In Vikki Wakefield's moody, character-driven thriller The Backwater, two women make life-changing decisions along the formidable banks of a river where ramshackle shacks and abandoned houses stand near mansions and homes of middle-class families.
Sabine Kelly was 17 years old when her mother, a drug dealer named Dee, and younger sister, Aria, died at their Far Peaks Trailer Park home in a fiery explosion that killed seven other people. Sabine was arrested as a suspect but escaped police custody and has been on the run for 12 years, living on a houseboat with her dog, Blue. When it seems safe, she secretly visits her grandfather, whose shack abuts the river.
Rachel Weidermann wants a fresh start after an unexpected divorce and the loss of her newspaper job. She hopes to get her journalism career back on track with a feature on Sabine, whom she recognizes visiting her grandfather. Despite many misgivings, Sabine consents--on one condition, that she has "control over [her] own story." She agrees to turn herself in after.
Sabine is guarded, but she is tired of feeling like her life has stalled. Wakefield compellingly sifts through Sabine's psyche, showing the toll of her situation and constant worries about the police, who often show up unannounced at her grandfather's house. She has a boyfriend, but their meetings are also fraught with the fear of being discovered. She "went from teenage girl to fugitive so fast her head is still spinning."
Rachel and Sabine realize that Sabine is still in danger from the ones who targeted her family years ago. Wakefield nimbly infuses tension in every scene of The Backwater. --Oline H. Cogdill, freelance reviewer