Reviewer Ekta Garg: Ekta has actively written and edited since 2005 for publications like: The Portland Physician Scribe; the Portland Home Builders Association home show magazines; ABCDlady; and The Bollywood Ticket. With an MSJ in magazine publishing from Northwestern University Ekta also maintains The Write Edge- a professional blog for her writing. In addition to her writing and editing, Ekta maintains her position as a “domestic engineer”—housewife—and enjoys being a mother to two beautiful kids.
Author: Barry Silverstein
ISBN: 978-1-4660-8141-3
Publisher: Smashwords
Click Here To Purchase Water's Edge (Featuring Blackout the Dog)
Author: Barry Silverstein
ISBN: 978-1-4660-8141-3
Publisher: Smashwords
In a post-Sept. 11 world, terrorism has become a high-profile subject. People almost expect to hear of terrorists emerging from the Middle East, but what happens when a terrorist comes from within our own borders? And what if the terrorist’s agenda is an idea as old as terrorism itself? Using the environment as a driving factor, author Barry Silverstein tackles the concept of domestic terrorism in his e-book Water’s Edge.
Following the untimely death of his wife, protagonist David Samuels retires from his position as an environmental consultant in Massachusetts and moves to the scenic town of Asheville, N.C. One day not long after moving, Samuels gets a phone call from his old boss. Someone, it seems, has dumped huge amounts of benzene, a known carcinogen, into several rivers including the French Broad River that flows close to Asheville. Samuels’ former boss urges Samuels to take on the case and try to figure out who did the dumping and why.
Reluctantly at first, Samuels, accompanied by his smart canine, Blackout, embarks on the investigation. Blackout has worked as a chemical-sniffing dog with Samuels in the past and helps her owner track down the exact location of the benzene dump. Following Blackout’s lead as well as his own investigative deductions, Samuels finds out what company allowed the transportation of the benzene. That discovery leads him to a tip that the dump may have been connected to a white supremacist group. One to care deeply about the environment and the necessity of its protection, Samuels tries to delve into the group’s possible motivations for engaging in such an activity—and bit by bit stumbles upon a nationwide scheme that uses environmental contamination for personal gain.
Author Silverstein establishes within the first few paragraphs his protagonist’s voice. He captures the essence of David Samuels’ story and as a result the reader’s imagination within the first five pages of the book. Although the ultimate plans of the antagonist may at some point begin to sound just a tad far-fetched, Silverstein offers his readers plausible explanations and enough background to keep them entertained.
At times the narrative and some of the characters’ dialogues inch more towards didacticism than fictional tale. But overall this immensely enjoyable novel will have readers staying awake at night to find out what happened next. This reviewer highly recommends it for anyone liking a story that contains good, old-fashioned suspense with a modern twist.