This book was not an easy read, although well worth spending time on. Although it is set in the future, in a land ravaged by lack of water, it doesn't seem all that far-fetched, particularly knowing a little bit about the settlements that have been built up in the US in seeming disregard for the available natural resources.
There were some grisly bits, some sad bits, and a lot of shades of grey in characters. It took a bit of getting into, but after a while I found myself very hooked and needing to know how things played out.

There was much to enjoy here, but I found I couldn't connect with it. I'd read more from this author in the future though.

Set in a grim future where cities in the American Southwest--California, Arizona and Nevada--fight for a share of dwindling water supplies from the Colorado River. Angel Velasquez is a Las Vegas 'water knife' who cuts the water supplies to other cities on behalf of his ruthless boss, Catherine Case, He's a thug, assassin, spy, and fixer who operates in a world where the rich live in luxurious, verdant arcologies while the poor eat dust, recycle their pee, and buy precious water by the jug. Girls barely out of puberty sell their bodies for a meal and a chance to take a shower under real running water. When he's sent to drought-ravaged Phoenix Angel comes across Lucy Monroe, a journalist who may not be quite as hard as she thinks she is, and Maria Villarosa, a refugee from the (now) unviable Texas. There are twists and betrayals, injuries and deaths. No one escapes without hurting, but Angel knows that someone will have to bleed if anyone hopes to drink. This is essentially a near-future climate change thriller. There are no real good guys, but there are bad guys and worse guys. Grimdark cli-fi, this is a horribly realistic and believable future. Though no one is entirely good, the three main characters have some redeeming features, but there's no easy solution.

A fascinating concept and incredibly detailed world building. I did find some of the descriptions a little dense which pulled the pacing down, but still found it incredibly clever and well written.