I finished this in one sitting. I couldn’t put it down. The ending wasn’t a surprise, but I enjoyed it enough to recommend it.

What the hell?

I think I said that 50 times reading this book. Our main character here isn’t the brightest color in the box. So many things she kept doing that irked my nerves that you would OBVIOUSLY NEVER DO!

The prologue is awesome! I knew when I got to chapter one I HAD to know how it plays out. I *almost* flipped to the end to see what happens but I refrained.

You know a book that starts out with a how-to on digging a grave is going to be interesting, and it definitely was. Toward the end, everything started coming together nicely and I figured it out. Once you finish you’ll realize it’s obvious but not so obvious. All the little telltale signs- they are there!

Watch for them. Read every little word carefully. Everything means something. And for God’s sake, don’t pull anything out of the ocean that doesn’t belong to you!


*Many thanks to Netgalley and Catherine Steadman, Ballantine Books for allowing me to read this book. I will be posting to my blog, After the Pages, on release day.

The beginning of the book starts with a burial, so I knew I was in for a crazy ride...and Catherine Steadman did not disappoint. I appreciated the humorous aspect as well the character details, which were brilliant. Catherine Steadman is a crafty storyteller and has a great grasp of how to pace a story and keep the reader engaged, intrigued, and guessing. I cannot wait to read more from this author. I think she's something special.

Couldn't put it down! Gripping; great psychological thriller. I couldn't put it down.

Only reason I gave 4 stars... I felt the ending could've been stronger.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

This is the tale of newlyweds Mark and Erin, who honeymoon in Tahiti and find something in the water that will change their lives forever. Do they do the right thing? Or does greed take over? How do you justify taking what doesn’t belong to you? The story is told entirely by Erin, and I really enjoyed the writing style. It was conversational, Erin just telling her side of the story as it goes along. Well, actually it begins with her digging a grave at the end of their story, so she backs up to the beginning and tells you how she got there. It was an attention-getter for sure.

I read this in little bites, and it seemed like every time I had to put the book down there was a good part. The story was clever, but our narrator was not. I wanted to keep reading to see how Erin was going to get herself out of the latest mess she managed to get into. It was a good book, but not a thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Some parts dragged along, and the ending, well, let’s just say it was definitely an unsatisfying end to a good book. The book themes included mystery, murder, intrigue, deception, trust and love. All in all, it was a good read if you can get past the end.

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While the story kept my attention and I did finish it, it was tedious and derivative. The female, main character, was annoyingly naive, but surprisingly (more like, shockingly) she is the one who gets away with laundering money, trading in precious stolen gems and manages to live to the end of the book. Then the author did a Gone Girl-quese, character flop in the final chapters that was so out of left field it wasn't surprising or believable.

Something in the Water was a thrilling read and I give it 5 Stars! Catherine Steadman’s debut novel has me hoping for more! This book sucked me in from page 1 and did not disappoint.

There are a few different story lines thread throughout Something in the Water which kept me guessing until the very end. Each time I started to suspect I’d figured it out, Steadman threw another curve ball. The main character, Erin, was someone I pictured as a “regular” girl just like me. But throughout the unfolding of this thrilling mystery, I kept finding myself both shocked at her choices, but also believing I understood why she did what she did.

A few other characters throughout the book were so well developed that I felt invested in their lives, wondering what would happen and rooting for them at the same time.

Something in the Water left me wishing for a few more tied up loose ends, but I feel that is the sign of a good book...wanting more! Steadman was so impressive in this book and you will not want to miss reading this one!

Step back from the flame, honey.

You're gonna get burned.

Mark and Erin are on a stellar honeymoon in Bora Bora. Sun, sea, and each other. She's a documentary producer and he's a successful investment banker. No worries. Or so it seems until they find something floating in the water. The depth of that ocean pales in comparison to the depth of problems that are gonna follow this couple home like stink on the back of a wayward skunk.

How deep is deep enough?

Catherine Steadman creates quite the electrically charged happenings in Something In The Water. The opening scene finds our lovely Erin digging someone's grave. She quickly adjusts her calculations from the usual 6-footer job. A little lady can only do so much.

Steadman ratchets her storyline back a few months to where Erin is setting up her latest documentary commitment within the walls of Pentonville Prison. Erin and her camerman will follow the lives of three individuals before and after their release. Face-to-face interviews are going to leave their mark not only for the intended audience but heavily upon Erin herself. We, as readers, are going to remember their faces as well.

Just keep in mind your usual response in a darkened movie theater to the girl who has her hand on the doorknob: Don't, please don't, go down in that creepy basement alone, sweetheart. There's bad, bad things waiting for you in the shadows.......so much more than just spiders hunched over in their webs. We're talkin' the two legged kind that mean serious business. And Erin is going to find out the hard way what that's all about even before the web is spun.

I've got to hand it to Catherine Steadman for keeping the tension on high voltage throughout this one. You'll probably be smacking the book alongside the spine just to take out your frustration at what our girl is going to be up to. This is a fast-paced, believe-it-or-not trip from the lapping waves of Bora Bora to the hard reality of North London. But well worth the flight, dear readers. Well worth the flight.

I received a copy of Something In The Water through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Random House and to Catherine Steadman for the opportunity.

This book wasn't bad - but I just didn't like it that much. The writing was fine and the story was easy to follow - but the main character made one dumb decision after one horrible decision after another bad decision. I just couldn't understand why she was doing what she was doing. What kept me going was the prologue. It kept the book interesting and I kept going back to that. I did need to find out how the book took such a turn of events.

This one had me from the very opening line! The story had me intrigued because of the “what if?” theme. What would you do if you found what this couple found and no knew you found it?
Great debut novel from this author. It held my attention the entire time. I wished the ending had just a bit more of a punch but I’m really glad I read this.

Thank you #NetGalley, the author and the publisher for my free ARC in exchange for my honest review.
My review: 5 Stars ⭐️ inside a duffel bag lol (read the book and you’ll get the reference 😂)

I thoroughly enjoyed the twisted tale that is Something in the Water. The book is very addictive, with many surprises, morally gray characters making very questionable choices, and the story that asks questions such as how well do you really know people closest to you and can you trust anyone but yourself? I would highly recommend Something in the Water to any suspense/thriller lovers.

"There's something so sad about abandoned objects, isn't there? Desolate. But kind of beautiful. I suppose, in a sense, I've come to abandon a body."

Erin and Mark were the perfect couple; they also committed the perfect crime. Or so they thought. Little did these newlyweds know - all choices have consequences - sometimes deadly ones.

Something in the Water is a thrilling read that begins with Erin, digging a grave for her new husband, Mark. I know right? A hell of a way to start off a book! The books starts with a bang and keeps you guessing until the end! 5 stars for this read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!❤️

Entertaining weekend read. This one grabs you from the opening line and keeps you curious through the finale.

Exploring the idea of relationships, connections with others and the complicated results of simple decisions we make.

How well do we really know those people we bring into our lives?

As the protagonist explores the lives of 3 prison inmates about to get parole for a documentary she is producing, she develops a theme of how small decisions lead to interesting and sometimes tragic outcomes.

I enjoyed this one and I look forward to the next book from Catherine Steadman.

A very impressive debut novel. The author, Catherine Steadman, is an accomplished actress, and it shows in the cinematic pace of this read. At first, I hated Erin Roberts. She is independent and strong, but when it comes to her fiancé Mark, she turns into a needy ball of nerves. She also keeps making mistake after dumb mistake. I really wanted to slap her even if it turns out she is not as clueless as we (and she) think. The first part was a little too slow for my taste, and the good part takes a long time in coming. Something happens during the honeymoon and until that point I wasn’t sure what the plot was going to be. I also didn’t care for the social commentary. Yes, rich people get away with anything and everything, can we get back to the plot now? Once “the event” happens, though, the pace speeds up and the suspense ratchets up until the almost unbearable conclusion. I was also impressed at how much I cared about the welfare of a character I actively disliked, which is hard for even more experienced writers. In short, I am curious to see what Steadman does next, she is a writer to watch.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

This novel was an exciting psychological thriller. Despite reading the prologue, you do not really know what is going to happen to the characters until the very end. As the story unfolds, you find that you keep asking yourself what you would do under similar circumstances and whom you would trust. It was an excellent debut novel. I would enjoy reading more about Erin and her adventures in a future book.

For a first time author not bad. Some superfluous details and self-talk, plus I'm not sure some details made sense. That being said, the plot kept my interest. The intended lesson of the story poses questions about our own frailty as human beings -- Can greed tempt a normally moral person to do bad things? What would you do in the same situation?

I enjoyed the tongue in cheek comments from the main character along with her speaking at times directly to the reader. And the start of the story was intriguing. It definitely set the stage for a good read. Unfortunately, things went somewhat downhill from there.

The book reads like the plot of a lifetime movie. The heroine wins against the bad guy in the end. Of course her idiocy throughout the story makes that hard to believe. So yes ... just like a lifetime movie!

Thanks NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.

4 stars for Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman

5 stars for first 2/3 of book
3 stars for final 1/3 of book

Loved the premise. The author was able to make me feel what the characters felt - one night I had such a sense of dread from a chapter I had to read one more before bed to shake the feeling! Final 1/3 of book left a lot to be desired.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley who provided a copy of this e-book in exchange for my honest review.

Wow! I absolutely LOVED this book! It has two of the elements that I look for, and rarely find, in a novel. First, Something in the Water grabs you from the very first paragraph. This is where we meet the book's narrator, Erin, as she ruminates on the difficulty of digging a grave. The grave in question happens to be one she is digging for her husband of one month, Mark. Great start, right?!

The second thing I want in a book is to become so immersed in the story that I feel part of it. Something in the Water did that on every single page. I was right there with Erin every step of the way as the novel takes us through the three months that lead up to that grave digging development. In a nutshell, Erin and Mark find something pretty incredible in the waters around Bora Bora where they are honeymooning. The book takes you through every "what would you if" scenario the two face after their discovery. I, for one, was with Erin 100% of the way through good decisions and bad. There were times when I thought "oh, cool idea, do that!" or "I would never have thought of that!" And other times when I thought, "NO!" As I said, I was completely immersed.

This is another debut novel, and Catherine Steadman knocks it out of the park. She is an author of great talent, and when Something in the Water is published in June 2018, I will be recommending it to all my friends. Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for providing me an advance copy in return for an honest review.

A thriller involving scuba diving? Count me in!

Do you ever sit around thinking, what if...? and then let your mind wander to the most unlikely scenario? This book exists in that unlikely scenario. Everything that happens is just outside the frame of normal. As a reader, you have to suspend all disbelief of what is logical- then when you do, this is a really fun and exciting book.

Alas, now I'm going to be looking for treasure on my next dive. While I do currently live on an atoll that does have sunken WWII wreckage in its lagoon, I think the extent of my treasure will be the quarter I found on the wing of a plane- probably dropped by a snorkeler. Oh, well. At least the Russians won't be after me.

Thank you Net Galley for providing me this a free ebook for honest review. I'm somewhat torn on this story, I'll list my reasoning below but overall it was a good read and worth reading.

Pros:
Awesome cover.
Very intriguing storyline. I would even ask my friends and spouse what they would do if this happened to them.
The start of the book was fantastic, really attention-grabbing and hooked me. Once I got to the honeymoon I was totally hooked. It was such a page-turner.

Cons:
Took a little too long after the beginning scene to get to the root of the story. I understand why the author decided to give us all that information though. It showed how they needed money as they just spent a fortune on a wedding and Mark lost his job. However, it seemed overdone.
The details of the prison interviews for Erin's documentary were too detailed in my opinion. I didn't care about the prisoners and their back stories in such detail. I do understand why Eddie and his prisoner storyline was important but not the rest of them.
Lastly, I struggled with the reality of the phone and USB. I do not believe the characters would have done what they did (trying to avoid spoilers). Again, logically I understood that it got us to the end of the story but for some reason, it didn't sit well with me. Why would they keep it? Turn it on, even.

Overall, it was great. I did really enjoy the story regardless of the cons.