The Water Keeper is my first Charles Martin novel and I am blown away. This book took a few chapters to fully grip me, but I was intrigued by the explosive beginning. Then as the story slowly began to unfold, the fascination built.

From about halfway, I picked the story up at every possible moment. Even if I only had 90 seconds. So firm was my need to know what happened. I think Murph might be one of my favorite ever characters. Deeply wounded, impossibly courageous, fully skilled and all with the soul of an artist. Wow.

I won’t give away any plot details except that the byproduct of Murph’s wound is his ability to find missing people. The story centers on finding a missing teen, swept away by sex traffickers. He’s accompanied by the teen’s mom, an ex-con, his dog and a lost teenager.

Then a couple of twists put this already gripping read into a whole other level of brilliant. The Water Keeper is the first book in the series and I could not be more grateful for that. Murph and I have many happy hours ahead.

If you like gripping characters, unimaginable circumstances, high octane action and immeasurable softness all in one story, this is a book you must read.