Blackwater marks the third appearance of intrepid news reporter Jonny Murphy, who first appeared in Dirt. He’s the creation of international news journalist Sarah Sultoon, who writes what she knows. Murphy’s latest investigation takes him 50 miles from London to Blackwater Island, on the fictional Blackwater River in Essex, where he looks into the mysterious death of a young boy.
It’s late 1999, and everyone is preparing for a huge party, the end of the world, or both. Jonny Murphy is frustrated and tired of covering stories about the millennium bug and an impending global disaster. He craves a real story, something meaty that demands proper investigative journalism. The opportunity arises when the body of a young boy is discovered on the Blackwater River on Christmas Day. Lukas, the London bureau chief for the International Tribune grants him a single day to investigate the case.
The narrative jumps between the present day and that period in December 1999, and leaves us to puzzle events together. It’s an effective approach, maintaining clarity while demanding attention.
Detective Inspector Gillian Peters, the only permanent police officer in the Blackwater area, receives an anonymous call. She and the local pathologist head to the island where they find the body of a boy barely two years old dressed like a Victorian street urchin. His identity and cause of death are unknown and the child doesn’t seem connected to any missing person cases. How did he end up dead on an uninhabited island in the middle of the river? Because Blackwater Island is a wildlife sanctuary with its own microclimate and unique plant life, it’s closed to visitors. To add to the damp, creepy atmosphere, it’s a mysterious place often shrouded in a thick mist.
The place holds more secrets than meet the eye, but with an understaffed local police force consisting of only one officer, it’s impossible to keep a handle on everything. DI Peters agrees to help Murphy, provided he uses his media influence to highlight the need for more resources.
As Murphy tries to extract the truth from the locals, he realises that either the police and locals don’t know what’s happening on the island or they’re trying hard to hide something nefarious. Judith, the owner of the Saxon pub, tells of the legendary ghost of Blackwater. Inka is a mythical Icelandic warrior with silver hair, a mermaid’s tail and a diamond-tipped spear. According to Judith, she’s to blame for any odd happenings in the area.
Murphy has little patience for myths, legends or ghost stories. His feet are squarely planted on the ground. Truth is his currency, not fantastical speculation. Besides, he has his own ghosts to deal with. He was orphaned at nine when his mother killed herself and his abusive father kidnapped his twin sister. His failure to find his sister has left him with understandable abandonment issues and a strong drive to one day find her.
Murphy is joined by Paloma Glenn, a freelance journalist and photographer. Despite a past romantic encounter, he remains clueless about Paloma’s feelings for him. Sultoon leaves their relationship suspended for now, which adds to the intrigue.
They make a good team, both adventurous and relentless, which often leads them into tight spots, like being kidnapped by a female mercenary. Hiding in underground tunnels and bunkers, Jane Doe is hell-bent on revenge and thinks Murphy is just the guy to help execute her plan. Can our protagonists stop an impending disaster, solve the bizarre events on a remote island and beat the millennium bug? It sure is a lot of fun finding out.
Part of the story is based on real events which Sultoon integrates into the investigation, giving it further weight of importance. Telling you what these events were might be spoil things a little, but it gets bigger and wider than one murder, as the cover suggests.
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Orenda Books
Print/Kindle/iBook
£8.95
CFL Rating: 4 Stars
