Red Water is a story of the 17-years old girl who went missing after the local fishermen's festivity in a small Dalmatian town in September 1989. During next months and years, due to a social upheavals (fall of communism, political changes, war...) the missing girl case is forgotten, and her family (mother, father and twin brother) is left alone in a pursuit to find her. Novel follows a timespan of 27 years, and observes the destiny of the people inolved in a case (family members, suspects, communist policeman and others).
Contemporary crime literature gives a true picture of everything that defines society and culture of a certain country", said British crime writer Ian Rankin. Pavičić's book is doing just that: through narrative that spans over 30 years it describes the war and tsunami of transition... Red Water is a first class crime novel in which a thrilling search for a provincial pretty girl interwine with a historical drama of a certain country ant its people.
Emir Imamović Pirke, Radio Slobodna Europa
Pavičić sucks in his reader into story as a maelstrom
Olga Vujović, Wish
Literary powerful work that crosses over the genre and ideological boundaries.
Denis Derk, Večernji list
Construction of the Pavičić's novel is ambicious even more then usually, starting from a timespan that starts at the dawn of the 80s and ends today... Novel is perfectly fluent, with logical narrative rooting and impeccable characterisation...
Teofil Pančić, Globus
„Red Water“ is not just most complex Pavičić's book in terms of structure, but- at the same time- most mature in every aspect. With this book, Pavičić raises the bar highly not just to himself, but to all the writers who are trying to use the genre structure to address the everyday social topics…. Brilliant and chilling thriller, great story from the little town!
Jagna Pogačnik, Express
One of the best thrillers on Croatian literature...
Božidar Alajbegović, Lupiga
Surprise from Croatia. "Red Water" is a proof that there is still good crime novels that defy genre rules... Really oustanding novel.
Claudia Schmid (Kriminetz)
We follow how innocent become guilty... how small details change the current of events... How people stumble because they try to do a right thing, but only make thing worse... Excellent!
Erika Mager (Liblogkoeb)
"Red Water" is the powerful description of the family histories and political destiny of Croatia... and, by the way, very suspensful thriller.
Sandra Falke
"Red Water" is suspensful, intelligently structured, thematically rich novel full of surprising plot -twists.
Konstanze Mathes (zeichen & zeiten)
Brilliant, powerful cinema for reading!
Joerg Kijanski (Booknerds)
"Red Water" is not a typical crime novel. Through the middle of the book, it keeps open a doubt is there a crime in it at all. But, suspense is created through that uncertainity ... Convincing novel which we highly recommend.
Gunnar Wolters (Kalibar 17)
A book that could have remained just a crime thriller, becomes a portrait of a whole society. As in his previous novel "Woman From the Second Floor" (2017.), Pavičić in this book explores how a pure coincidence and a blind fate could shape somebody's, or anybody's life.
Petra Lohrmann (Der Hotlistblog)
Author narrates a psychological evolution of the characters with diabolic presision... Powerful, exact and merciless book...
Jerome (Songazine)
A book that re-reads a history of ex-Yugoslavia in an intelligent, subtle and non-partisan way.
Mireille Descombes (Les Temps)
Pavičić offers a subtle equllibrium between a History with an H and distresses of a single family.
Katia Panier (Le Singulier)
Pavičić superimpose a family drama and an oustanding, skillful historical fresque, while never, not even for a second, sacrifying a suspense of a good crime novel... Remarkable book.
Phillippe Blanchet (Le Figaro)
Through this drama of absence, the novelist shows a society in turmoil and beautifully weaves the tiny events and historic movements.
Christine Ferniot (Telerama)
Red water is a great, subtle fresco that brilliantly depicts the future of an unknown country that the reader will not fail to appreciate at the end of a captivating story.
(Tribune de Geneve)
Here is a masterful illustration of the way in which the thriller, sometimes, mixes stories and history, individual destiny and collective history.... Very nice discovery!
Jean Marc Lacherrere (Act Du Noir)
If the thriller has no equal when it comes to telling the world and revealing its dark side, Jurica Pavičić makes a brilliant demonstration of it.
(Goodbook)
"Red Water" is a novel that walks on rope, sensible novel with the plot which progresses like an abysmal void... Melancholy which emerges from the novel turns attention to details, silence and atmosphere...
Michel Abescat (FranceInter)
Jurica Pavičić revives the thirty years of turmoil of Croatian society through breakdown of one wounded family ... passionate novel.
Alexandra Schwartzbrod (Liberation)
Existentialist crime novel? it's an adriatic blues.
Francois Forestier (L'Observateur)
Existentialist crime novel? it's an adriatic blues.
Francois Forestier (L'Observateur)
The truth emerges, simple, naked, with shattering evidence. This is the art of the noir novel, and of the novel itself.
Irene Frain (Le Points)
Unusual crime novel worth reading. *****
Regula Tanner
In Red Water, there is an interaction between small histories and a big one in a form of an impressive, precise mechanism... That's what the book is talking about: little human balls in a narration too big for them.
Alain Leauthier (Marianne, 23.7. 2021)
By using "roman noir", Pavičić follows brilliantly ordinary lives, from collapse of communism, rise of nationalism up to the shock of war ... powerful and meditative work.
Bernard Daguerre , Le Monde diplomatique, october 2021
Excellent crime novel and a historic fresque at the same time.... Pavičić's novel is a superb confirmation of a storyteller... Crime novel which has a historic value.
Lorenzo Fazzini (L'Avvenire)
With a painful mastery Pavičić juggles with family drama within a historic drama... a novel of a great finesse.
Cristiana Bongiorno (Il Piccolo, Trieste)
Pavičić's writing is distinguished by lightness of the poetry as much as by psychological deepness and capacity to maintain suspens.
Monica Bartolini (Thriller Cafe)
A profound crime novel... powerful historic fresco...
Oscar D'Agostino (Messaggero Veneto, Italia)
The style lures the reader into emersing to this book page after page without wanting do dettach from it ever.
Diego Zandel (La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno, Italy)
Surprising writer... His style is compared with Alice Munro and Ivo Andrić, but in reality it transcends both of them. His writing is lucid and sober, style laconic, rythm of narrative superb ... "Red Water" has a breath of a great narrative.
Masrta Herzbruch (Il Piccolo, Italy, January 7 2023)
Deep and addictive novel with all the elements of a crime novel, but with a touch of Jurica Pavičić.
Serena Prenassi (Meridiano 13, Italy)
This book is much more then a big detective story. "Red water" is also a book about the country which is trying to come to terms with it's new-gained freedom. It's familiar to you.
Arpad Soltesz (Slovakia)
This book allows you to look more into the soul, mentality and feeling of the world of this people, in it you can find a lot that is different and also a lot in common with us...A novel that fascinates and attracts...
Baiba Kuške (Latvias Sabidriskie Mediji)
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