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  • Blood in the Water

  • A True Story of Revenge in the Maritimes
  • Written by: Silver Donald Cameron
  • Narrated by: David Ferry
  • Length: 7 hrs and 57 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (57 ratings)

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Blood in the Water

Written by: Silver Donald Cameron
Narrated by: David Ferry
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Publisher's Summary

A brutal murder in a small Maritime fishing community raises urgent questions of right and wrong, and even the nature of good and evil, in this masterfully told true story.

In June 2013, three upstanding citizens of a small Cape Breton town cold-bloodedly murdered their neighbor, Phillip Boudreau, at sea. While out checking their lobster traps, two Landry cousins and skipper Dwayne Samson saw Boudreau in his boat, the Midnight Slider, about to vandalize their lobster traps. Like so many times before, Boudreau was about to cost them thousands of dollars out of their seasonal livelihood. One man took out a rifle and fired four shots at Boudreau and his boat. To finish the job, they rammed their own larger boat over the top of his speedboat. Boudreau's body was never found. Then they completed the day's fishing and went home to Petit de Grat on Isle Madame.

Boudreau was a Cape Breton original - an inventive small-time criminal who had terrorized and entertained Petit de Grat for two decades. He had been in prison for nearly half his adult life. He was funny and frightening, loathed, loved, and feared. One neighbor says he would "steal the beads off Christ's moccasins"—then give the booty away to someone in need. He would taunt his victims, and threaten them with arson if they reported him. He was accused of one attempted rape. Meanwhile the police and the Fisheries officers were frustrated, cowed, and hobbled by shrinking budgets. Boudreau seemed invincible, a miscreant who would plague the village forever.

Cameron, a resident of the area since 1971, argues that the Boudreau killing was a direct reaction to credible and dire threats that the authorities were powerless to neutralize. As many local people have said, if those fellows hadn't killed him, someone else would have. Like Say Nothing, The Perfect Storm, The Golden Spruce, and Into Thin Air, this book offers a dramatic narrative set in a unique, lovingly drawn setting, where a story about one small community has universal resonance. This is a story not about lobster, but about the grand themes of power and law, security and self-respect. It raises a disturbing question: Are there times when taking the law into your own hands is not only understandable but the responsible thing to do?

©2020 Silver Donald Cameron (P)2020 Penguin Random House Canada
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What the critics say

A NATIONAL BESTSELLER

WINNER of the 2021 Atlantic Book Awards' Robbie Robertson Dartmouth Book Award for Non-Fiction

SHORTLISTED for the 2021 Crime Writers of Canada Brass Knuckles Award for Best Nonfiction Crime Book

HONOURABLE MENTION for the John Lyman Book Award in Canadian Naval and Maritime History

One of The Globe’s “100 Favourite books of 2020”

“Fascinating! Blood in the Water . . . provides deep insights into how communities work: how they succeed, [and] how they can fail. Must-read for all concerned about how humans manage to live together. Or not.” —Margaret Atwood, via Twitter

"An instant true crime classic." Publishers' Weekly **starred review**

“Silver David Cameron knew intimately the Cape Breton community where the brutal murder of a local who was vandalizing lobster traps took place. But instead of that insider knowledge giving him too narrow a focus, it enables him to see beyond the broad strokes of the story—and so bring to life ideas about power, law, vigilantism and community.” Toronto Star

What listeners say about Blood in the Water

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  • Overall
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    3 out of 5 stars

interesting but dry

This book was not entertaining to listen to, but interesting none the less. Good performance.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Little murder, little history

Enjoyed the story as a new blue noser. Author told the story in detail while adding some history of Cape Breton. Narrator did a really great job of different voices.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Must read!

Very informative, I enjoyed this book a lot, you will get a glimpse of the history of the community and the main subject of the book.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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A compelling and human look behinds sensationalistic headline-making event

This story did a wonderful job of explaining the historical context that forms the deep feel of this community.

A well-needed sensitive and balanced examination of the human experience and interactions that run up against formal systems of law and how they’re not always compatible. Making an easy “good guy vs bad guy” trope impossible, as it often is.

Narration was especially great. The use of language was so integral to the story that the proper use of accents, slang and dialects completely enhanced the story.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Interesting case

Interesting story and legal case, really quite tragic. It paints a picture of a lot that is wrong in our justice system. This small town was unsettled and ultimately traumatized whenever this man wasn’t in prison. The end result was inexcusable, yet perhaps…. inevitable? No, not inevitable, but how else could this have unfolded? I did enjoy the Nova Scotia and Cape Breton culture. Canadians should read this.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

The Best

I live at the other end of the province, so maybe I am a bit biased to say that this has been the best audiobook I have listened to so far.
First, a lot in an audiobook rides on the narrator, and they could not have chosen a better match for this book. It sounds like you are in the home of one of the locals, and he is telling you this story over an evening of drinks around the kitchen table. It truly brings you that up close and personal feel. I honestly can't say enough about his performance.
The story itself is written just as well. It is really well documented, since the author was a local himself and attended the trials in person. It is quite a tale and I think anyone (especially those in a small town) could relate in one way or another to the situation that was presented in this village.
A wonderful listen, and my favourite so far.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent Perspective

I have to say I was was sceptical to read one person’s perspective on this incredibly complex story. But I am thoroughly impressed on how SDC told these stories. Stories of who we are as people, why people are the way they are what likely went down on that day. This was not about lobster. It was about so much more and SDC does an incredible job of telling the story and the contributing factors and stories that make this situation so complex.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Great Insight

Being from the area and knowing all involved somewhat, it’s a great book and well written. I only wish the Narrative was done by someone local with our own accent. A lot of the names and places were mispronounced and in more of a French accent from France or Quebec than an Acadian one.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Great performance

Narrator did a great job on accents and differentiating between people in the story. Very good story.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Loved this storytelling

this book was beautifully written with sensitivity to the subject matter. The narrator brought life to the characters involved.

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