Publication Date: October 4, 2022
Spring 1887. Melting snowpack from the high Sierras will soon turn California’s Central Valley into lush fields, but an armed man with a Sharps rifle shut off a headwater gate to a water-ditch and stood guard. After an unexpected confrontation with Double B Ranch owner, Jake Sanders, along with ranch-hand Kacha, this gunman now lies dead and Jake along with wounded Kacha, are both jailed for murder. The unscrupulous lobbyist who ‘steals to get the office and who gets the office to steal,” Billy “Boss” Carr, claims to know nothing about the man or the situation, in spite of owning the land where the headwater gate is. Water is profitable for Carr, however, and he is aligned with both the prosecutor and judge. It is up to Jake’s wife, Sally, to find a way to prove Jake and Kacha’s innocence; the truth of the matter. But with these powerful men stacking the odds against her, can she? Or will she watch both men hanged?
1887 The Day they turned Off the Water by A.E. Wasserman is set in California in the early days of its statehood. Land was valuable, but water for crops and cattle was priceless. Ruthless and powerful men are set to take control and make money, no matter the cost or . . . number of lives lost.
Sally Sanders is the wife of rancher Jake Sanders, and together they own and work the Double Bar Ranch. Their crops and cattle depend upon water from Settler’s Ditch, a water supply dug previously to bring water in from King’s River, but unexplainedly, the Ditch has suddenly gone dry.
When Jake and Kacha, a Yokut Indian and friend, ride up the ditch to discern what has happened, they encounter an armed gunslinger whose job is to ensure the headwater gate remains closed. Through a quick succession of events, the gunslinger is dead, and Jake and Kacha are charged with his murder.
Jake’s wife, Sally, anxious to save her husband, follows every lead and possible shred of information to determine who has shut the water off and who is desperate, powerful, and rich enough to bring the full weight of the law to bear against men only protecting themselves and their land.
Through perseverance and the help of local Yokut Indian lore, Sally provides what might be key factors in proving Jake’s and Kacha’s innocence. Will Sally’s efforts be in time and enough to overcome a judge with an eye to a future in Sacramento and a state party boss whose goals are even more power and money, no matter what.
1887 The Day they turned Off the Water is an action-packed narrative set in a fascinating time in California’s history. The bones of a great story are plentiful. However, the characters are one-dimensional stereotypes, depriving the reader of a much-needed emotional connection to fully grasp their angst and desperation. Dialects and specified word pronunciations used throughout are stilted and awkward and take away from the flow of the story.
The storyline of 1887 The Day they turned Off the Water is certainly noteworthy, and with the help of a strong editor and some polish, it could be a truly compelling read.
The daughter of a newspaperman, A.E. Wasserman grew up in a household filled with books and stories. At age 14, she wrote her first novella and never stopped writing.
A.E. Wasserman’s current mystery/thrillers series, featuring Englishman Langsford and his friends, has garnered international attention, not only in the U.S., but Europe and the U.K. as well. Her work is critically acclaimed as richly atmospheric; her style bold and well-crafted.
After graduating from The Ohio State University, she lived in London, then San Francisco. Currently she resides in Southern California with her family and her muse, a Border Collie named Topper.
