The Costume Could Hide Her Scars but Not the Truth - an Editorial Review of "Tangled in Water"

Book Blurb:

1932. Natalia is 16 and a bootlegger's daughter, playing the mermaid mascot on a rundown paddlewheel used to entertain brewers and distributors.

A sequined costume hides her scarred and misshaped legs, but it can't cover up the painful memories and suspicions that haunt her. An eccentric healer who treats patients with Old Country tonics, tries to patch wounds, but only adds to the heartache. A fierce storm threatens to destroy everything, including a stash of stolen jewels. 1941. Prohibition is over, but the same henchmen still run the show. Nattie's new mermaid act is more revealing, with more at risk. When the dry-docked paddlewheel is bought by the US Navy for training exercises, the pressure escalates further. Can Nattie entice a cocky US Navy officer to help her gain access to the ship for one last chance to confront her past, settle scores, and retrieve the hidden loot? Is there a new course ahead?

Book Buy Link: https://geni.us/cNfENHQ

Editorial Review:

Title: Tangled in Water

Author: Pam Records

Rating: 4.5 Stars

“Tangled in Water” by Pam Records is a gripping kind of historical novel that feels part mystery, part coming-of-age story, and part like listening to someone tell a family secret they’ve been holding onto for too long. The story jumps between a ship on Lake Michigan in 1932 and a Polish neighborhood in Chicago and follows a teenage girl who plays a mermaid, a red-haired boy who shovels coal, and an older woman who knows about healing. Their stories start small but they keep bumping into each other, making bigger and bigger ripples. The tale is about dangerous love and the ugly things people try to hide.

The main thread follows Nattie who performs as a mermaid, sitting in a glass tank on a party boat called the Lake Maiden. She wears a sequined tail to cover her legs, which don’t work right, while her father runs the show. Jakub works on the same boat, stuck in the heat shoveling coal but dreaming of something better. Halina is on the other hand is shown as a healer with old scars from wars and family fights. Everyone wants something—freedom, money, a way out. But the lake and the past have a tight grip on them all. The story has accidents that might not be accidents, whispers about ghosts, and choices that leave a mark.

“Her costume tail dangled over the edge, the fabric cascading into a silhouette, a famous shape, curves with two points, alluring and childish at once. Loose sequins flittered all the way down. Bits of pinks and violets caught light flickers. All. The. Way. Down. Almost pretty. No one noticed. No one said, “Hey, mermaid, don’t get so close. That’s not safe. You could fall.”

This part really sets the tone. It makes Nattie both a spectacle and a real human being. The description is pretty, talking about colors and light, but it’s also really dangerous. The short sentences at the end, “All. The. Way. Down.” Make you feel how far the drop is. It mixes beauty with a sense of dread. You can see the sparkle but you’re nervous for her.

This next part is Jakub down in the boiler room. The other workers are teasing him about Nattie.

“Jakub had enough. His damaged heart thumbed in erratic beats, skipping the usual rhythm. He felt the pangs. Breath came in spurts. He dropped his shovel. It clanged like an alarm. Jakub patted his pocket. He found his jackknife. Just in case. “Maybe she sucks on him with those fish lips. You think?” asked Ronald “Only if he brings taffy!” said Milton New man laughed. It was the laughing that made Jakub furious”

The style here is totally different. The sentences are short and choppy, like his heartbeat. You can feel the heat, hear the noise of the shovel clanging. It’s not pretty at all but raw and angry. It shows Jakub isn’t some strong hero but young with a bad heart that’s about to snap. The dialogue from the other men is crude and real, it makes the danger feel immediate.

Then there’s Halina, who hears the ghost of her grandmother.

“Baba tsk-tsked along with the ticking of the clock. Tsk. Tock. Tsk. Tssk. O’clock. The old woman didn’t approve of gambling, at least not with cards. Gambling with home-brewed medicines and guesses of dosages was perfectly fine. Halina pretended she didn’t hear. She had made up her mind to go, and no dead woman’s tsking was going to stop her.”

This part has a strange rhythm. The “Tsk. Tock.” Makes it sound like a song, but a creepy one. It shows how the past is always there, judging. The writing is almost funny when it points out the ghost is okay with gambling on medicines but not cards. It gives the story a weird, magical feel without being too fantasy. It’s just part of life for Halina.

“Tangled in Water” by Pam Records grammar and structure aren’t always perfect, but that’s what gives the book its character. The sentences change to match the feeling—long and drifting for Nattie over the water, sharp and hard for Jakub in the engine room. The characters feel trapped but real. Nattie wants her father’s love but also wants to be free of him. Jakub wants to be a hero but his own body holds him back. The book doesn’t give easy answers. It’s gritty and poetic at the same time, full of smoke and water and the weight of history. It leaves you feeling unsettled, like the lake itself, dark and deep.

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