Deep Water by Emma Bamford

Deep Water by Emma Bamford is an adventure of survival and isolation. A tale told of the High Seas and the paradise of a remote island. But like the biblical paradise, there are serpents in the midst of innocence and beauty.

“…I hold out the ship’s papers and first passport to her, photo page open. ‘Virginie , who is Vitor Santos? Why do you have his boat? Who is Teresa Mabote? And where are they now?’
She dropped to the bed. Her jaw was working, but no sound emerged; her focus was locked on the passport.
‘Virginie, what’s going on?’
She clamped her hands beneath her thighs.
‘Virginie, answer me. Who is this man, and where is he? Have you done something to him?’
She started to rock back and forth, still working her jaw. It came first as a whisper, too soft to comprehend, but then it built to a murmur. Through the repetition of the phrase, which was timed to her movements, as if by the physical act of rocking or she was forcing it out, I was able to discern her words, and the moment when I did so was like the drawback before a tsunami, that otherworldly pause when the water vanishes and all seems still and calm and silent before the destruction comes.
‘It’s all my fault. I killed them. Killed them! It’s all my fault…”

SUMMARY –

In the middle of the vast Indian Ocean, Captain Danial Tengku is awakened. His navy vessel has picked up a distress signal. But who and what would be out here in the middle of nowhere this time of the year. Tengku quickly orders his ship to intercept the distressed vessel and when he and his crew investigate they find a yacht named the Santa Maria drifting. Aboard are a British couple, the husband Jake injured and the his wife Virginie traumatized and making little sense.

To begin with, the Santa Maria does not belong to Jake and Virginie but to a man named Vitor Santos. Santos was traveling with a woman named Teresa Mabote and there was no sign of either of them when Tengku first boarded the vessel. Jake is unconscious and Virginie is incoherent. Tengku was about to question Virginie again, hoping she had an opportunity to calm herself when she begins to murmur her confession. “…I killed them…”

What follows is a tale of a young married couple searching for paradise and adventure and finding both. But also the dark side of paradise as well.

Jake and Virginie had spent all their savings on a yacht to sail the seas and visit far away ports of call. They found themselves in Malaysia when they began to hear of a secluded island, tiny with beautiful beaches and far away from the modern world they so want to leave behind. It is Amarante and Jake and Virginie quickly decide to change their plans and set a course for the tiny island. What they find when they arrive is exactly what they were told. But it is not deserted. There is another couple already at Amarante as well as another boat with a loan sailor and his dog. Soon after Jake and Virginie arrive at Amarante, the Santa Maria arrives with Vitor Santos and Teresa Mabote.

They form a tight knit community. But like any community, there are rules to abide by and the island itself has secrets of its own. A history of cruelty and despair.

It does not take much. A misunderstanding. A small mishap for envy, lust and jealousy to turn the small band of islanders against one another. Until paradise becomes a prison. Until death itself comes drifting on the tide.

Review – (SPOILER AHEAD!!)

First off, I must say that I read this book in one sitting. A continuous read that I did not put down except for bathroom breaks and snacks. So why only 3 out of 5 stars and not 4 or better. Believe me it was close and I really wanted to but I have to be honest. As much as I enjoyed Deep Water, there were too many holes in the tale to ignore. Things that make you stop and step outside the story. Moments when the suspension of belief begins to deflate some and like turbulence in a plane, you are reminded that you are reading a book and the story is not real.

First are the characters themselves. With the exception of the leads, most of the other characters are very stereotypical. The lone sailor and his dog who is a gruff survivalist with relationship issues. The married couple who are hiding from the world on the island but in truth are hiding from themselves and past trauma. The uber rich foreigner who thinks that money is all that matters and that his money can buy him anything. Plug in his quiet brow beaten super pretty eye candy girlfriend. The navy Captain who prefers the sea to home because this way he can never face his pain and loss.

See, can pretty much be a television sit com if they were made anymore.

Secondly, the naivete of the characters. The belief that a paradise exists when you remove the rest of the world from around you. Communes are made of this mind set. They may exist for awhile but over time they will always crumble. The main reason being that one of the pillars of this type of society, regardless of how small is that people are good and will work together for the betterment of the group. People are fallible and give in to their weaknesses too easily. It is this humanity that dooms the group at Amarante.

Third is the island of Amarante. It’s history as a penal colony and the perceived atrocities that took place. The despair and the horrors the prisoners much have lived through and there are only ruins and unmarked graves to say that they were even there. When this was introduced into the book I thought it would play a bigger part in the story. But instead it is a side note. A social commentary on injustice and colonialism and overall how the British were dicks to the rest of the world for a time. That is too bad because the history of Amarante may have made the tale far more interesting if it had played a larger part in what was to follow. But no and that left me feeling like the kid whose ice cream gets taken away while he still has another scoop and the cone to go.

Lastly, the ending. The book would have so much better had it ended on the Naval vessel and not chapters later when they returned to the mainland and what ensued after. That was completely unnecessary and the story lost so much momentum. It dragged so much then and with characters coming in at the end that added so little to the novel.

So with all this you would think this was a two star review but no. This only serves to tell you how well written this novel is. There were moments in the reading that I was reminded of the old Leonardo DiCaprio film The Beach (2000) and the Nicole Kidman/Sam Neill film Dead Calm (1989). But I would say that the story in Dead Water is better than both those films. What the story is truly about is the relationship between Jake and Virginie and the terrible and horrific situations they find themselves in. Virginie is working through the trauma of a past relationship and Jake seems to be exactly what she needs to heal. But the solitude of the island and the situations that happen to them break Jake down and Virginie is left to survive by whatever means are necessary.

You never doubt the story Virginie tells to Captain Tengku about what happened aboard the Santa Maria and what happened in Amarante. It has the sad and depressing weight of truth about it. You want Virginie to survive, hell you want her to do better than that.

Jake is typical of most male leads written these days and that is too bad. You don’t need to make a man weak and insecure to make a woman strong.

Deep Water is a strong first outing and here is hoping that Emma Bamford looks to write another thriller soon.

A good read.