Happy Monday! Continuing until October 28th (culminating with a list of winners), I have the privilege of featuring all of the 2021 The Christy Award Finalists! Today I’m featuring Charles Martin and his general fiction Christy Award finalist book The Water Keeper! You can check out a list of all the finalists HERE.
THE WATER KEEPER
SERIES: Murphy Shepherd #1
GENRE: Inspirational Fiction
PUBLISHER: Thomas Nelson
RELEASE DATE: May 5, 2020
PAGES: 352
A riveting story of heroism, heartache, and the power of love to heal all wounds by bestselling author Charles Martin.
Murphy Shepherd is a man with many secrets. He lives alone on an island, tending the grounds of a church with no parishioners, and he’s dedicated his life to rescuing those in peril. But as he mourns the loss of his mentor and friend, Murph himself may be more lost than he realizes.
When he pulls a beautiful woman named Summer out of Florida’s Intracoastal Waterway, Murph’s mission to lay his mentor to rest at the end of the world takes a dangerous turn. Drawn to Summer, and desperate to find her missing daughter, Murph is pulled deeper and deeper into the dark and dangerous world of modern-day slavery.
With help from some unexpected new friends, including a faithful Labrador he plucks from the ocean and an ex-convict named Clay, Murph must race against the clock to locate the girl before he is consumed by the secrets of his past—and the ghosts who tried to bury them.
With Charles Martin’s trademark lyricism and poignant prose, The Water Keeper is at once a tender love story and a heartrending search for freedom.
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“You ever write letters, Padre?”
“I write some.”
Her eyes wandered across the pews and everything about her darkened. Even the playfulness of her voice. “I wrote a letter.”
“Can I read it?”
She looked directly at me. “It’s not addressed to you.” She swallowed again. “I wrote it to my mom, but I’m pretty sure she didn’t like it.”
“Why?”
She didn’t answer.
The foghorn sounded again. Last time she heard it; this time she considered it. Having done so, she turned and studied me as if she were taking a picture of her own. Then she glanced up at the confessional, took another, and hesitated. Finally, she spoke without looking at me. “You think God gives us credit for showing up even when the priest didn’t?”
For the first time, I spoke through the cloud, directly to her. “If this life is based on credits and debits—” I shook my head. “Then we’re all gone anyway.”
In a rare moment of lucidity, she turned to me. “What do you think it’s based on?”
The wall of names painted the backdrop behind me. “The walk . . . from broken to not.”
She nodded, wrapped herself in the rain jacket, and silently stumbled out into the rain.
Charles Martin is the New York Times bestselling author of fifteen novels. He and his wife, Christy, live in Jacksonville, Florida. Learn more at charlesmartinbooks.com; Instagram: @storiedcareer; Twitter: @storiedcareer; Facebook: @Author.Charles.Martin.
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What about you? What makes you want to read the general fiction Christy Award finalist The Water Keeper by Charles Martin? Or, if you’ve read it already, what did you love about it?
Hi, Carrie! I heard Charles Martin on Annie F. Downs’s podcast “That Sounds Fun” and ordered THE WATER KEEPER afterward. The book cautiously addresses intense issues, giving enough detail for the reader to understand certain circumstances without delving into the ugliness. The fictional story is based on in-depth research, which Martin talked about on the podcast. The realities of the issues he addressed via fiction kept me reading, even though it’s a hard subject to digest.
that’s beautifully said, my friend!
Charles Martin is an amazing writer! While this one does cover a difficult topic, and wasn’t my favorite of his I would still recommend him to any reader
yes this is definitely a really heavy subject matter
Interesting excerpt. I’ve never read Charles Martin before, I’ll have to check him out though.
my fave book of his is Long Way Gone!
I’ve heard good things about this one and have it on my want to read list.
me too!
This sounds like a wonderful book. Thank you so much for sharing. God bless you.
It sounds like Murph’s secrets make for a really interesting character, and the setting sounds quite atmospheric!
I loved The Water Keeper!
I’m not familiar with Charles Martin, but from what I read he’s a pretty incredible author. I will really need to check out his work.
I have heard good things about this author but haven’t read anything by him yet. Would love to read this book.
This book sounds really good. I’m never read anything by this author, but I hear good things about his writing. Congrats for The Water Keeper being a Christy Award finalist!
This book sounds like an action-packed adventure. I love reading Christian suspense. Charles Martin is a new author to me.
I have a few other of Charles Martin’s books but have not read the Water Keeper. Thanks for this post. I do enjoy Christian suspense books.
I love that premise and the setting. Adding this book to my must read list!