Flow Like Water
Mark Burley
Blue Moon Publishers
Published on September 18, 2018
Amazon | Goodreads
About Flow Like Water
Eric Bakker’s search isn’t over. The conspiracy revealed by his parents’ research goes deeper than he could have imagined, into a place and an organisation with as much history—and secrecy—as any in the world. Getting in won’t be easy, and he’ll need help from his friends more than ever. But when one of them commits a personal sacrifice so Eric can escape from the killers known as the Vidi, the fallout threatens to split the group apart.
Tess has been there from the beginning, but with the addition of Angel, the daughter of another researcher, she begins to doubt her role. Soon after, new information about her father’s death puts her at a crossroads that will force her to choose between Eric’s search for answers and her own.
For Eric, overcoming physical and mental obstacles is built into his parkour training philosophy, but the farther he goes in his search, the bigger the obstacles become. What he eventually discovers no one was ever supposed to find. Ultimately, his path leads to a violent encounter in Sicily, this time with no plan and no idea what he’s up against. Eric knows that whatever he encounters, he will have to adapt and react. As the saying goes, he will have to be like water. And like water, he will flow or he will crash.
My Review
After reading the first book in this series, Hit the Ground Running, I was really looking forward to reading Flow Like Water. I love the idea of a main character who is a parkour expert. Eric’s abilities didn’t figure into this book as much as they did in the first one, though. The big show-stopper in Flow Like Water is the large-scale operation that Eric and his friends seek to uncover. Along with his brother, Eric travels with snarky twins named Seth and Lakey who have some pretty useful hacking skills. Their one-liners definitely add some pizazz to what would otherwise be more serious moments. I think they were my favorites.
The story has a lot of minor characters which is something I always struggle with in a large cast. It’s hard for me to keep characters straight when there are a lot of peripheral named characters. So that made it a little tricky, but mostly I felt like I kept up with at least the main plot arc of the story.
I feel like there’s a reveal coming about Eric’s brother Michael. Or at least, I feel like something’s weird with him. A few times things would happen and Eric would notice something was off—like his brother could do something he shouldn’t be able to. So Eric would notice and then kind of shrug it off because, you know, bad guys were chasing them, no time for that now! So I wonder if the next book will explore-slash-reveal some new twist about something Michael went through. I’m intrigued by that idea.
On the whole, Flow Like Water was an entertaining read—much more plot driven than character driven, but a fun, suspenseful mystery. I enjoyed it. It would be great for readers who liked I Do Not Trust You by Laura J. Burns and Melinda Metz.
Recommended for Ages 14 up.
Cultural Elements
Major characters are white or not physically described. One of the minor characters is in a wheelchair.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used very briefly.
Romance/Sexual Content
References to a kiss between a boy and girl. Some flirty or suggestive comments from other characters.
Spiritual Content
A group of people have unlocked the secret to immortality. Some scenes reference rituals which supposedly revive people from the dead. Eric and his team visit the Vatican and hear the Pope speak.
Violent Content
Situations of peril. Several people are held against their will. References to people being murdered or tortured. A fire kills and severely burns some people. Descriptions are very brief.
Drug Content
None.
Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
