked the approach the author took with the main character, I found the historical speculation sections could have been trimmed, and did not sustain enough of my interest in this debut mystery.

Thank you to Netgalley and Troubador for this ARC in exchange for my review.

This book is hard to read. The descriptions and thoughts in the first person style get tiresome. The chapters divided in dates and places help to keep track of the characters. However, it tends to add to the confusion. I found myself skipping over parts to get to the storyline and dialogue.
I would recommend this book to someone very patient, who enjoys long winded descriptions, with an English setting. Otherwise, don’t pick it up.

Thank you to Netgalley and Matador Publishing for the eARC.

There is a lot of merit in this story. While I normally am not a huge fan of first person narratives, in this instance, it actually works. The writing could be a little more crisp and most of the overt foreshadowing is unnecessary (the Luger reference for one) and the main character can be a bit too sad sack, but in spite of these minor issues this was a very unputtdownable read (and yes, I know that's not a real word).

DCI William Constable is a tortured man - tortured by his personal past and his professional present trying to apprehend a drug trafficking ring. Interwoven is the story of Wilhelm in 991, a Saxon caught up in the Viking invasion. All of this taking place in the Blackwater area of the historic Battle of Maldon.

The history in this is well researched and very well done as are the transitions between present day and the past. The criminal/mystery is also well done with enough red herrings as to make me question my certainty regarding whodunnit and why. There are even a few surprises in this.

There's a lot of promise in this and I hope Mr. Smith writes more as I'd very much look forward to reading more.

The Blackwater
~Paul Smith
Many thanks to NetGalley & Matador Publishing for allowing me to read this ARC.
Ok.. I’m torn here.. While this was an interesting story, I just couldn’t get past the depressed vibe of the main character, it was overwhelming at times. I really wanted to love this book. The subject, the interweaving of two time periods and their events & hey, even the cool cover, really had my expectations set for big things from this one. I’m giving The Blackwater two stars. It just wasn’t my cup of tea.
#TheBlackwater #NetGalley