This is not a book. It’s more like a chapter out of a book. No story, no plot, nothing!

Weak story, poorly told.

The four stars are for admiration about the writing. I grew to be very fond of the characters and their developing stories. Jack and Lana, especially, will stay in my mind for a very long time. For anyone interested in bays, rivers, streams, sloughs, land use, geography, etc., this book would be fascinating. But I didn’t understand a word of that aspect of the story. The whodunnit swung cleverly back-and-forth and all around, but this book is over-long.

Characters were drawn with fascinating depth and compassion. Descriptions of environment puts you there.

The story starts out well enough but goes on and on and on. The overwrought melodramatic "reveal" was ridiculous. I realize that this is a first novel, but I wish the author had had a better editor.

It was a quick read pick for our book club. Wish the author the best with future novels. I enjoyed Lana and her ability to get out of predicaments, especially her Jimmy Choo stiletto heel saving her from one of them!

Loved it.

Unwittingly, I kept revisiting scenes from Chinatown while reading. Water, California, murder, family treachery, etc. Am I the only one? Probably…:)