I am going to start by saying that I really enjoyed this book much more than I think I should have given the many issues I have with the story and characters.

The main characters Erin and Mark were not all that likeable but they were kind of weird and dumb at times so they were fun to follow. The idea for the documentary and the characters that went along with it were a little too convenient but great for keeping the story moving and fresh. In general there were some good plot ideas, nothing that was too shocking but it all worked well and made for a fun read.

As I mentioned earlier there were some issues, one big one was that I think Erin is supposed to be smart but boy does she come across as dumbass. She is seemingly and up and coming documentarian but her first interview with Holli made her seem ill prepared and then her relationships with her other two were totally inappropriate if she was going to be objective. She seemed to be kind of flightily in her relationship and at times seemed like it was really based on a sexual attraction. Maybe it was that attraction and a lack of a real bond that kept her from seeing what was going on with her husband and her ongoing need to lie to him.

Again I don’t know why but it all worked for me and I would recommend it to anyone who can let details slid a bit.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Random House for providing me a copy of Something in the Water for my honest review.

If you could make one simple choice that would change your life forever, would you?

Erin and Mark are on their dream honeymoon. Two weeks in tropical Bora Bora to celebrate their marriage and temporarily forget the stresses of home. Until they find something during the course of their scuba diving excursion. Something that could change their lives. Something that could end their lives.

I absolutely loved this one. What an incredible debut. The writing grabbed me from the first page and I was instantly addicted. Just one more chapter before I go to sleep. I love the descriptions, from first class in the airplane to the underwater world of the dive site. I could picture this entire novel as it unfolded and felt like I was right there with Erin. You share the tension like you are along for the ride. And boy is there tension. "Oh Goddy, God, God. Why look down? Why? I don't want to look down. I don't want to look down, Mark. I shake my head." I would absolutely love to see a movie made out of this. I spent the whole book yelling at Erin. "Noooooo! Don't do that!" The closer I got to the end, the more frequently I found myself thinking "you idiot!". In the meantime, I will read anything else that Catherine Steadman writes. This was absolutely fantastic.

Thank you NetGalley, the author and the publisher for my free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was way better than I had expected it to be, always a good thing. Very well written, great plot, and a host of very interesting and diverse characters. A life changing event for 2 people and the tale of how it affected each of them. Are they in it together or is one going to turn on the other ? You will have to read it to find out !

This book is a slow burn. The prologue is action packed and very intriguing but the beginning of the book is very different. It was a hard adjustment to go back in time before the event we know will happen. If I had known that setup would be worth the payoff it would have been fine, but of course I didn’t so I struggled with about the first quarter of the book. That’s when we finally get to the events in the title and the reason you are thinking of reading this book because of its description. Before that it’s the domestic life of Erin and her fiancée and Erin’s work life. The whole book is told from Erin’s POV. The secondary characters are very well written and I enjoyed the characters who were part of Erin’s documentary. They steal their parts of the book and you will enjoy the side trip even though it is different from the main plot of the story. After you find out what’s in the water the book of course takes a very different turn. As the plot moves forward the action and suspense ramps up until the final end. There is a great payoff in following Erin as the book moves forward. I really enjoyed this book. I was shocked at the end to read the Author’s description and find out this was a debut novel by an actress. I think I would have been wary of this book had I known that but it is so well written I had no idea so don’t hold that against her. I hope she continues her writing career as I’d love to read more.

From the get-go, you know the husband is dead and the wife is burying him, but you don't know why or where. While that sets the tone for the rest of the novel, the second "beginning" is slow-going and frustrating at points. Their honeymoon in Bora Bora revs up the action when they stumble on a crashed plane buried in the ocean, a bag full of money and other questionable commodities. This spirals the husband and wife duo into people they didn't know they were capable of being. It was reminiscent of B.A. Paris' The Breakdown with a touch of a How to Get Away With Murder vibe. Steadman's Something in the Water wouldn't be a novel I'd recommend at first, but if all of your go-to recommendations are checked out, it would work just fine!

This is one of the rare books with an amazing first chapter that instantly pulls the reader in and makes it impossible to not read on. I was excited to keep going and find out how Erin--our main protagonist-- comes to eventually find herself digging that hole. The answer that unfolds was, well, pretty predictable. Sigh.
The book has shades of that movie A Simple Plan to it--where the fantasy of finding a million dollars doesn't quite lead where you'd believe it to in reality; good people turn bad--or were they ever good to begin with? The story isn't bad, it really isn't, but there's that level of predictability--elements and events are introduced that are huge flashing lights to any reader of thrillers, but the author conveniently ignores said flashing lights until she's good and ready to let them be addressed in the story. But. They're. RIGHT. THERE! Through a good portion of this book, I was yelling in my head "What about the thing? The THING you keep mentioning as an afterthought. The THING you're hiding. Why is no one talking about the thing!?" I had the same complaint about dialogue that would be clearly stated and extremely suspicious but instead the author tried to distract attention from those, again, FLASHING lights by going into a two or three page inner monologue/introspection by Erin.
And oh, Erin, Erin... I wish I liked you more! That first chapter had me fooled that I was really going to enjoy reading about this woman and her self referential breaking of the fourth wall. However, this technique became old fast--and never pays off; who is she speaking to and why? Never explained. She's equal parts stupid, naive, entitled, and nuts but it never really came together for me into an interesting character. If this were a horror movie, she's the equivalent of the girl running up the stairs instead of out of the house--she's not the girl you're cheering on, she's the one you're cursing at for being so stupid.
So would I recommend it? Err, see it's hard in the post Gone Girl world. I suppose it all depends on how you like your thrillers--nail-biting or gentle. I'd put this in the later category.

I was swept into this story right at the very beginning. The narrator begins by conversationally describing the effort that it takes to dig a grave. Like she was telling you this story over cocktails. We don't know who is being buried, or why, but we know that a crime has occurred and that she is digging a grave in the woods. This first chapter really drew me in fast.

Erin and Mark are on a romantic, relaxing, and adventurous 2 week honeymoon at the Four Seasons in Bora Bora, one of the most beautiful and luxurious places in the world. They find something in the water when they go on a day excursion, and their lives are never the same after that. I loved traveling to Bora Bora through this book. The author describes the area perfectly, and has an obvious fondness for that part of the world.

This is a book with a strong theme on bad decisions. Erin and Mark's choices were awful, terrible, and never the right ones. It was like a comedy of errors, with many wrong turns. They made me want to scream and yell "WTF!" with frustration, many times. But still I read on, because I wanted to know how this turns out. Even bad decisions usually result in good lessons learned, but alas, this is not the case with Erin and Mark. They keep making poor choices over and over, digging themselves into a literal hole that they can't get out of.

I was mildly disappointed at the ending, because it was something that I least expected. And many of the questions that I had at the beginning were not answered by the last chapter. There were loose ends that weren't addressed or resolved by the end. However, I did like it overall. The writing is good, the pace is rapid, the plot is entertaining, and this is a fast read.

A middle class London documentary producer and her banker husband go on a honeymoon to Bora Bora. While diving they stumble across something that changes both their lives. You read the ending at the beginning - but how did it end up like this? A fascinating read that you won’t be able to put down. One of the best books so far this year. I want more from this author

I really enjoyed this book, it stared out slow, but once They went on their honeymoon it really picked up and I could not put it down.

I loved this book!!!! I have read alot of books this year and this is defiantly one of my favorites. The book starts out with a bang, with one of the main characters burying a body. The body of her husband to be precise. Instead of being a spoiler, this information instead intrigued me to no end. They had a perfect relationship, so you find yourself wondering where did this all go wrong? At what point is their relationship going to take a turn? An amazing debut novel with a very unique story. I loved it and hope to hear more from this author! If you like thrillers, suspense type books, this will not disappoint!
#SomethingInTheWater#NetGalley

This was a solid four stars and very well done. Erin, our heroine, is a documentary film maker living with her fiancé, Mark, who is an investment banker. Life is good until he loses his job. They downsize their wedding from a very opulent venue but do take an expensive and lavish honeymoon in Bora Bora. While there, following a storm, they go scuba diving and find a downed private plane with the passengers’ remains still on board. They also find a locked satchel that they break open back at their hotel room. Inside they find a million dollars in cash and a quantity of diamonds, a cell phone and a USB drive. They bring everything back to England and secrete it in their home. Then they take the cash to Switzerland and open a numbered account. Erin, who is making a documentary about felons being released from prison takes advantage of some of her contacts to learn how to handle the diamonds and the rest. I won’t go any further because of spoilers, but it is an engrossing and well done story with enough complexity and twists and turns to keep any reader up later than they intended. Thanks to Net Galley and Ballantine for an ARC for an honest review.

I literally could not put this book down. It sucked me in on the first sentence, and I when I wasn't reading I was thinking about it. Incredibly well written, compelling, and filled with well developed characters, clever plot and dialog. I read this in 2 sittings, and look forward to another by this wonderful author.

This is the perfect beach read for people who like their their vacations with a side of murder. Fast-paced and tightly plotted, this book will keep fans of BA Paris and Shari Lapena hooked.

The writing is strong and Steadman does a great job of keeping the tension high and the reader interested. There were a few weak points: too many terms of endearment in my opinion, maybe leave off a few of those "honey"s. Also at times I had trouble connecting with the main characters and their stressing about money. "Only" 80,000 in the savings account? But overall, for a debut novel it's really strong and I definitely recommend reading it. I was up til 4 AM finishing it today because I had to know what happened. I'll definitely be reading whatever else she comes out with in the future.

Erin and Mark seem to be the perfect couple, deeply in love and about to get married. They bought a wonderful house and are going to start trying to have a baby. Then, on their honeymoon, they make a discovery that will change everything. Something they found in the water will test everything about their relationship.

I could not put this book down, it was so nail-bitingly terrifying. I .think I spent half of my time holding my breath while I read it, imagining what could possibly happen next. I got a bit frustrated with the main female character at times, but other than that I think this book is going to be the hit of the summer!

Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman started out well for me, but I lost interest along the way. The characters and plot were not compelling enough to continue reading.

This was an interesting read. However, it was at times difficult to get into because the author got very wordy with rather irrelevant talk. A few times I was ready to give up on the book but it did provide me with a few naps. Ending not terribly surprising and also left the reader without full closure.

I was vastly interested by this book. From the description, I was pulled in and 1 clicked this book. I could not put it down. The story was vivid and imaginative. I really loved all the characters in this book as they each brought something to the story. I constantly was asking myself, " What would I do"? This book has so many twists and turns, that I didn't know what would happen next. You learn that all choices have consequences and also..I don't think I want to go to Bora Bora now. (read the book to find out).

This book had such promise. Unfortunately it never came together for me. My biggest problem I had is my problem and not the authors. The story is narrated and this style just never works for me. I was never able to connect with the characters. I received an advance review copy in exchange for an honest review by NetGalley.

Quite a page-turner, I finished it in one night! You are there with the narrator Erin as she tells us the story of her marriage to Mark and you cannot wait to read what happens next. A must read!