Book Review: Girl in the Water by Dana Marton

girlinthewater

After the death of his wife and twin sons, Army vet Ian Slaney is a shadow of his former self. On the path of self-destruction, only his best friend’s disappearance in South America pulls Ian back from the ledge. He rushes to Brazil, only to discover that his friend was murdered. The single lead in the case is also the single biggest obstacle–Daniela, a mysterious beauty very much in need of protection, with a host of secrets hidden in a dark past. As the two of them track down clues and try to untangle an impossible case, they draw the attention of all the wrong people, and danger follows them back to the US.

Ian wants the murderers. Daniela wants Ian to acknowledge the hot sparks of passion between them. But convincing Ian to set aside his protective instincts proves more difficult than teaching a water buffalo to tap dance.

TAKE YOURSELF ON AN EPIC ROMANTIC ADVENTURE to another world, with a spellbinding story about love and hate, honor and evil, hope and justice set against the exotic backdrop of the teeming Amazon rain forest.
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My Review

I received a free ecopy of this book from the author.

The Girl in the Water is about Daniela who starts life in the jungles of Brazil as a prostitute. She’s just a teenager and she wants to escape her life but isn’t sure how to do it. Fate brings her to Finch, an American who buys her from Rosa, the woman who runs the brothel Daniela was living in. Finch is kind to her but when he is murdered, she’s again lost. That’s when Ian comes into her life. Ian was a friend of Finch’s and was worried about him when he hadn’t heard back from him after a message from Finch that he was in trouble. Ian doesn’t have much of a life in the US, so he has come to Brazil to save his friend, but it’s too late.

The beginning of the book about Daniela was interesting but as it progressed, I became more and more engrossed in the story. There is action, mystery, love and heartbreak in The Girl in the Water. Daniela has a questionable past but Ian’s past is heartbreaking and he has a difficult time dealing with his wife’s death and the death of their children, especially since it didn’t look like an accident.

The characters are complex and, although their feelings are understandable, I could have strangled Ian once or twice. I didn’t know if he could ever get past being Daniela’s protector even though it was obvious that he loved her more than just as someone he saved.

I definitely recommend The Girl in the Water. It is full of action, suspense, and romance. 

 

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Excerpt

A couple of boats had been dragged up on the flat of the riverbank. Nobody around. Ian sat in the shade of the largest boat and pretended to be watching the barges and tugboats going past him. He stole a glance at the house, hoping to spot Finch. Nothing there, but something rising out of the water maybe thirty feet from him caught his attention. At first, he thought it might be a caiman—South America’s version of an alligator. Caimans were native to the area, although, he had no idea if they lived in this part of this particular river. But instead, out of the river, rose a young woman. She seemed to be struggling with…an anaconda? When the shiny black, long body wrapped around hers, Ian moved, ready to dive into the water to help her, but she had the upper hand and dragged the wriggling beast toward shore with a triumphant smile, and he could see that she had a giant eel. He couldn’t take his eyes off the thing. The eel stretched as long as the woman was tall, over five feet. They wrestled in the mud, the scene stunningly primal and elemental. She had a piece of rag tied around her small breasts, and another around her slim waist, covering only the private parts of her body. She was the most stunning sight he’d ever seen, long dark hair streaming down in wet rivulets. A goddess risen. A goddess in mortal struggle. His western sensibilities pushed him to run and help, but the woman and the eel and their battle seemed somehow the spirit of the Amazon itself, and he felt like an interloper. He felt that he couldn’t take the woman’s triumph away from her. And she did win, dragging the eel to shore, grabbing a rock the next second and smashing the eel’s head. The eel was still squirming when, with the same, sharp-edged rock, she gutted the thing, dumping the insides back into the river. She was not a peaceful goddess. She washed the eel efficiently, then picked up the carcass and carried it, staggering under the weight, up the tall, steep bank, and in through the back door of the house Ian had been watching. Ian’s chin might have dropped a little. Or a lot. In fact, he felt as if his chin just hit his lap. Who on earth was she?
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About the Author

145593I’ve been a writer, one way or another, all my life. Before I could read, I made up poems and my mom wrote them down for me. In elementary school, my teachers almost always let me write poems or stories instead of requiring me to do art projects. Always, I dreamed of becoming a published writer…and that dream came true! I write novels about sexy, powerful men and independent-minded women, and what happens when they find each other and fall in love. My books are sexy and romantic, and they’ve very often full of romantic suspense. I write the kinds of books I love to read, and I hope that makes my readers happy.