Disclosure: I received a free copy of Coldwater from the publisher. Opinions shared are mine.

Bad brothers have been a thing since, well, the actual beginning of biblical history.  Cain and Abel ring a bell?  How about Jacob and Esau?  Many cultures have myths about siblings gone bad.  Set vs. Osiris, Romulus against Remus, and such stories give credence to the term “bad blood.”    A few years ago, one of my former students was fatally shot by his older brother.  Such stories have a sense of darker omen than just a conflict of personality.  There’s something, somehow worse than regular violence, that makes us cringe harder when a brother could turn against his own flesh and blood.  The book Coldwater by Samuel Parker takes us to a backwoods town where Michael Sullivan literally turned dark side.

Coldwater was all kinds of creepy.  Perfect for fans of X-Files, Stranger Things, and Supernatural, the rich descriptions in this story set it apart from similar paranormal tales.  As I read, I had alternating feelings of pity and compassion for Michael, while still wanting his ordeal to be over — which, obviously, would basically require his demise.  What kind of quality of life did he enjoy, though?  How can a man safely live completely separate from all society while being hunted like a wild animal?

Initially, I expected Coldwater to be a book brimming with Christian overtones.  It wasn’t.  In fact, those who didn’t expect this to be a religious book would have no idea that it’s even published by a faith-based publishing firm.  Instead, Coldwater reaches beyond theology and religion; its message is about universal truths and ethics.  The short chapters don’t allow the reader to get too absorbed in any of the characters. Instead, it’s a plot-driven story, one that left me unsettled and anxious with each turning page.

Spend a few moments in Coldwater.  See if you’re up for the scare!

Many thanks to Revell for including me in the Coldwater blog tour.