Cold Water by Samuel Parker / Review by Jim Biggs
Coldwater
By Samuel Parker
Revell
$14.99
ISBN 978-0800727345
Publication Date: January 2, 2018
Coldwater by Samuel Parker is not a book for the faint of heart. The last time I was so engrossed in the storyline from the very start was when I read John Grisham’s A Time to Kill. My heart was racing and I couldn’t read the pages fast enough. With such an intense beginning I wondered if Parker was going to keep the pressure on—and wondered if I could bear it if he did. I certainly don’t want to reveal too much but suffice it to say that he does and I did (but it was close).
This is the story of Michael, a man newly released from the penal system that has returned to the town he grew up in and the vacant house he had inherited from his parents. But the town’s people do not want Michael living there any more than Michael wants to be there. But we all have our cross to bear.
There is a fair amount of violence in the book—and a few scenes are pretty disturbing, but there isn’t any foul language or intimate scenes. It is, after all, published by a company that usually only publishes books with an overtly Christian message. I did not find this to be the case with Coldwater. There were some supernatural aspects to the story, but certainly, nothing that I would consider to be “preachy”.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I think that Parker has an exceptional talent for drawing out the suspense. His writing is very detailed but written so well that I never felt I was being overwhelmed with superfluous information. Best of all, the ending was spot on. Often times I find that books that begin with so much action tend to fizzle at the end. But that is not the case with this story. I will be reading it again as well as Parker’s other novel, PurgatoryRoad.