Review: Clearwater Falls by W.J. Long III

Review: Clearwater Falls by W.J. Long III 

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I like stories that keep me invested. If a story can keep me asking the right questions, I count that as a good thing. I enjoy asking questions when I’m engrossed in a story’s plot. Thrillers – when done well – often do just that, leaving me on the edge of my seat and itching to know what will happen next! 

I was excited to get into Clearwater Falls given my past experiences with this author’s work! W.J. Long III has written stories that have connected with me in ways that have made them rather memorable, so I was ready for something new and exciting!

Before I go any further, however, I would like to discuss some general thoughts I have. Let’s get into it! 

Thoughts 

The ideas bringing this story together are very interesting! Learning the history of the island of Clearwater Falls and how it affects the main narrative was fascinating, and I love the mood that is set for the story! Seeing how the main characters are affected by both the island and its history ended up weaving together a plot line that made me care about the characters and what happened to them.

I also really like how the island’s paranormal characteristics are tied into the characters’ everyday lives. This created a fascinating aspect to the setting that I wanted to know more about as the plot progressed. I had so many questions come to mind as I learned more about this, and it was incredibly interesting to discover more as time went on!

Anyway, now that I’ve gotten those thoughts off my chest, let’s look at the story’s structure!

Structure

I find the way this story is built interesting, because it allows the reader to get to know quite a few characters in some depth. I enjoyed trying to piece together the information revealed in the overall story with many of these characters. I also really like that the setting feels like the kind of place where everybody knows everybody. 

The community being so small allowed for the exact stakes to become clear as time went on because the story reveals what this place is like. Not only was it interesting to see, but it also fleshed out the plot in ways that I didn’t expect.   

Anyway, I think that’s all I have on the structure. Let’s move on to the writing.

Writing

I have something specific to discuss concerning the writing this time around. While I still love the atmosphere the prose creates, I have an issue with it that I’ll discuss in a bit. On the positive side, there is something about the mood and tone of the story that is easy to get wrapped up in! The word choice allows for full investment and made me want to see what comes next. And when the prose needs to be tense or take on a darker tone, it does so with no issues whatsoever. The humor also works perfectly when needed, adding some levity in certain instances that made me smile. 

However, though that is all fantastic, I need to discuss a specific point of view. While I was invested in this character’s arc, the writing for them is rather vague, which affected my understanding of their story. I think the writing for them needed to be more specific in a few places. Otherwise, the writing feels nebulous in places where it’s not necessary. This made it difficult for the arc to completely come full circle to me. 

Well, with all that out there, I think I’ve covered everything. Let’s finish this up. 

Conclusion 

I see a lot of positive aspects to this story. It’s gripping, the characters have interesting stories, and the paranormal elements in the setting are easy to get invested in! At the same time, however, I think the narrative could have benefited from being more specific where appropriate because it would help to bring everything together. 

I debated over the rating of this for a while. However, given that I feel that the clarity of the writing is an issue that affects the narrative in a significant way, I think it should have a bigger impact on the rating this time around. For that reason, I will be giving this story three stars.