Independently published
Date of Publication: July 19, 2020
Number of Pages: 476
SYNOPSIS
Low Water Crossing is a tribute to those who endure heartache and nevertheless celebrate, to those who wait—and live full lives while waiting.
A backhoe unearths a human skeleton buried on Wayne Cheadham’s West Texas ranch. The investigation points a grisly finger at Wayne’s first wife. And so begins the wild ride through twenty-five years of love and heartbreak.
Wayne’s a highly eligible bachelor who runs into trouble, first because he’s naïve, and next because, well, life is unpredictable. He’s a loveable guy with a peaceful outlook. Just about anyone wants the best for him, dang it. To cope with sadness, he arranges for an old steel-girded bridge to be placed in the dry pasture in front of his house. Says it helps him adjust his perspective. Others say it’s the world’s largest yard ornament. He takes in stray emus and abandoned horses and becomes a mentor to a loveable little boy without much family. He sits and ponders his plight at a low-water crossing over the creek.
A cast of characters from the fictional small West Texas town of Sulfur Gap—the staff of a high school burger shop hangout on the Interstate, coffee groups at the Navaho Café, hair stylists from the Wild Hare, a local sheriff and his deputies, and the band at the local honky-tonk—knits together the community surrounding Wayne, and all bring their own quirks. People you’d find anywhere, some with thicker Texas twangs than others.
The town, the ranch, and familiar Texas cities such as San Angelo, Abilene, and Austin provide a backdrop for universal themes of love, grief, and loyalty.
REVIEW
Clueless Gent’s Rating
Low Water Crossing is a small town family drama that takes place in West Texas. The characters, more than anything else, really bring this novel to life. The story follows the adult life of West Texas rancher Wayne Cheadham in the small town of Sulfur Gap, Texas.
The story is written in the first person point of view (POV). However, it is not always the same character telling the story. The novel begins with a prologue, and Wayne, the protagonist, is telling the story. After the prologue, the story is divided into three parts. Each part is told in first person POV by one of Wayne’s three wives. The end of each section includes an interlude, reverting back to Wayne’s POV.
I found the changes in first person POV to be a little confusing at first, but I got used to it. As the story continued to develop, however, I actually enjoyed the style. It brought a somewhat unique perspective to everything. We learn things from the wives that even Wayne will never know. To me, that’s pretty intimate.
share pieces of history and
loved-ones.”
The core characters consist of Wayne and his wives, but there are some secondary characters with more than minor roles. Also, since this is small town Texas, everybody seems to know everybody, so there are quite a few characters.
This is the second book of a series – the Sulfur Gap Series – but you’d never know it. At no time during the story did I wish I’d have read the first book before Low Water Crossing. Surprisingly, I didn’t notice much backstory to cover what was in the first novel. To me, that’s a bonus.
the obvious with
someone who’s oblivious.”
The core characters are flawed, as expected, except for Wayne. He is not without flows, but they pale in comparison to his wives. (I’m not being sexist here. It is what it is.) Unlike some other stories, there is some significant character development for some of the secondary characters. I found that enjoyable.
The one thing that I really didn’t like was the sense of time. Sometimes I’d be well into a chapter to find out that it takes place years after the preceding chapter. Also, unless it was specifically mentioned, I sometimes wondered just how many years had gone by. To me, those omissions had a definite impact to the overall flow of the story.
The pacing was a little slow, but not in a bad way. However, despite the change in narrators, the pacing was pretty consistent. That’s a good thing.
Something significant happens in the prologue. As I was getting through the rest of the story, I began to think that the event in the prologue was forgotten. It wasn’t. Just keep reading.
After the first part of the story, I stopped trying to guess what was going to happen. But I was very engaged. There were several surprising “developments” in the story that sort of brush up against the edge of believable coincidence. I can’t go into further detail without spoilers, so you’ll just have to read it for yourself. (My advice: be prepared for anything.)
Overall, I very much enjoyed the book. I thought the storyline was unique. Despite its length of 478 pages, it seemed like a quick read to me. That’s a high compliment to the author.
Do I recommend this book? Yes!
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10/6/20 |
Review |
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10/7/20 |
Excerpt |
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10/7/20 |
BONUS Post |
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10/8/20 |
Playlist |
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10/9/20 |
Review |
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10/10/20 |
Deleted Scene |
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10/11/20 |
Author Interview |
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10/12/20 |
Review |
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10/13/20 |
Scrapbook Page |
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10/14/20 |
Review |
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10/15/20 |
Review |
One thought on “Low Water Crossing”
Thanks for sharing not only the things that were awesome but where you thought the book fell short. Always good to know! And that a nearly 500 page book felt like a quick read is impressive. Got it on my TBR stack! Thanks for the post.