Customer Reviews

Black Water (Book Club Edition)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A child is abducted.....
If you were going to argue with me that the little plot teaser is the plotline of so many thrillers they're virtually a dime a dozen I could not debate the opposite as being true.
So? Why is Black Water different?
Where to begin, it starts out as a liesurely outing between Mira and her 13 year old daughter Annie. Soon a man is in apparant trouble with his boat motor and since his arm is in a cast Annie gives him the benefit of doubt of assistance - buzzzzzzzzzz wrong answer it was the "pity ploy". She regains unconsciousness lost geographically, and chronologically as Mira discovers herself in June 1968.
Therein lies the freshness and extreme inventiveness of the plot. MacGregor has added a whole new twist on the kidnapped child plot. And not just one this novel winds around in different twists and turns throughout. The Black Water that is the corridor into the past is not only a useful device as it makes the victim much harder to find, but makes the villians motives that much more interesting.
Not only does Black Water entertain, it also makes one ponder all the rules and paradoxes of time travel at one point Mira, who I forgot to mention like her grandmother is psychic(c'mon did you really believe time travel was only added ingredient of this pot-pourri of a fun read?)Macgregor even has a cameo by Janis Joplin in this story how's that for adding even more interest to the tale? Bottom line is can we even with hypothetical power of time travel change course of history?
Read Black Water to ponder these and other issues.:)

This is the first time I have reviewed a book on amazon.com, but I had to let the readers know how wonderfully entertaining this book is. I love time travel anyway, but this is one of the best time travel books I have read. And throw in murder and mystery -- I'm hooked! The only way this book could have been better for me is if the author had put in a Golden Retriever and baseball. I could not put this book down.

FROM THE BACK: "SOME PLACES... As the sun sets on a deserted Florida beach, a desperate man prepares to take his next victim. The young girl seems just the right age to survive the journey through the black water. And if she doesn't...she'll end up like all the others...

HAVE A TERROR... It's been a beautiful day for psychic Mira Morales and her daughter, Annie. So why does she feel a growing unease about the smiling man walking calmly toward them on the deserted beach...a chilling warning that he is not to be trusted, but feared above all else...

ALL THEIR OWN... For years, children have been disappearing without a trace in the Florida Keys. And no one, not even the FBI, has suspected that it could be the work of a single twisted psychopath. Now, with her daughter gone-abducted by a killer consumed by a desire to change his past and his future-one mother will do whatever it takes to find her child, even if it means following her through the darkest passages of the unknown, to a place where each choice has terrifying consequences no one can possibly foresee..."

As psychic Mira Morales and her daughter pack up their gear to return home after a day at a remote beach, a man with his arm in a cast approaches. Mira has an uneasy feeling about this stranger but when the realization strikes it's too late.

Ms MacGregor introduces us to Mira in her book The Hanged Man. Mira is a psychic whose husband was killed during a convenience store robbery. In this first installment of the Mira Morales suspense series, we find Mira and her daughter Annie spending a day at the beach. When they are approached by a man who tells her his boat broke down, Mira realizes too late that this man isn't what he seems. Knocking out Mira, and kidnapping here daughter, the man just seems to evaporate. When Mira awakes, she uses the strong psychic attraction from Annie to follow them. What Mira finds out is something truly frightening and that she must watch her every step. Now, it's up to her boyfriend FBI agent Sheppard to use his non-psychic investigation skills to locate both Mira and Annie.

Though far fetched and bordering on the edge of Sci-Fi a little too much, this is still a good book that will grab you from the start. The characters are good solid characters, and the plot is a good one. Ms. MacGregor does a wonderful job with a plot in which you don't have much to figure out. You know who kidnapped Annie and why early on so you would think that would spoil the story. On the contrary, you find yourself on the edge of your seat wanting to see what happens next.

I found this book to be a wonderful read that was hard to put down. If it weren't for my busy schedule, I probably would have read this book in one sitting. If you like suspense or thrillers, then I highly recommend that you add this book to your reading list. You will enjoy it.

Though this particular book has not been nominated for any literary awards, Ms. MacGregor has the following literary accolades to her name.

NOMINATED:

1987 Shamus Award Dark Fields Paperback

WON:

2003 Edgar Allan Poe Award Out of Sight Paperback

This is the second novel by Ms. MacGregor that I have enjoyed. The first was The Hanged Man and I plan on reading more by this author. As I said before, if you enjoy suspense and thrillers, then don't leave T. J. MacGregor off of your list.

I'm a huge fan of T. J. MacGregor's work, and I've probably read and enjoyed every book published by this Edgar Award winning author. Black Water, the new thriller involving psychic Mira Morales and her family, immediately jumped to the top of my list of all time favorite fiction. This time travel/suspense/mystery gives new meaning to the term "page-turner"; it kept me up the half the night and away from my own work during the day. If you want a really good, exciting read, this is it. Black Water has everything: action, suspense, chills, thrills, romance, and a fascinating and provocative premise.

If you are a long time fan of T.J.Macgregor as I am you will be delighted with this latest book. As always I managed to learn some neat scientific stuff, get hooked into the characters, get scared that my favorite character would get hurt,and enjoy some wonderful animal characters as well. It's no wonder she won the Edgar this year. One of the best parts of the book was about the Sixties which I'm proud to say was one of the best times in my life. If you are new to her writing you are about to discover one of the most versatile and creative writers of our time. Enjoy!

It has been a long time since I've read a book that I couldn't wait to get back to, but this one was very difficult to put down. When I had to stop reading, the characters and plot continued to work on me. The plot begins with a child abduction, heart-wrenching, but done before . . . and then the characters jump back in time and the plot twists in unknown directions. The characters become more and more real with every page. The setting is beautiful, the plot is riveting and the characters are well-developed. This book will appeal to those who enjoy a good mystery as well as those who enjoy the mind stretch of time travel.

A very well-written, enjoyable book. I'll definitely be reading more of T.J. MacGregor!

Excellent! If you love a good mystery with some supernatural element, then you should enjoy this book!

Black water was a very enjoyable ride through time. Having been born in the 1960's, I loved being able to visit it as an adult through the pages of this book. T.J. MacGregor did a mesmerizing job of traversing the timeline, and was quite believable in a genre that is difficult to fathom for some.

The 4-star rating was given because of two reasons.
#1: I didn't feel that there was REALLY a good reason to kidnap Annie and the other previous children and I felt that the author struggled with a cause that didn't quite work. The villian in the book should have had more solid definition and motive.
#2: The back story with Sheppard on the present side of time failed to keep my interest. I wanted to go back to Mira and Annie.
The characters were wonderfully crafted, and the mix of fictional and historical (think Janis Joplin) individuals were very satisfying to visit with. This was a fun and highly creative book that I didn't want to put down, and I would certainly recommend it.

different but very good book, Kept my interest throughout.Not realistic ( a trip back in time) but very enjoyable.

This is my first review.
I loved it. It's a story I didn't want to stop reading yet it was so magical, I didn't want it to end. Enjoy....
Reading takes you places you dream of ......