There are no bones about it, in addition to an actress, Catherine Steadman is a writer. Her debut novel, Something in the Water, is proof positive of this.
Something in the Water starts off with an intriguing discussion of the time and effort involved in digging a grave. Apparently it is not as easy as it appears in the movies and on tv, although no one should think it is. This was fascinating to me, and really grabbed my attention. It jumped to another level when you find out that she is digging a grave for her husband. The book then is the events leading up to the point that she digs the grave for the love of her life.
Erin, a documentary filmmaker and Mark, an investment banker are totally and madly in love with each other. They complete each other. They have the fairytale "love at first sight" story. Just prior to their wedding the market crashes which is a hardship for anyone working in banking, Mark included. During their shortened honeymoon to Bora Bora Mark & Erin come across an eerie sight of papers floating on the ocean and also discover a random duffle bag floating and bumping into their boat. Naturally they pull the bag onboard, mark the spot on the GPS, and return to their bungalow.
From this point the story takes the journey along the "what would you do" or "where are your moral limits" path. It is an entertaining read. At times I had to shake my head at the choices the characters made, some of which seem ridiculous. Their occupations put them in positions to make many of the choices that ensue throughout the book, and while convenient, that is definitely a liberty we as readers must accept when a writer uses it. All in all, I was entertained with the book, and loved to sit back and think about what I might do in the similar situation. Be careful in life what you wish for, you may just bump into a life changing duffle bag.
Through many twists and turns, the adventure and mystery in the book held my attention. It was slow after the digging graves scene as we got some back story on Erin and Mark, but it builds up well into many different scenes that had me engaged and held me with rapt attention. This being a debut novel really has me looking forward to future books from Steadman. She has a great story telling ability and style.

I close with my new favorite quote, and a great outlook on life: "Sometimes you're the lamp post, and sometimes you're the dog."

Thanks to #NetGalley for allowing me an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts and opinions.

I've included this title in my weekly roundup, and will provide more details for the publisher as the month progresses. I will also leave feedback for the publisher.

5 Tension Filled Stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Well HOT damn this book was just... brilliant! Full disclosure I was running behind on my reviews so I purchased this on audio on release day and I was even a little hesitant because I saw the author was narrating.... not always a good thing, but I had no idea that Catherine Steadman is an actress.... and after finishing this book I now know she is also a fantastic author and audiobook narrator!!! Simply amazing! Seriously if I could I would give her narration six stars, it was really exceptional! And this book kept me on the edge of my seat from about 30% on...

Erin and Mark are a happy newly married couple on their honeymoon in Bora Bora... they are having a wonderful time in this tropical paradise until...thunk thunk... there is something in the water.... and what it is will alter this couple’s lives.... from this point on the tension is ramped up and I felt as though I was on the edge of my seat throughout... so many thoughts... what would I do in this situation? What is the ethical thing to do?

Erin and Mark were both fabulous characters... they both handled the situation so differently and I found that part so compelling and true....Erin was very bold about it all and didn’t always think things through, in fact sometimes she did some really stupid things... Mark on the other hand was more cautious, not much of a risk taker, although he was usually fine with his wife taking a risk.... I have to say I was both surprised and a little disappointed by both of these characters at points in this book....

There is also a very fascinating side story in this book... Erin is filming a documentary about prisoners about to be released.... Eddie, Holly, and Alexa were all strong, interesting, and well-developed characters.... I found each of their storys compelling and unique.... definitely added another layer to this already wonderful book.... and the voice of eddie is absolutely the best in this audio!

This really was a book unlike any other I have read before... it was very refreshing.... absolutely recommend to everybody regardless of your reading preferences!

*** thank you to the publisher for my copy of this brilliant book ***

This was an amazing read! It's been a while since I felt emotionally invested in a book, but this one had me going! I was constantly thinking "What's gonna happen next??", and talking out loud about the characters actions. This was just a roller coaster of suspense and I loved it!! Highly recommended!

Let's get this out of the way right now, I figured out the plot from reading the summary. I don't know if I've read too many thrillers, or if it's just spelled out a little too clearly, but yeah, I knew what the something was when I requested this ARC. Then, from the opening chapter, I figured out exactly how this was going to play out.

Because this happens to me way too often, I focused on how we were going to get to the ending. Because if Catherine Steadman did what I hope she did, which is spell the big events out right from the jump, then led you through how they happened, this book is really, really well done.

I don't think I can accurately sum anything up without spoiling those who aren't as obnoxious as I am, so let me just say that as likeable as these characters are, they make some of the most piss-poor life choices in any book ever. There's this thick air of paranoia throughout the entire book, to the point where you're feeling anxious that Something is Going to Happen.

And Erin repeatedly decides to do The Stupidest Possible Thing You Could Do.

SERIOUSLY.

Having said that, we're dealing with two normal people who fall into extraordinary circumstances. I would hate for them to suddenly develop spy-level espionage skill sets. But still, the CHOICES ERIN MAKES.

The build up is really fantastic, the ending is really freaking satisfying. If you can move past some of the stupidity, it really is a very good read.

Keep your fainting couch nearby

Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman is a highly recommended debut psychological thriller.

The novel opens with Erin digging a grave on October 1st. Then we jump back to Friday July 8th, for the whole story and the reason for that grave. Erin Locke, a documentary filmmaker, and Mark Roberts, an investment banker, are getting married. In spite of the fact that Mark was recently fired from his job, they planned to go ahead and enjoy a dream honeymoon on the tropical island of Bora Bora. While out scuba diving they discover something in the water, a canvas bag. The contents have the potential to either dramatically change their lives, or threaten their safety. It will certainly test their moral compass. Erin and Mark need to be careful and clever to maneuver their way through the ensuing chain of events.

Steadman's novel features Erin telling the story of what happened that lead to her digging a grave. While we know what Erin is thinking and doing, it is also easy to see that she is making some bad decisions and may be an unreliable narrator. Erin isn't entirely likeable. Mark also comes across as untrustworthy. But, Something in the Water isn't really a novel that focuses on character development as much as the motives, actions, and reactions of the characters.

The writing is good. There are some universal truths in the plot - greed, mistrust, suspicion, lies - that are nicely integrated in to the story. The novel does feature some twists, but none of them are startlingly unexpected and astute readers will see most of them coming. What Steadman does do well is providing a gripping opening. Then, after a rather slow, uneven set up, the narrative again becomes more compelling and picks up the pace and the intrigue for the final half of the novel. Something in the Water is a notable debut novel and Steadman will be someone to watch for future releases.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Penguin Random House via Netgalley.
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*Book provided in exchange for an honest review - thank you netgalley*

I go back and forth on this one. 3 starts. 4 stars. so maybe it should be 3.5 stars.

The book grabbed me from the start. I felt something was off with the MC's Erin and Mark but I couldn't place what is was. They seemed to love each other but there was this underlying tension but I wasn't sure if I was forcing that feeling because I knew the story was going to go someplace bad or if it was really there.

I'm going to skip the beginning details because I don't want to give too much away. BUT I will say it pulled me in and I was excited to see where the story was going. Once you get past the set up we meet Erin a documentary film maker and Mark a financial advisor who are in the process of planning their wedding. Erin is about to start a new project with 3 inmates who are about to be released. And things for Mark aren't great - he loses his job and he doesn't take it well, in fact you could say it changes him or at least the him we met at the start of their story. The MC's get married and go to Bora Bora for their honeymoon. On their way back from a day on the water they come upon papers floating in the water, a lot of paper. They explore and discover something - the book description calls it shocking - I wouldn't call it that but it takes a lot to shock me now a days. They found something that sets them on a collision course with trouble.

There are parts of the story that moved slowly for me, in fact most of the honeymoon I found myself dozing or focusing on other things rather than the story. BUT the beginning of the book and once the couple returns from their honeymoon kept me interested and is why I would say 3.5.

Both characters are flawed but the growth of one of them from the start to the end is what I was drawn too. You feel the change and I really liked that. There were also a few support characters that I just loved and would love to read about more.

I would recommend this one for mystery lovers with the note that the beginning is one of the most fun I've had at the start of a story in a while.

It is really hard for me to give this 2 stars… but I just didn’t enjoy it. Maybe I had too high expectations because Reese Witherspoon selected this as June’s read for her book club. (Side note… I wonder how she selects books because I was not impressed this month.) I was not a fan of the writing style… it was very blunt and, in my opinion, boring. “He did this. She did that.” I got so frustrated with this writing style that I ended up skimming a lot of the end. The characters were also super unlikeable and, to be honest, not very smart. I wanted to scream anytime either one of the main characters did anything. Also, the story was a very slow build that it frustrated me. For me, the ending did not justify the slow build-up. Personally, I would not recommend this book when there are so many thrillers available out there.

Thank you to Catherine Steadman, the publisher, Random House – Ballantine, and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

VERDICT: With her fantastic first book, Steadman proves that mystery can be the perfect genre to address essential life issues. So well done!
The ambiance was deliciously claustrophobic at times, I don’t like much water, so that probably helped (!), and the suspense was so well built that you never know how reliable or unreliable all the characters are.
It is sometimes worth it to follow the hype and jump blindly into the first work of an author. I’m so glad I decided to try Something in the Water. From the get go, the book grabs you. It opens on a very satisfying Gothic scene: a woman is digging a grave to bury a man.
Of course, we don’t know the reason nor the nature of their relationship. Who is he? Did she kill him?
Then we go back in time to when she first met a man called Mark, who became her husband.
Mark has a stressful job in banking. Difficult developments create some uncomfortable and unexpected mood changes in him. As for his wife Erin, the narrator, she makes documentaries. Right now, she’s in the process of a very special one: a documentary about three soon to be released prisoners. She wants to “chart their hopes and dreams about their freedom before and after release”. One of the three is Eddie, an important name in British crime history. The two other prisoners are women.
The unnerving thing is, Eddie seems to know more about her life that she does about his! How come he knows so many private details about her life, her upcoming marriage, and then the place of their honeymoon?
The beginning of the book alternates between Mark and Erin’s life, and about the 3 prisoners Erin is interviewing for her documentary. Then there’s a pause on the filming as the newly weds go for their honeymoon to Bora Bora.
As they go diving one day after a major storm, Mark is a qualified diver, they find something mysterious in the water. What should they do with it? Should they give it to the resort people, to the police? Succumbing to curiosity, after a few too many drinks, they open up the thing to see what’s in it.
And then their life will never be the same.
I thoroughly enjoyed the plot and how the story was built. Mystery can be the perfect genre to address some essential issues, here mainly, how one small decision in your life can generate many consequences, and what you will need to do and say or invent all along to adjust.
You may start as a “normal person”, but from that small decision, who knows where and how you will end up? What will the spiral lead you to? And if your life environment is fragile and difficult, you may have a hard time in the first place to discern about that very first decision. Should you do this or that?
On top of it all, Erin and Mark find themselves swimming with unknown forces. The chain of events they unleashed could end up being very dangerous, way above their heads.
I could qualify the mystery as a moral tale. As in real life, things are hardly ever all black and white. It was really neat to read a mystery with such depth, and I’m looking forward to more books by this new author. I have seen readers describing it as a beach read. That’s the type of expression that would make me run away from a book. With all the important issues at stake, I would not qualify it as a beach read. Unless you like your beach reads to be about important life issues.

This book is definitely filled with lots of details and slow building to a very suspenseful end! You can imagine the backdrop of every scene and you definitely feel your heart beat faster while turning the pages of this suspenseful

A woman and her husband on their honeymoon find and take somethings that do not belong to them. Before long, they are making dangerous decisions and wondering who if anyone might be after them.. The wife's job ends up pulling others into their situation as well. But who is really doing what? Some twists that many may not see coming.

I may end up being in the minority here but I thought this book was a jumbled up mess. Absolutely hated the main character but that may have been the intent. The plot had some possibilities but this writer just kept throwing in additional characters, sub plots, red herrings etc that half way through the book it had lost any story telling credibility for me. And the ending was really a wth moment. I really wouldn’t recommend this to anyone unless you are reading this poolside with a lot of umbrella drinks. A lot of umbrella drinks.

This is a very intricate story. Lots of twists and turns. The book centers around Erin and Mark, a young couple, newly engaged. As the events unfold, you are left to wonder what will happen next.

I was a little worried when I saw the title, but, fear not, if you’re like me: there are no sharks or crocs or anything that bites involved. What they *did* find was potentially more dangerous, but not as quick or straightforward.
A young couple on an idyllic honeymoon in Bora Bora find “something in the water”. What they decide to do with this “something” leads to a world of trouble that eventually follows them back to England. Although Erin and Mark seem deeply in love at the time of the honeymoon, secrets and lies involving what they found gradually take their toll on the relationship.
Erin is impulsive, reckless, and not the sharpest tool in the shed. She kept doing incredibly foolish, dangerous things without considering all of the consequences. Later, she’d realize her recklessness, deeply regret it, and promise not to do it again. Then she’d do it again!
Steadman tells this suspenseful story well. The pacing was just right and the main characters well developed. The numerous twists, red herrings, and surprises kept me glued to the page. This would be a great book to take on vacation or for a mini vacation from reality at home.

Note: I received an advance copy of the ebook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Random House Publishing-Ballantine and Netgalley for the ARC of this book!

This book made me want to ignore my house, ignore work, and everything that had to be done. It kept me on the edge of my seat. I thought I had it all figured out but I didn’t quite get it all right in the end.

The book: it opens with Erin burying her husband. This was a very clever way to open. I wanted to know what happened to Mark the entire time. Short version (no spoilers)- the go on their honeymoon, find something in the water, and continue to dig themselves into holes that they can barely get out of. Erin, don’t quit your day job to become a criminal! It was like watching a horror movie where the girl runs upstairs in a house with a killer. Ahhhh! Erin’s actions would just makes me cringe. I love how it played out and ended. It was fast-paced all the way to the heart-pounding end!

After finding out he's recently lost his job, Mark and his new bride Erin relax in Bora Bora on their honey moon. Mark convinces Erin to go scuba diving, but what they find in the water will change their lives forever. The choices they make seem to have a domino effect and, without revealing too many details, will impact their lives after the honeymoon as well.

Steadman's writing kept me engaged, so much so that I read this in a day. I figured something fishy was up, but the end was more surprising than I would have guessed. The characters are well-developed and the story plausible. I would absolutely recommend reading this book if you are a fan of psychological thrillers or mysteries.

I never knew how difficult it is to dig a grave or use a glock. And I LOVE that reading this book gave me every single detail about both that I didn't know I needed.

I immediately loved Erin and her thought process. Catherine has done an amazing job with this cast of characters because I was fully invested in Erin and her well being by page 2. I thoroughly enjoyed her writing style. There were instances that she went off on a tangent about something and I couldn't tell the difference on whether I was reading this tangent or it was going on in my head. I was reading it! They were minimal yet necessary to the story and I appreciated that she knew the difference.

The plot had a few twists that if you thought about them enough they could possibly be predictable but honestly you're so invested in the storyline that you don't stop to try and figure it out. There was just enough suspense and you were left wondering what would happen next. There are a few loose ends and a favor owed, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping this means there will be a sequel.

Something in the Water was everything I hate about mediocre mysteries: predictable characters, lots of unnecessary exposition, plot holes, deus ex machina, and a whiny main character with a weak motivation.
It's first person from a prison documentary director, Erin. While on honey moon with her bigger than life husband, who just lost his job' they find a suspicious package of cash and more in the ocean. The timing is perfect and the reader gets to see a very exhaustive way to put away suspicious money.
I don't see why there was so much hype over this book. I seem to think it's due to the actress author because the book itself seems weak to me.
The ending is especially weak and over done and some of the antagonists die and the others just disappear?? That's awful convenient for the main character. I'm irritated by all the loose ends and overworked unnecessary side plots.
Something in the Water is written for a different crowd I guess. I don't think I would recommend it.

Mark and Erin are newlyweds that often don't see eye-to-eye. While on their honeymoon, they discover something in the water that will change the trajectory of their lives forever. The novel begins with Erin, shockingly, digging a grave and keeps readers on the edge of their seats till the end.

Something in the Water starts out with a bang. Our heroine, Erin, is busy burying a body, explaining how difficult it actually is to dig a hole deep enough. Erin speaks directly to the reader, a device I am not sure worked well. After the prologue, Erin takes us back in time to relay the events to led to her digging a hole for a dead body. The first third of the book is pretty mundane. We learn Erin is a documentary filmmaker in London, working on a film that follows three prisoners from incarceration to release. She is also engaged to be married to Mark, an investment banker who has just lost his job. Details of their wedding planning are covered, we get to know them a little as characters, and...not much really happens.

Finally they get married and are en route to their honeymoon in Bora Bora. It was at this point that I wanted to stop reading, as Erin tells us in detail about the magazine on dressage that she read on the plane. I was starting to just be annoyed with how the story was going nowhere and all this time was being spent on useless and boring crap. I was 30% in! When was anything going to happen???

The descriptions of the resort in Bora Bora helped keep me reading...the tropical paradise is described in lush detail. Finally, several days into the trip, Erin and Mark go out on a private dive excursion (something I had a hard time believing a resort such as The Four Seasons would allow without an instructor along, but I digress). FINALLY the story really takes off. They find a bag in the water...filled with money, diamonds, a gun, and more...and discover a downed private plane in the water below. Of course they decide to keep the money (remember Mark's jobless) and the story goes sideways from there.

At this point it's one bad decision after another, and the story moves along at a good pace, with plenty of surprises. Erin is incredibly stupid, but not totally unlikable, and I admit I was drawn into the story once it actually got going. I liked the ending very much, so overall this story is worth reading if you can stick out the beginning. It's a first effort and I suspect the writer will get better as she continues to hone her craft. Recommend - with some reservations. Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.