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Water from My Heart

Review

Water from My Heart

By the time he’s 16, Charlie Finn is living on his own and finding ways to make a quick buck. His survival depends on it. His combination of superior intelligence and athletic ability gets him into Harvard, where he graduates with an MBA and the heart of a millionaire’s daughter. Working for his girlfriend’s father, Charlie travels worldwide, making tons of money with complete disregard for the people whose lives he destroys along the way. He is living a privileged life known by few his age (or any age), but there’s one glitch. Charlie knows he’s not his boss’s first choice for a son-in-law. Tensions grow, and he leaves the firm and his girlfriend, wondering where to turn next.

Settling in Bimini, Charlie meets Hack, an old Bahamian who makes skiffs and enlists him to be his partner. After years in the cutthroat corporate world, Charlie thrives on the simple island life and his work with Hack…until he meets Colin, another multi-millionaire. When Colin offers Charlie a dangerously exciting drug-running opportunity, Charlie accepts. So begins a new career and lifelong friendship --- one that will take Charlie face to face with those who were ruined by his first career. Harder still, he will be forced to take a soul-searching journey that will lead to dangerous destinations. But could it also lead to redemption? WATER FROM MY HEART answers that question with a plot so hypnotizing, readers won’t want the story to end.

"[T]here is dialogue and action aplenty, with intriguing subplots and three-dimensional characters to draw readers even deeper into the complex world of Charlie and Leena."

Searching Central America for Zaul, his only friend’s runaway son, Charlie becomes violently ill and is rescued by Leena and her little daughter, Isabella. He quickly realizes that fate (or something) has placed him back among the people whose lives he devastated years ago in the coffee-rich mountain area deceitfully acquired by his former boss. The hardworking people, once proud and self-reliant, now work like slaves for wages that barely keep them alive.

As Charlie continues to search for Zaul, following clues and sightings, he gets to know the people of Nicaragua, who chip away at the walls of his heart. But it is Leena who is the real force behind those walls coming down, as Charlie finds himself drawn to this courageous and selfless woman who lost everything, but still finds joy in helping others. What, he wonders, will she do when she learns of his role in the downfall of her people? How could she ever find him worthy of her love, or even her friendship?

Charlie continues on his twofold journey, finding Zaul, and discovering his own identity, which he’s kept buried for most of his life. The path will lead him to heartache, violence, and revelations about himself and the world that he had not previously considered. But will it lead to forgiveness, or is that beyond the realm of possibility?

Using colorful imagery and perfectly executed symbolism, WATER FROM MY HEART artfully weaves Christian concepts in a secular storyline, with drugs, violence and corporate espionage balancing love, loss and redemption. Though the first couple of chapters are heavy on narration and light on dialogue, they still captivate enough to hook the audience. Soon enough, there is dialogue and action aplenty, with intriguing subplots and three-dimensional characters to draw readers even deeper into the complex world of Charlie and Leena. This is truly a crossover novel, with abundant appeal for Christian and secular readers alike, as well as both genders. 

Reviewed by Susan Miura on May 22, 2015

Water from My Heart
by Charles Martin

  • Publication Date: February 2, 2016
  • Genres: Fiction
  • Paperback: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Center Street
  • ISBN-10: 1455554685
  • ISBN-13: 9781455554683