Review copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review
Jane has left her awful parents, the job of caring for a father that doesn’t care for her and an equally disinterested mother. She is on a quest for a wonderful job and maybe a bit of an adventure. She has just accepted a new job from Sebastian Holt-Manning, a famous writer, as his new assistant. She has traveled long and far and endured more than a few obstacles only to wonder if she made the right choice. Upon meeting her employer and his family she is insulted, groped and visually undressed. I found the characters so odd and off-putting it was hard to deal with them. Jane feels a connection with the teenage daughter Emilia. They both have a mysterious connection with water. Jane’s father died in the bath tub, Emilia’s mother in the dark water of a nearby lake.
What started out as an uncomfortable group of characters at the Cardrossan House turned from suddenly treating Jane awful to suddenly better by most everyone, save Sebastian. Then they all turned on her yet again. I was honestly a bit lost at the quick flips of attitude toward Jane. Jane’s flips between the meek girl trying to make her way in the world was just as strange. She would cower at one moment and stand strong the next. Emilia’s and Jane’s relationship had started off just as nasty as the rest and then soon they were the best of friends. The plot to Dark Water was enjoyable and I was shocked at the revelation about Jane’s parents I suddenly understood why she got along so well with Emilia. But for the most part I didn’t care for the characters of Dark Water, they never quiet felt believable.
Book Info
Length: 89 Pages
Release date: November 29, 2015
To Purchase Down by the Dark Water Click Here
Jane Forsyth wants a new life—far, far away from her cold mother and recently-buried father. Working as personal assistant to a wealthy recluse seems ideal: fresh air, beautiful surroundings on a remote Scottish island, and time to recover from the trauma of nursing her abusive father. But when she arrives at gloomy, ghost-ridden Cardrossan House she finds a family even more dysfunctional than her own.
Her employer, Sebastian Holt-Manning, is drowning in whiskey, his wife has left him, and he treats his only child, Emilia, as if she doesn’t exist. It’s only her budding relationship with the lonely, mercurial teenager that convinces Jane to stay. The neglected Emilia requires a friend—and who better than Jane to mentor her through the hazards of a distant mother and a cruel father.
When Mrs. Holt-Manning’s body is discovered on the banks of the Black Loch, Jane becomes obsessed with the clues she believes point to murder. With Emilia leading her deeper into the shadowy secrets of the family and servants, Jane pursues the elusive facts. But even the strength she used to survive her parents may not be enough to save her from the terrible truths she discovers on the shores of the dark water.
Diane Dooley, biography
Diane Dooley was born in the Channel Islands and grew up in Scotland. After many years of moving and traveling she finally settled down in Upstate New York, where the summers are short and the winters just might just kill you. She lives with her best friend/husband,two obstreperous boy children and a collection of critters in a falling-down farmhouse out in the sticks.
When she is not writing science fiction, romance or horror, sometimes all in the same story, she can be found chasing after her children, geeking out with her husband, working a full-time job, indulging her addiction to YouTube or, most likely, reading.
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