The Blackwater

The Blackwater by Paul Smith
What drew me to this book was the location , having lived there for 10 years.
Maldon on the Blackwater estuary.
The book begins in 2014 and a follows DCI William Constable who is trying to catch an international drugs ring and help bring them down. It fails, and the case is put on the back burner, and he finds himself sent back to his own town of Maldon back on the beat.
We are then taken back to Maldon ( Maeldune ) in AD 991 , and follow the life of Wilheim . He works on the Salt pans for his slave master. ( Maldon Sea Salt ! )
What I really loved about the book was the way the story unfolds and interweaves through the two timelines and I found myself really wanting to know what happens in both their lives.
A very cleverly thought out story . Well done Paul Smith a master storyteller !

I have worked in the Maldon area for the past 15 years and it was exciting and invigorating to read a book set in an area I know well, the story is engrossing and is as a much thriller as is it is a history lesson, the characters were believable and thankfully not your archetypal superhero cop which was a real pleasure

I received a free electronic ARC of this historical novel on June 29, 2021, from Netgalley, Paul
Smith, and publisher Matador. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. A great deal of research is evident in this glimpse into the Blackwater, both in the summer of 991 AD and again in
Spring and summer of 2014 AD.

The setting of Blackwater Estuary is presented as spooky, both in the tenth century and the twentieth. Located in Essex at the vergence of Blackwater River with the North Sea with several islands peppered among the wetlands, Blackwater is a birdwatchers haven. It has actually been designated as a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance and Special Protection Area and a Natural Nature Reserve. The city of Maldon is a centuries-long center for sea salt collection and the area has a history going back well into the Anglo-Saxon period. Paul Smith wraps all that history around the wetlands with a well-developed mystery and personable characters well defined. The Blackwater is an excellent introduction to this author and this unique seat of Norman history.

This was a super interesting book - not my usual read but i loved it! It was a really great escape and i loved every page!

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.

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.

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.

It was an interesting story but occasionally had trouble following the switching back and forth in time.

This was a wonderful book but not an easy one to read.
This book also moves from the 21st century with William Constable's story and the 10th century about the battle of Malden, Swein Blackbeard, Ealdorman Byrhtnoth and most especially the fated love story between Ingfrid and Wilhelm.
I have always felt sad about people who suffer from severe depression and this is the case here. It feels very dark at times. William Constable works for the Metropolitan police as an SIO and is in charge of a major criminal case involving international drug smuggling. The case also involves the Danish police as the route of smuggling goes though Danemark.
When we meet Will he is at the end of the roll, driving to a train track to commit suicide. He is that depressed. But something unnatural happens that changes his plans. He doesn't die and has to go to work to take care of the smuggling investigation. The op fails, further damaging his credibility and intensifying his lack of confidence and self-loathing. He also seems to suffer from social awkwardness badly. He is demoted to a patrol officer at his hometown and he starts to feel better as the level of responsibilities he faces is more manageable. Life, although not perfect, starts to be enjoyable. However fate has other plans for him, some tough ones. And emotions go up and down like a rollercoaster in this book. One minute you feel great, the next you feel sorry and sad. But the tale is so well written that you just cannot put the book down. It was that riveting.
The historical story revolves mostly about the battle of Malden, when it happened, the brutality of the Danes and how Wilhelm wants to find and save his lover Ingfrid.
This book deals with depression and hope, greed, hatred, fanaticism, and some very interesting history about the battle of Malden which I didn't know about.
This is a well researched book. I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes a good mystery and also some good historical background.

Thank you for NetGalley to provide me with a copy of this book in return for my honest opinion.

#the blackwater#NetGalley

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.

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.