Hey there, book nerds!
I’m so excited you caught today’s tour stop for Matt Minor’s The Water Lord! This political thriller will keep even the best sleuths guessing and is written by an author with some pretty specific credentials. Read on for my thoughts on this suspenseful novel and enter for a chance to win YOUR very own copy!
The Water Lord by Matt Minor
Title & Author: The Water Lord by Matt Minor
Genre: Political Suspense
Release Date: April 2, 2018
Publisher: Dead Tree Publishing
Series Details: Companion Novel; can be read as standalone
Page Count: 249 pages
Scroll down for the giveaway!
A town has gone dry, and the general manager of a water district is found dead, presumably a suicide. His crazed widow is in denial and recklessly loose-lipped. Texas House District 100 is again in turmoil, and the interests of the landed class against urban sprawl are at odds.
Enter John David Dothan (The Representative). The world’s hippest legislator is back, but he is a changed man. Post-stroke Dothan dons an eccentric cane and is married to his former Chief of Staff, Tryphena Taylor. The two lovers reside peacefully tucked away in a country cottage with their rescued cat. But they are swimming against the tide.
Caught between the past and the future, the rural and the urban, the representative is trapped in a no-win situation both politically and emotionally. When a constituent brings to his attention a mysterious ‘retention pond’ things grow increasingly murky. The waters turn completely dark when Dothan learns his forbidden first love, former State Senator Rachael Logan has been hospitalized.
Armed with only his cane and sidekick, Mason Dixon (The District Manager), who serves as his new Chief of Staff, Dothan sets aside the ambiguities of politics and love in search of clarity and righteousness. But the cost of doing the right thing might not just be his young marriage…but Tryphena’s life.
PRAISE FOR The Water Lord:
“Great pacing and a well-written storyline. I look forward to reading more from Matt Minor!” — My Reading Addiction
“Matt Minor has great attention to detail and makes everything from the setting to the characters feel very real. It makes for a wonderfully written and very suspenseful novel.” — Momma and Her Stories
“A well-crafted suspense! The plot kept me turning the pages and I finished this novel very fast. Matt Minor’s voice is a breath of fresh air, smart, witty and full of twists… I will read more books by this author!”— Indie Express
“Matt Minor has created a novel in which the main character shows growth…I like flawed characters and if they can overcome things, it really speaks to me.”— A Life Through Books
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Thank you so much to Dead Tree Publishing, Matt Minor, and Lone Star Book Blog Tours for providing me with a free advanced ecopy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
The third installment in Minor’s “House District 100” series quickly introduces the reader to familiar characters who are facing a whole new set of life-altering problems. Told in dual POV this companion novel centers on John David “JD” Dothan, a charismatic Texas legislator, trying to balance post-stroke recovery, a months-old marriage to his former Chief of Staff, Tryphena, (our other narrator), and a brand new case that blurs the line between political and personal.
“The town of Betsy has gone dry…stone cold dry.”
A county going dry is one thing, but when the general manager of that same water-deprived county district turns up dead via an unlikely suicide the story starts to smell fishy. JD and his new Chief of Staff, Mason Dixon, are determined to get to the bottom of this crisis for their constituents — especially as the body count continues to climb.
Written by a current Chief of Staff in the Texas House of Representatives, The Water Lord delivers a political thriller that seems genuinely lifted off the house floor — sans the deaths of course. It’s not hard to envision these behind-the-scenes dealings or battles for bills that place corporations against citizens. The authenticity added a level of realism to this twisted tale that made the content feel relatable and current while still reaching enough into fiction to keep the pages turning.
And while enough backstory is provided to allow for this to be read as a standalone, I personally believe diving into the previous novels would provide for a better overall reading experience. There were several scenes (especially those featuring an old flame) that would have landed better had I understood the entire character arc. That plus a few repetitive ominous chapter endings and a handful of scenes where the dialogue got cloudy between character delivery and tone were my only minor complaints about this suspenseful novel.
Ultimately, Minor manages to fill these pages with plenty of twists and turns that would keep even the best sleuths guessing up until the very last reveal. It’s able to hook you quickly and reel you in for the remainder of the story. If you’re in the market for a fast-paced political thriller, I’d give this Texas-based saga a favorable vote.
Matt Minor presently serves as a Chief of Staff in the Texas House of Representatives. In the Texas House he has served under the Pensions Committee, Government Efficiency and Reform, Investments and Financial Services, Bond Indebtedness, and Way and Means.
He has worked as a political campaign manager and is a public speaker. Matt has authored official state publications, oversees syndicated editorials, (both political and cultural) and is a speech writer and district radio legislative commentator. Prior to his life in state politics, Matt was a professional musician and entertainer. Matt’s hobbies are centered on the arts, including the craft of poetry, an interest that has brought academic recognition and numerous awards
His first novel, The Representative was an Amazon Political Fiction Bestseller the summer of 2015, and was accepted and archived into the Texas State Legislative Library.
In April of 2016, The Representative won an IPPY Gold medal for Southern Fiction.
In the summer of 2016 he released his second novel, The District Manager.
Matt Minor resides on his ranch property in Wharton County, Texas. He lives in Austin during legislative session.
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THREE WINNERS Get An E-Book Copy!
January 8-17, 2019
(U.S. Only)
Enter Here!
VISIT THE OTHER GREAT BLOGS ON THE TOUR:
| 1/8/19 | Excerpt | All the Ups and Downs |
| 1/8/19 | BONUS Promo | Hall Ways Blog |
| 1/9/19 | Review | Reading by Moonlight |
| 1/10/19 | Author Interview | Texas Book Lover |
| 1/11/19 | Review | Tangled in Text |
| 1/12/19 | Excerpt | That’s What She’s Reading |
| 1/13/19 | Author Interview | StoreyBook Reviews |
| 1/14/19 | Review | Forgotten Winds |
| 1/15/19 | Series Spotlight | Chapter Break Book Blog |
| 1/16/19 | Review | Nerd Narration |
| 1/17/19 | Review | The Clueless Gent |
Blog tour services provided by:
nerdnarrationblog.wordpress.com 
This sounds like a good book to get lost in — and that it feels authentic to Texas politics. Thanks for a great review!
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