Silent Water (The Wild Water Series: 3) Kindle Edition

It's been a while since I had the pleasure of spending time in the company of estate agent, Jack Redman, Anna, Lottie and co. It was good to pick up in this third novel in the series, where we left off from Dark Water.

Jack is living with Anna in North Wales in her idyllically located farm-house close to Conwy and both are sharing a dark secret that threatens to destroy everything they've built together. Jack doesn't go in for easy relationships. His whole life jumps from one crisis to another but you can't help liking him and feeling sorry for him in equal measures. The identification of the body of Simon Banks, pulled from a nearby reservoir, throws a huge spanner in the works for the whole family.

Jack's nightmare of an ex wife, the evil Patsy does her best to try and destroy everything in her path, and won't rest until she achieves this. With four children together, she will always have a hold over Jack and she milks it for all it's worth.

His eldest daughter Chelsey, married with a little boy, has her own demons to deal with. His eldest son Oliver is on the verge of stardom with his new band Utopia, alongside Anna's studious only son Josh who, much to his mother's horror, has thrown his potential career to the wind for a chance at stardom.

His youngest pre-teen daughter, the eccentric Lottie, now insists on being called Charley and has stars in her eyes with her sights set on a stage career.

Jack's youngest child, pre-schooler, James is the only one who's easy to look after and he has a special bond with him.

There's a lot of emotion in this story. It has circumstances and situations that are very real and also dark in places and the author deals with them in a most realistic way. Fantastic scenery and atmospheric descriptions make this tale a joy to read, even though there are several heart-in-mouth moments. It really was un-putdown-able and I'm going to miss the characters. Hopefully there will be more in the future from the Redman's. There's definitely scope for more.

I was gifted a copy of this book by the author in return for an honest review. Well... honestly? It's brilliant! This is the third in the Wild Water series, one that just keeps getting better and better. It's the story of Jack Redman and his life - something of a tragicomedy and indeed there are scenes that will have you laughing out loud because they are so true to life, as well as scenes that'll have you on the edge of your seat. Book Three concerns the disappearance of Simon Banks, a thorn in Jack's life, with the police certain he's had something to do with it. The threat of conviction looms large and tears him and his lover Anna apart again. Throw in the most vindictive of ex-wives, Patsy, and you've got a page turner of a book! Loved it! Jan Ruth writes grown up women's fiction, and thank God someone does, there's far too much fluff out there. It's intelligent, it's real, and it's exciting. I just hope there's another in the series - there's certainly plenty of scope for more Jack Redman and his trials and tribulations.

I have thoroughly enjoyed all three of the books in the Wild Water series, and in fact, the release of this latest installment gave me an excuse to sit down and read the other two again. All of the characters, no matter how small, are fully drawn, complicated and human. Jan Ruth has an amazing skill for making me feel a grudging compassion for the villains and for giving the heroes and heroines some faults that are not sugar-coated, and which serve to make their struggles believable. The endless drama in the triangle of Jack, Anna and Patsy is fascinating, entertaining and often poignant. The story is brilliantly paced, the dialogue sharp and witty, and the descriptive details of charming medieval towns, mist-covered mountains and bracing sea breezes make me want to add North Wales to my bucket list. I hope there is more to come - it seems like there is still plenty of opportunity for more thrills in the rollercoaster life of Jack Redman!

As others have said, this is a fitting end to a terrific family saga. What I've loved about this trilogy by Jan Ruth is the great sense of place with which she has managed to imbue the books. The Welsh countryside is a superb backdrop for this dramatic series and I've loved it. That and the marvellous characterisation. By this third book, the reader really knows each of the main characters so well, they are like friends, even the manipulative but still slightly vulnerable Patsy. I would not call this a stand alone book. It really is essential to read the first two to understand the complex relationships and the awful tensions that are the climax of the story. That said, the series is a wonderfully absorbing roller coaster that I can highly recommend.it is also extremely well-written with great dialogue and pacing. Well done, Jan Ruth. I shall look foward to reading more books by this author!

This is the third in Jan Ruth’s ‘Wild Water’ series and Jack is back and in more trouble than ever. You do need to have read the first two books to really get the most out of this, but they are such lovely books to read that it's really no hardship!
Set mainly in the beautiful Welsh countryside, the author does a fantastic job of making the reader feel that they are there in the mountains. The settings are beautifully drawn and show the love that Jan Ruth obviously has for the places she describes. But it’s not all picturesque mountains and beautiful scenery. Ruth can capture the essence of a wet, pre-Christmas weekend in a small town equally well.
The characters are realistic, warm (for the most part!) and definitely drawn from real life. Jack and Anna want nothing more than to forget the incident with Simon Banks and to move on with their lives, but as suspicions mount (fuelled by the fabulously portrayed bitter ex-wife Patsy) tensions between them fester and grow. And this time it's serious, as not only is their relationship at stake, but Jack is facing the very real threat of being accused of murder. Added to this are the everyday trials and tribulations of coping with the inevitable problems children (of all ages) bring with them, and the stresses of dealing with an ex-wife who is still pulling all the strings.
Jack is such a likeable character, the real star of the books. His best intentions are often doomed to failure, and his frustration comes across really well. You desperately want him to succeed; to find the happiness he deserves, and it’s the mark of a talented writer for a reader to feel so strongly about a character.
As with the previous books, Lottie, Jack’s pre-teen daughter, is a joy. Funny, entertaining, outrageous at times, her fragility is evident behind the showing –off, and that mix of emotions is another strength of the writing.
This is a perfect book for a quiet day with your feet up – in fact I recommend the whole series.