Publication Date April 8, 2025
Much to my husband’s puzzlement, I am a big fan of true crime. I listen to podcasts, watch TV shows like Dateline and 48 hours, and read true crime books (another great thing about reading on a device rather than a printed book: you don’t have to cover up odd titles or gruesome pictures!). So when there is a wealthy family with multiple murders, it’s likely I have at least HEARD of the story/family/case. When I read that Casey Sherman, author of Helltown and A Murder in Hollywood, had a new book about Nathan Carman,my initial reactions were “Oh, good!” and “Who is Nathan Carman?” As I read further, I was eager to read it, and thanks to Sourcebooks and NetGalley, I received a copy of Blood In The Water in exchange for my honest review.
The story opens with the miraculous rescue of Nathan Carman as he is found floating on a lifeboat in the North Atlantic. His story is that he and his mother were fishing in their boat, the boat sank, and despite his efforts to find her, his mother had disappeared and apparently drowned, leaving no trace. A WEEK EARLIER. Funny thing, Nathan is in incredibly good shape for having (allegedly) been on a lifeboat in the North Atlantic for an entire week. So, no surprise, both his family members and law enforcement have questions. MANY questions.
Their questions only multiply when they consider the mysterious murder of Nathan’s multi-millionaire grandfather just a few years back. Nathan’s mother was extremely wealthy as a result, and now it looks like Nathan is in line to inherit at least seven million dollars. It turns out Nathan’s grandfather was killed with the same kind of gun he bought just a month earlier, and he left a huge chunk of his wealth to Nathan’s mother, along with leaving $500,000 to Nathan. Nathan lived well for a few years,, not working (or really doing anything productive), but he eventually started to run out of money…so, he took Mom out on their fishing boat, taking along a life boat and supplies adequate for himself for a week…hmmm.
It’s an incredible story, and I am not surprised to read that Netflix is making it into a movie (or series, not sure which). Like I said, I read a lot of true crime. Much of it is not that well written, but Mr. Sherman writes very well and clearly does his research. I enjoyed it! Four stars.