From the moment they met, Sarah knew that she would always love Thomas Avery and be by his side. While things were not always perfect, Sarah, Thomas, and their two sons, Blake and Adam, lived a happy life.
Until the day that the current took Thomas away.
14 years later, Sarah is still trying to cope with the loss of Thomas and carries her love for him. After mustering the strength to meet her friend in Downtown Wilmington, Sarah sees a familiar stranger: a man who looks exactly like her husband Thomas.
Because of Collin Young’s uncanny resemblance to Thomas, Sarah can’t help but believe this is her Thomas. Yet as they begin to know each other, the connection between them grows stronger.
Can Sarah start a new life with Collin when all she sees is Thomas?
For no matter how clear water can seem, the secrets of the past are just waiting to rise to the surface.
The first time I read The Water is Wide was at a local café; there was something utterly sublime about the scent of coffee in the air that enriched the feeling of mystery within the book. The words of Natalie Banks and descriptions of the sun and salt on the “Carolina shoreline” were so vivid and real as the coffee in front of you. Banks has a natural way of merging the narratives of Sarah, Thomas, and Adam within the story in way that adds depth to the narrative and allows readers to gain understanding of what the characters are undergoing.
Readers start off The Water is Wide by Natalie Banks with a blank table. Yet, as you continue the book, readers are gradually given the puzzle pieces that unlock the inner turmoils and struggles of the Avery family, how they coped with a life altering trauma, and the past that haunts them. By the end, all the pieces join together to reveal a jaw-dropping portrait of deep waters filled with infinite secrets.
I found The Water is Wide to be a light thriller that absorbs readers in between the rich air of a cafe. After I finished my coffee and put all the pieces together in The Water is Wide there was really only one thing left for me to do: re-read the following weekend. The Water is Wide is not only the perfect coffee house book, but it’s an excellent thriller that utilizes the best elements of mystery and suspense to harnesses the waves of the past and how they eventually bring all secrets to the shore.
So while people may say that time is a narrow, unyielding river, one day you look up and realize:
The Water is Wide.