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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.
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.
“I want to live the rest of my life in living color, with the moments bright and joyful.”
Wayne Cheadham is one of the main citizens in Sulfur Gap, Texas, who owns a ranch just outside of town and who takes under his wing a couple of mistreated children and a few animals who need a loving home. Wayne also attracts women without even trying because he is a too-good-to-be true sexy cowboy with plenty of Texas charm. In Low Water Crossing, Wayne goes through three marriages from the late 1980s to 2013 and ends up with a son named Luck from marriage number one.
Low Water Crossing by Dana Glossbrenner is book two in the Sulfur Gap series, and while both books can stand alone, book two does reference book one, The Lark, a few times, especially toward the end. The series so far is completely delightful, and Low Water Crossing starts off on a note of mystery when a skeleton is dug up on Wayne’s ranch in 2013 during some excavation. The three women in Wayne’s marital life each have their own issues, personality quirks, and attitudes. Lucy never truly recovers from past abuse, and Cynthia possesses a terrible secret that continues to haunt her and has an overly religious nature that often gets on people’s nerves. As they say, three is a charm, and wife number three, Lou, ends up being just right for Wayne. By the end of Low Water Crossing, Wayne finds his oasis of happiness and finally determines the ugly truth about the body found on his property.
Dana Glossbrenner weaves three love stories and a mystery together to achieve a literary star that is both entertaining and intriguing, all wrapped up in small Texas town high jinks that include gossip and closed-minded attitudes as well as good old-fashioned small-town appeal and hospitality. Even though this story relies heavily on Wayne’s three marriages, romance is treated somewhat lightly because of other serious issues that crop up throughout, such as dealing with past trauma, divorce and its repercussions, guilt over poor choices, and the struggle with loss. As expected, relationships play a huge part in this story. Wayne is easy going, but like his wives, he still brings issues from his past into his present relationships. While the majority of this story is told from the points of view of the three women, Wayne’s point of view does pop up occasionally. This type of narration works well because each wife sees different aspects of Wayne’s personality, with Wayne given a chance to let the reader in on his thoughts at just the right times.
Dana Glossbrenner’s writing is literary and engaging throughout, with the reader longing for more by the end because all the characters are so interesting, and the Texas setting draws in the reader and encourages further exploration. Low Water Crossing is perfect for anyone who likes their romance mixed with a whole lot of mystery and drama as big as the great state of Texas.
Enter the giveaway below on or before October 16, 2020, for a chance to win some fabulous prizes.
I received a free copy of this book from Lone Star Book Blog Tours in exchange for my honest review.
2nd winner gets a signed copy of Low Water Crossing.
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This book sounds like it will satisfy on all levels. Excellent review! Thanks for the post!
Thanks for this wonderful review! I especially appreciate your kind words about the writing. I’ve really worked on pacing.