The Deepest Waters by Dan Walsh

For John and Laura Foster, what began as a fairytale honeymoon in 1857 aboard the steamship SS Vandervere soon becomes a nightmare. A terrible hurricane strikes and the grand ship is lost in the murky depths of the Atlantic. Laura finds herself rescued with the other women and children, but how can she feel anything but despondent without her groom? Suspecting her John is gone but still daring to hope for a miracle, Laura must face the possibility of life alone.



Talented author Dan Walsh skillfully tells an epic story of hope, faith, and love through an intimate lens. Inspired by real events, this emotional and honest story will capture your heart as you sail through its pages.

My review:
This is Dan Walsh's third book, and I have been fortunate to have reviewed all three. And like the other two he wrote, this is an excellent piece of fiction.

The book is set in 1857, and was inspired by real events. I read the author's note on the back and he wrote in the back which parts of the book were factual, and that made the story all the more amazing.

Walsh does an excellent job of describing a shipwreck: the panic, despair, the feelings of those rescued with loved ones left behind on a sinking ship, going for days without knowing if their loved ones are dead or alive, but assuming the worst.

The main characters, John and Laura Foster, are fictional versions of real characters. There really was such a couple who sailed on a steamship in 1857 for their honeymoon. The ship really did sink, with only the women and children being rescued and taken to another ship, while many of the men drowned immediately, and others drifted for days on pieces of the ship.

I started reading this book this evening, and as often with a great book, got pulled into it and could not put it down. Through fictional characters' eyes, I saw a shipwreck, the despair, the rescued women living on a ship not knowing if their husbands, sons, fathers were dead or alive. I enjoyed reading about the workings of a ship in those days, and the descriptions of a 1857 New York City.

The best parts of the book were the miraculous parts - the parts that really did happen in real life. And reading that, is a great reminder that there really is a God, for things like those could not happen without God working.

As for John and Laura, read the book if you want to know what happens.

About the author:

Dan Walsh is the award-winning author of The Unfinished Gift, The Homecoming, and The Deepest Waters. A member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Dan served as a pastor for 25 years. He lives with his family in the Daytona Beach area, where he's busy researching and writing his next novel.


 
The Deepest Waters is available from Revell Publishing, an imprint of Baker Book House.

Thanks to Revell for the review copy.