The Backwater A Novel
The Backwater by Vikki Wakefield is a novel published by Sourcebooks, Incorporated in 2025, featuring 352 pages in English. This gripping narrative centers around the Kelly family, whose tumultuous history takes a dark turn when a fire in a remote trailer park community results in the tragic deaths of nine individuals, including 17-year-old Sabine Kelly’s mother and sister. Following this incident, Sabine confesses to the murders and subsequently escapes, retreating into the familiar yet haunting landscape of her childhood.
Readers will find a complex interplay of ambition and morality as journalist Rachel Weidermann, recently unmoored from her marriage and career, seeks to uncover the truth behind the “Trailer Park Murders.” With a keen determination, Rachel believes Sabine has returned to the river that shaped their lives, and her pursuit of this story leads to unforeseen consequences. The Backwater explores themes of domestic life, crime, and the intricate dynamics of truth and justice, all set against the backdrop of a suspenseful and evocative narrative.
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“Sublime and tense”–Booklist
“An original thriller filled with empathy.” –Sarah Bailey, author of The Housemate
The Kelly family has always been trouble
When a fire in a remote trailer park community kills nine people, including 17-year-old Sabine Kelly’s mother and sister, Sabine confesses to the murders. Shortly after, she escapes custody, flees her broken hometown, and disappears into the thick forest and winding backwaters of her childhood refuge, the river.
Recently let go from marriage, motherhood and her career, journalist Rachel Weidermann has long suspected Sabine made her way back to the river–and now, twelve years after the “Trailer Park Murders,” she has the time and the tenacity to corner a fugitive and land the story of the year, hoping the success would allow her to stitch back together the ragged edges of her life. But Rachel’s ambition lights the fuse leading to a brutal chain of events, and the web Sabine weaves will force Rachel to question everything she believes.
As forceful and unrelenting as the river that drives its story, The Backwater is a stunning, suspenseful novel about class, corruption, truth, and justice by a powerful new voice in crime fiction.
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