Wet Work

by Donna Meredith

Impoverished college student Summer Cassidy just wants to earn her master's in hydrogeology. That, and hustle some foosball, chase a Frisbee, drink a few beers. Two months shy of her graduation, her world is upended by a corporation's desperate efforts to suppress her research into contaminants in its ASR wells. But nothing is going to keep her from pursuing the truth or her dreams. Not the end of her scholarship. Not the thugs who come after her. And especially not the enigmatic Ty Franceschi, even if he is hotter than the Florida sun in mid-August.

With memorable characters, a lush Florida setting, and our most precious natural resource at the center of its plot, "Wet Work" is an environmental thriller evoking a Carl Hiaasen novel, corrupt strip-mall investor replaced with crooked water-project developer.

Summer Cassidy prefers to shred the bad guys with science, but if that doesn't work she slings a book at a nose, whips a wrench toward a windpipe, or grabs the nearest gun. She is a bit of a bad girl, but one whose vulnerability will win your heart.

Reading "Wet Work" is like taking a group canoe trip into the lush wild world of natural Florida and rowing with a cast of characters who might kill you-or save you. And then, just when you figure out friend from foe, you hit white water. It will make readers think twice the next time they turn on their water faucets. In 2013 this manuscript won a Royal Palm Literary Award in a contest sponsored by the Florida Writers Association.

314 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 10, 2013

About the author

Donna Meredith's books feature strong women, haloes slightly tarnished.

The Editor of Southern Literary Review, she is the author of six award-winning novels, "Margaret: The Rose of Goodwood," "Buried Seeds," "Fraccidental Death," "Wet Work," “The Glass Madonna” and “The Color of Lies” that are popular with book clubs, as well as the nonfiction book “Magic in the Mountains: Kelsey Murphy, Robert Bomkamp, and the West Virginia Cameo Glass Revolution.”

She’s worn many hats for the Tallahassee Writers Association, including president, vice president, conference chair, newsletter editor, webmaster, and chair of the Seven Hills Review literary contest.

She became a full-time writer after a teaching career in public high schools in West Virginia and Georgia, where she taught English, Newspaper Journalism, and TV Production.

She earned a Bachelor’s in Education with a double major in English and Journalism from Fairmont State College, a Master’s in Journalism from West Virginia University, and an Education Specialist’s degree in English from Nova University. She also studied creative writing at Florida State and served as a newsletter editor for the Florida State Attorney General’s Office. She resides in Tallahassee with her husband John.

Reviews

[Bruce Ballister · Rating 5 out of 5]

Join the machine or take a stand. That is the essential question at the beginning of Donna Meredith's outstanding portrayal of corruption at the highest levels of government. Is it really so much to ask to have clean water to drink? Take the plunge into Meredith's wet work.

[Roberta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Donna Meredith’s ecological thriller, WET WORK hooked me from the beginning with her strong characterization and excellent pacing. Once I began, I couldn’t put it down. Meredith’s characters have secrets, which connect one to the other. What I liked about this book is that some secrets were meant to remain hidden.

Not only could I relate to the protagonist, Summer Cassidy as a flawed character but also to her study of hydrogeology in north Florida. Meredith’s descriptions of the area’s waterways from Summer’s point of view could only be written by someone who knows the value of the region’s resources. During this period, when country-wide fracking is taking place, Meredith uses three wells in the region that produce above the safety level of arsenic to take the reader on a wild ride of wet work. I highly recommend WET WORK to anyone who is concerned about the health of our nation’s water and to anyone who wants a well written fast paced thriller novel.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a readable, fast-paced mystery - not too much sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll - a great beach read! Kudos to Donna Meredith for excellent research. Doesn't hurt to learn something when you read a book, right?

And it's a quick read - even my slow reading self got through in just a couple of days.

[retronerd Steinkuehler · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried to get through this book, especially since i had nothing else to read at the time. Half-way thru i gave up. Tedious character development and plot is similar to others now on the market. One star is generous.

[Acober · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn't put it down. Donna delivers a full cast of well developed characters within a plot jam packed with twists and turns. I eagerly await the next novel in the series!