Black Water (Doughty) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
Doughty’s excellent new novel is a character study, a glimpse at mid-century American civil rights, a thriller, a meditation on the effects of foreign policy on individuals, a modern love story and a portrait of Indonesian unrest in the 20th century.... If it sounds like a handful, it is. But Doughty has found an ideal vehicle for her wide-ranging interests.
Olen Steinhauer - New York Times Book Review


Doughty’s language is punchy, visually striking and emotionally potent.... This is a compelling and vivid psychological drama, with plenty of bite.
Leyla Sanai - Guardian (UK)


Skilfully drawn and compelling.... This serious novel marks a departure for Doughty, whose psychological thrillers, including Apple Tree Yard, have been so successful. This one strays more into le Carre territory—where she seems equally at home.
Carla McKay - Daily Mail (UK)


[T]he different elements never fully connect, the dense prose reading more like a newspaper investigation than fiction. Although tormented by his immoral choices, Harper elicits little sympathy from the reader, except during flashbacks to his childhood in L.A.
Publishers Weekly


(Starred review.) Doughty takes a page from John le Carre, crafting a riveting, psychological, morally ambiguous tale...richly detailed.... [T]he role of mercenaries in world affairs adds a new perspective to the spy novel genre.
Library Journal


Through Harper, Doughty creates a jarringly realistic backdrop of Indonesia’s violent past, sharply contrasting the menacing atmosphere with a growing romance and Harper’s memories of a vulnerable childhood in 1950s Los Angeles. A tense, contemplative literary thriller and worthy follow-up to Doughty’s critically acclaimed Apple Tree Yard (2013).
Booklist


Doughty has created a novel comparable to Graham Greene’s masterpiece The Quiet American in its taut exploration of morality on a geopolitical and personal scale.... The plot is complex and delves into dark, unjustly forgotten corners of history...as much a character study as it is an espionage thriller.... Black Water is a gripping thriller, incisive character study, a critique of US foreign policy and a love story haunted by the 1965 massacres in Indonesia.
Shelf Awareness


(Starred review.) [A] morally and emotionally fraught thriller...about an operative for an Amsterdam-based black-ops organization grappling with fallout from his personal and professional history in Indonesia.... Powerful, probing fiction in the tradition of Graham Greene and John le Carré.
Kirkus Reviews