Book Publishers
Book Title: SHALLOW WATER
Author: Stuart Black
Publisher: Sid Harta Publishers
Copyright: 24 September 2009
ISBN: 978-1-921362-93-4
No of Pages: 344
Stuart Black, ad exec turned author has his first book out - SHALLOW
WATER - in September 2009, published by Sid Harta Publishers.
It is the story of a down to earth Australian builder and would be
musician Brad West, who, by marrying the beautiful Jemma Beckford, gets
a wife and her very wealthy and dysfunctional family. The tension
between Jemma and her sister Rose is exacerbated when Jemma, who
considered herself heir apparent to her father's wealth and companies,
sees control of the company and therefore the family fortune, willed to
her older, more stable sister. In a rather unexpected conciliatory
gesture, Jemma invites Rose, her stuffed shirt of a husband Charles and
their son on holidays in Australia with Brad and herself. On a diving
tour a body is found.
In the media kit that came with this book the author says about the
motivation: 'It was when I heard why the siblings in a wealthy family I
knew weren't talking to each other, that I began thinking about the
subject matter of SHALLOW WATER. The role money played in the lives of
these people seemed so different to the role it played in ordinary
families, it made me wonder what the consequences of such a different
value system might be.'
That motivation explains a lot of the characterisations. Brad, the
knock-about builder, close to his own family, he's a very typical sort
of an Aussie bloke. Jemma, on the other hand, is portrayed as a classic
wealthy, party-girl, spoilt brat. Interestingly enough, her sister Rose
is less brat and more somebody a little sad, over-controlled and guilty
about something - right from the start. The family background of the
sisters is expanded upon throughout the book and there's a very stark
contrast built up between them and Brad. SHALLOW WATERS uses the
characters as the central focus, rather than the crime itself. There is
a police investigation into the death, and whilst this proves a catalyst
in a number of resolution points, the concentration of the book is
definitely on the motivation rather than the resolution.
Brad's very much the hero of the piece and occasionally he does seem too
good to be true for this reader's taste; Jemma on the other hand is
mildly interesting, but again just a little stereotypical to engender
much strong reaction either for or against. There are some odd
procedural points in the narrative which just need to be accepted for
what they are, given that the book isn't the tale of a police investigation.
SHALLOW WATER is a first novel, and being a character based book, has
less of a paced and driving imperative than a reader would expect from
something more procedural or thriller based. There are a series of
revelations about the girl's background; there's a subplot of threat
that had an interesting twist to it; there's a resolution to the death;
and a neatly tied up happy ending. It would be fair to say that a
number of the plot elements are not that unusual in this sort of a book,
but they are delivered well within the characterisations and the
storyline. SHALLOW WATER delivers up a story of death in a very
non-confrontational manner which readers who prefer less gore and more
character based; family, love and life stories will undoubtedly
appreciate.
A lifeless body by the side of the road in Notting Hill. A gorgeous but high maintenance wife self-destructing because she's been denied access to the family fortune' Another death' this time in the shallows of the stunning Great Barrier R Read more about “Shallow Water”