Darkwater
Catherine Fisher
Dial Books for Young Readers
Published September 27, 2012
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With her famed family estate lost to a mysterious stranger, Sarah and her father have been forced on the kindness of a former servant and her family. When Sarah loses her job, she swallows her pride and accepts a new position assisting Azrael, the owner of her former home. A job isn’t all the strange man seems interested in. Disturbing rumors about how he acquired the estate buzz around Sarah’s head, and his question lingers in her mind: for what price would she offer him her soul? She resists, but tragedy forces her hand. All Sarah can do now is try to save the next desperate person from sharing her fate.
While the concept of the story is very intriguing, the most interesting part is left out of the story. She makes an agreement in trade for her soul and then the story cuts ahead to the future, to the next fly caught in Azrael’s trap. As Sarah tries to help this next victim, the intensity builds to a mighty climax that is resolved too simply and easily. The author does, however, make excellent use of unexpected twists in the plot which repaint all the reader thinks he knows about the story. Darkwater is packed with elements of intrigue and mystery.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild.
Sexual Content
Very mild.
Spiritual Content
There is some allusion to the idea that the character Azrael has supernatural abilities that seem to have no direct connection to God or any particular religion.
Violence
A few suspenseful moments, but no real graphic violence.
Drug Content
None.
This does sound intriguing, but your first sentence wasn’t clear to me, so I’m not sure what the set-up is. And I would have liked to have known more about that. Is this the author’s first book or is this part of a series. Thanks for the review!
She and her father are living with a former servant at the opening of the story. Sorry for the confusion.