This book was so much more than I anticipated! It was such a roller coaster of emotions! I had a hard time getting into it at first, even though it was interesting but then I really got caught up in it. There is so much more to the events in the story than what it looks like on the outside. It's very interesting to see how far people will go to save their family members. Such a good read and really gets you thinking about things and how we judge other people. ( )

Sensitively thought out and well written. ( )

Another really good Corban Addison novel. This time the adventure happens on the high seas when American Daniel Parker and his son Quentin are kidnapped while they sail the world in their own quest to bond. We follow a tense negotiation between negotiator Paul Derrik, the US gov't and the kidnappers led by Ibrahim ( Ismail). Things go terribly wrong. The next part of the novel takes us "behind the scenes" to Ismail's past and his family and life for a muslim in Samalia who is trying to lead a righteous life. This is done through Ismail's lawyer Megan who searches for answers to why Ismail did what he did.
A interesting novel full of adventure but with information and a message to share. ( )

Book Review: The Tears of Dark Water by Corban Addison
Thomas Nelson 2015
This novel reads as if it were written specifically to go straight to a movie screen. And I mean that in the least flattering way.
A father and son set out for an 18-month cruise on their sailboat. The mother stays behind; the marriage is faltering and she isn't sure whether she will join the two later at a midpoint docking. The sailboat is boarded by Somali pirates led by a man whose sister is held hostage by the men who operate the piracy ring. Tension is supposed to ensue.
Herein lies the problem. Novels depend on characterization and description to lead readers into the interior lives of others...to get them to care. Movies rely on visual and auditory elements, and must strip away the interior elements to present the different sensory input. Two very different formats, two very different types of requirements.
Addison gives us very little interior story. Instead, the 439 pages are pretty much choked with technical details. We discover the types of guns the pirates use and hear about the ships and helicopters that come to the rescue. We learn about the emergency signal that alerted everyone the sailboat had been taken. If only we had been given the same perspective on the characters who handled those weapons and ran those machines.
Oh, and the dialog. This is about the most boring dialog ever. It's terrible because it reads like a movie script. It's filled with things the characters do not need to say to each other (or shouldn't if the narrative had revealed their personalities). It's lacking the meaningful moments that really provide emotional resonance for a book.
Overall, this novel relies on the plotline to shove it through all 439 pages. There is an effort in the latter half to reveal the motivation of the lead pirate and generate compassion. And in fact the court case reflects this "triumph" of humanity. But it's far too little, and the machinations the characters go through to unveil this final moment don't do anything justice in terms of the novel.
I received a review copy of this book from the publisher. I really wanted to enjoy the story on at least some level but did not.
1 star. ( )

A father and son embark on a long distance expedition on a small boat and are captured by pirates off the coast of Somalia. The first half of the book deals with the negotiations trying to get them set free. The second half of the novel deals with the lives of the people involved after the kidnapping is over from the point of view of the kidnappers and those victimized by the crime. As is many things in life things are more complex than they seem on the surface. I think the book is very insightful and realistic in the ways that the various character's lives proceed. This book is well written and very accurate. ( )