I did receive this book from Netgalley. The premise was fascinating. I enjoyed thinking about what I would do given that “free gift” that of course never was a free gift. Good descriptive characters and plot. The ending did go off the deep end, and the wife was too naive but I still enjoyed it and definitely recommend it.

Erin, a documentary film writer, is working on her first solo documentary project, she is engaged to a charming and handsome banker, and everything seems to be coming together perfectly. Erin and her fiancé Mark decide to celebrate by traveling to Bora Bora for an extravagant and romantic honeymoon getaway. During a scuba diving expedition, Erin and Mark find something in the water. They decide to keep what they discovered a secret, but their decision leads to some dangerous and potentially deadly consequences ...what they found wasn't theirs to take and someone wants it back.

Something in the Water begins with our main character, Erin, explaining to the reader how difficult it is to dig a grave. The novel then resets to several weeks prior to the incident in order to explain how our character came to be in this predicament. Erin begins to describe her seemingly perfect life, with the seemingly perfect man...that is until her perfect life begins to collapse.
One of the main reasons I didn't give this novel 4 stars was due to the first half of the book. After the action packed initial chapter, the novel kind of levels off and there is quite a bit of exposition in which Erin fills the reader in on a lot of backstory. I will say, thankfully, that the plot does pick back up and the last half of the novel is much more exciting. Overall the writing was good and the novel was interesting but the plot didn't really offer anything new or fresh in terms of the thriller/suspense genre. This was definitely not a page turner for me but I still found it to be an enjoyable read

I enjoyed This book, even though the main character had me wanting to smack her upside the head.
The ending had a few loose ends that I thight could’ve been tidied up - like the Tall Man. Who was he? Anyone significant? How was he involved in the crashed plane? What did Holli do that was so horrible? How did the documentary with Eddie turn out?
There were lots of things that seemed to be leading up to something that just kind of ended abruptly with no conclusion.
Other than that the story was enjoyable!!
3.5 stars.

LOVED this story of Erin and Mark, and their very dark honeymoon. This young couple, so "in love" with each other, get married and discover a secret that changes the course of their marriage and ultimately, their lives. Erin narrates the book, and keeps her readers on the edge of their seats as the story unfolds. A bad decision is made, followed by a flood of subsequent bad decisions.

I read this story in record time - couldn't wait to discover what would happen. I was at first uncomfortable with the very end, but after considering each aspect of the story, found that, though I might have tweaked it a little, the ending fit with the message that story conveyed.

I highly recommend this book for readers who love short chapters, and a lot of psychological action!

This book was very good! A page turner at its best and I loved the suspense! When you think of a honeymoon you think romance and for this couple Eric and Mark they are about to set sail off to an unexpected trip filled with twist and turns! Highly recommend this book!!!

Great debut by this author. I was hooked from the beginning and couldn’t put it down. It pulls you in and has you wondering what you would have done. I thoroughly enjoyed the plot as well as the characters. Thanks to NetGalley for the privilege to read and review this book. I will be looking for more from Catherine Steadman.

the book was very interesting. Plot was well developed. really enjoyed this book and the characters. one downside, to much detail in parts.

Interesting book. While I found myself getting attached to the plot, I was kind of annoyed by the writing style. I skipped paragraphs at a time because some of it felt very unrelated. A lot of the story is written like so: Mark and I did this. Mark said that. Mark. I love Mark. His eyes. His face. He said I love you. I said I love you too...annoying! It definitely had a good twist which I found myself guessing at but overall, it was hard for me to get into the story because of the writing style. On a positive note, there was some cool facts thrown in that I enjoyed! I would still recommend this book because it's an easy read. Troubling situation that challenges morals and will have you thinking, "what would I do?"

Something in the Water was a gripping thriller that I could not put down!! I loved it!! I was on the edge of my seat the whole time I was reading it!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

Here's the basic gist of the book: Newlyweds, happy honeymoon, 2 weeks in Bora Bora lots of great food, sun and scuba diving. In the last week of the trip a tropical storm hits but clears by the following day. The couple decides to try scuba diving at a more remote location and end up finding something in the waters- Something that throws their world in chaos and changes their lives forever.
I love that the author gives you full on grit, intensity and horror at the very first chapter, giving the reader a taste of the bitter end. It instantly put me at the edge of my seat, wondering what the hell i was about to get myself into but eager to jump right in.
With the a nice slow building of suspense, Catherine Steadman draws you in and never leaves a lull in the story to let you go till its over. This is the type of book you shouldn't read in public because your full attention will be wrapped up in the story line and you might find yourself yelling " NOOO!! Don't do that , you'll get caught!!" a thousand times and people may give you funny looks. I didn't agree with the characters crazy actions but of course thats the fun of reading, getting to put yourself in someone else's shoes and go along for the crazy ride of their making.
Erin, the main character is pretty tame and mellow at the beginning but increasingly becomes gutsy and pushes and pushes even when she seems to be up against a wall. Its the type of character you want to like but they are so ballsy it makes you cringe and hope it all works out in her favor but its her own damn fault if it doesn't. Still super interesting and fun to read nonetheless. A more cautious character sounds realistically more pleasing but at the same time would make for a very boring story.

4/5 - Would recommend to my friends who enjoy a good thriller, suspense and crime drama book. Really gives you the satisfaction your looking for at the very end and is interesting from start to finish. I can see this becoming a hit in the near future.

This is a hard one for me to really give my opinion on because I can’t decide if I liked it or not. The beginning had me hooked, but then things became so slow. It seemed to take forever for anything to happen, and when it finally did I was left underwhelmed. Around 85% things really started picking up and I didn’t want to put it down but then it just fizzled out.

I couldn't put this book down! Erin and Mark have a really great relationship, it seems, and leading up to their wedding, some fairly typical life circumstances happen that start to test things. All seems better as they get to Bora Bora for their honeymoon, and the first part of their trip is picture-perfect, until a twist of fate during their scuba dive. Everything that happens from there takes the reader on a roller coaster - what would you do? Who can you trust? How does every interaction you have and every place you go impact your future? A great novel.

Great debut . The book began with an event that then takes over half the book to explain. I don’t usually like this plot device but it works here and kept me reading and wondering how that could possibly happen. Will definitely recommend this book to others.

I was hooked from the very beginning of this book. Mark and Erin get married and head to Bora Bora for a 3 week honeymoon even though Mark has just lost his job. While on a scuba dive, they come across a suitcase in the water which leads to all sorts of complications. They cut their vacation short and head back home to plan on what to do with the contents of the suitcase. This book has a very twisting plot, is very fast paced and thought provoking. Overall, I thought it was a great read and I really enjoyed it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Erin and Mark are on their honeymoon in a tropical paradise when they find something in the ocean. That find leads them to a shocking discovery. The story is riveting and I could not put it down! I can't wait for Ms. Steadmans next book. A very good read!!

"Have you ever wondered how long it takes to dig a grave? Wonder no longer. It takes an age. However long you think it takes, double that."

Erin and Mark are an outwardly content couple when they embark on their dream honeymoon in gorgeous Bora Bora. Erin is a documentary film maker & Mark is an investment banker. They are happy, just been married and ready to start a family of their own. When they find something in the water one day while scuba diving alone, everything changes & what they find triggers a sequence of events that leads to Erin, in the woods, delivering this opening line. 

How did she get from suntanning in Bora Bora, to this:

"I squatted down next to the body, wet leaves and mud malty underfoot, and I Googled how to bury a body. I Googled this on the body's burner phone. If they do find the body ... they won't find the body ... and manage to retrieve the data ... they won't retrieve the data ... then this search history is going to make fantastic reading."

Erin takes us back three months, all the way to the beginning.

Something in the Water is not going to make any of my top lists but ultimately it was a fun read. So we can end on a high, let's start with what I didn't like about it.

The pacing was off. The novel starts out with this amazing first chapter. Erin is navigating her way around the disposal of a body that we have no idea how she came across. But then the story takes us back in time and the thrill that she wound so well into the first chapter completely disappears ... and doesn't return until about 40% of the way through the novel.

Instead of the suspense that was so desperately needed in the first half of the book, it felt more like Steadman was trying to hard to "fill in" parts of her story. She spent an entire chapter describing in great detail her flights from London to Bora Bora. The whole time, I kept thinking that these details would come back & become important, but as far as I could tell, they weren't.

When I took writing in college, I learned that you don't have to tell the reader everything that happens. For example, if your character wakes up in the morning, unless his actions are fundamentally important to the plot or character development, you can let your reader fill in the basic information. You don't have to say he woke up and then went to the bathroom, brushed his teeth, washed his hands, stood in front of the closet, chose an outfit, put the outfit on, went to the kitchen, poured water in the coffee maker.... etc.  Steadman often suffered from this over explaining, which slowed the novel down for me quite a bit.

But - when it was good, it was really good. Steadman has found her voice in Erin and it was incredibly easy to jump right into her mind. As a character, Erin is believable & engagingly flawed. She is not likable at all, but it works. Her decision making is faulty (at best) and I often wanted to scream through the book "what are you doing?!" But it never felt out of character for Erin to make these decisions. What perhaps most impressed me was how easy it was to believe her journey into becoming a criminal by the end of the story - like it was inside her the entire time & every decision she was forced to make just drew it out of her a little bit more. 

I'm not going to say the ending was in any way groundbreaking (I kept waiting for one more twist) but it was definitely satisfying. It will answer all your questions and still leave the reader wondering if it is all truly over..."

Something in the Water starts out with a bang, a narrator telling us how hard it is to bury a body. It was definitely a great setup foe the book!

Erin Locke and Mark Roberts are engaged, planning a big wedding but some events get in the way of that and money becomes an issue. Erin been granted acces to a few inmates to document their journey inside and after release for her documentary. Mark is an investment banker, but this isn’t exactly a good time in the market. The market is crashing and jobs are scarce. In the end, they proceed with the wedding and the fabulous honeymoon they had planned, just a little bit short one though. Bora Bora for two lucious weeks sounds like a good one to me. I have to say, I really liked these two, even if they weren’t great at communicating. They were newly weds, so I figured they’d get better at it.

There are a few other people that I just have to mention. The people that she as following for her documentary had a way getting under your skin. I think their parts were an interesting addition to this. Made me curious if they had anything to do with what all was going on during all the events.

Now on to what the story was about. During a scuba dive, they come across a mysterious bag, it’s padlocked. Once they get it open back on land, they believe the contents will change their lives, and maybe some terrible trouble too. The bad has to belong to someone, who might come looking for it. It’s at this point the suspense starts to build with secrets and events that will send chills down your spine, but you have to keep reading reading to find out what happens. And that is exactly what I did too, I could’t Turn the pages fast enough. We know that Erin is burying someone at the beginning of the book, but the wh is the question, and the why is slowly revealed as the story progresses. I really want to tell you more about the story, but I don’t want to give anything more away. Ugh.

The ending was pretty great but certainly wasn’t what I expected. Steadman did a great job keeping me guessing all through out this one and definitely blindsided with that ending. Made for one amazing psychological thriller.

I REALLY wanted to love this book from the moment I read the discription. And it did start off with a bang. Erin and Mark are just getting married and have been together a while, doing lots of things as a happy couple. They go to Bora Bora on their honeymoon. Erin is telling the story. It starts off with her digging a grave, telling how she wonders how deep it needs to be. She’s burying her husband. Next we are taken back to where it all began, before the wedding. This is great, I’m thinking. But it got so weighed down with her droning on and on. I found myself skipping through parts of it around 30% of the book. I think it was mainly because I wasn’t crazy about the characters. Erin was so annoying. Mark was ok but not as developed as I would’ve liked. That being said, if you have the patience to wade through all the details, the ending will knock your socks off. The beginning and ending are wonderful. So intense. It makes you wonder just how well you really know someone.

I really wanted to like this book a lot more than I did. There are definitely unpredictable twists and turns in the plot, but they are only unpredictable because the main character makes some pretty dumb choices. It does pull the reader in quickly and doesn’t let go which is what earned it 4 Stars here for me. THHe reason it did not earn 5 stars from me was that I got annoyed at the main characters choices and especially the way she let herself be dominated by men at every turn. Despite this, I would recommend this as an entertaining and engaging book

Something In The Water by Catherine Steadman is a thriller that certainly had an opening that should grab readers right away, the main character digging a grave. After finding out that there would be a need for a grave readers jump back in time to find out just what led to that event.

Erin and Mark seem to be very much in love and excited to be planning their wedding and honeymoon. Erin is a budding filmmaker working on a documentary in which she’s interviewing criminals and Mark a successful investment banker. However when Mark loses his job that is where things start to get a little shaky in their perfect bubble.

With the honeymoon already set to happen Erin and Mark agree to set their troubles aside and still go on the vacation to Bora Bora. Sun and surf and adventure seems to be just what the couple need to bring them right back together. When out scuba diving though they make a find in the water that will lead them down a very dangerous path.

Something In The Water was actually very engaging and kept the pages turning rather easily as the events unfolded. For me though as much as I liked finding out more and more I also struggled some with liking Erin, she would get a bit frantic which I would sometimes find annoying. If it really weren’t for those moments though I would have rated higher than 3.5 stars since the story was one that was rather fun to watch unfold and with this being a debut novel I would certainly be interested in reading more in the future.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.