Review: Beneath Still Waters by Cynthia Graham

Beneath Still Waters

by Cynthia Graham

Publisher: Blank State Press

Pages: 224

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  The swamps and bayous around Cherokee Crossing, Arkansas have always been dark and mysterious, but on this summer day two boys stumble across the remains of a baby girl, headless and badly decomposed. Hick Blackburn, a reluctant sheriff with a troubled past is called to the scene. With nothing to go on except the baby s race and sex, the task of discovering who she is and how she died challenges all of Hick s investigative skills. But Hick faces a deeper challenge. The vision of the infant has left him shattered, a reminder of a war crime he has tried to lock away, a crime that has begun to eat away at the edges of his life, destroying him one relationship at a time.

With the aid of his deputies, Hick will begin to piece together his investigation, an investigation that will lead him to question everything. As he is forced to examine the town he grew up in, he will come to terms with the notion that within each of us lays the propensity for both good and evil. His investigation will turn up lies and ignorance, scandal and deceit, and the lengths a mother will go in order to hide her shame."

Kritters Thoughts:  When I received the pitch for this book, I sat on the fence and thought I would take a shot on it and I am glad I did!  Out of my wheelhouse, but a good break from my usual reads.  First, it is a male narrator who has returned from war and is trying to get back into things in his small town that he came from.  He has become a sheriff and through a case in the small town where a baby girl has been found he must confront memories from war and make decisions to move his life forward.

First, although this is historical fiction, this veteran could have come home from Iraq, the story is almost timeless.  I don't read a lot of books with solely male characters narrating and I enjoyed hearing his story and feelings from his point of view.  I also loved the content in his story, there was war, friendship, love and just the yearn for something more.  

Both physically small and in few pages, this book packed a great punch.  I have looked up Cynthia's previous book and the synopsis sounds good, just may have to pick it up soon!


Rating:  definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from TLC Book Tours.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.