Oh. My. Goodness.

I read a majority of this book on the final leg of a road trip, and I was bummed when we got home because it meant I couldn’t read more.

Mark my words, this book will be a movie. It was SO good. I loved every bit. So much, that I immediately bought a copy for my mom to read on an upcoming trip, and a copy for a friend as a gift. Everyone should read this one!

I hope there is more from this author.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I had some little trouble getting into this, but once the couple goes on honeymoon it really picks up and you don't want to put it down! Great debut novel from this author, highly recommend.

While scuba diving on their honeymoon in Bora Bora, Erin and Mark find something floating in the water. Up until their discovery, the relationship between Erin and Mark had me intrigued...then they found what they found and the plot became steadily less and less plausible and the characters became less and less likable.

I can't recommend this one.

So great! I was worried this would be the same type of thriller that's being pumped out over and over again, but this was so much fun! Loved all the twists and turns.

Really enjoyed this story and found myself a bit frustrated with the naiveté. of the may character. I liked the way she was able to come through to the end.

Thank you to Netgalley for a free copy of the book. I loved this thriller! It was very fast paced and I loved the exotic location of the honeymoon in Bora Bora. I also loved the rich B plot of this novel. I was very excited to see this on Reese Witherspoon’s book club list. I also think it would make an excellent movie!

First, I want to thank Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with this Arc. I firt heard of "Something in the Water" by Catherine Steadman on Reese Witherspoon's book club and I could not wait to read it. Everywhere I looked, it was being hailed as the next big psychological thriller. I had to admit I was a bit apprehensive on whether or not this debut novel truly held up to all of the hype. The book focuses on a pair of newlyweds who literally find something in the water while scuba diving. And finding that something just might change the course of their lives forever.

Overall, this book was fast paced and enjoyable. It was a little predictable at times but that did not take away from how good it was. I mean that first chapter alone! Ohmygosh! I will definitely be sure to check out more of Catherine's work in the future!

I had read so many good things about this book and was looking forward to an edge-of-my seat story. Unfortunately, though it started out suspenseful, it never really progressed beyond that. Would I give the author another try in the future? I would. She has amazing ideas, but was just missing the follow through necessary to take this story where it should have gone.

Thank you to NetGallery and the publisher for giving me a free copy of this book.
To be honest I had started this book but it wasn't holding my interest. I put it down to read another that I had on hold at my local library. I picked this back up and about 1/3 of the way in the storyline really started in an interesting direction which made it hard to put down.
I love the twists and turns along with how the author just really nailed the good/bad in everyone.
I will be looking for another book by this author.

I received this book as an ARC fom NetGalley for an honest review. This is a very enjoyable and interesting book. The story starts with Erin, a recent bride, burying her new husband! The story then backtracks to explain how the story line developed. We follow the newlyweds on their honeymoon as they uncover a very dangerous and lucrative discovery. The book is exciting with many twists and turns and characters that are all suspicious and questionable. I liked reading about all the characters and trying to decide which ones should be trusted. This is Catherine Steadman’s first novel and I certainly hope she will write more.

I really enjoyed this suspense novel from a first time author. My enjoyment was enhanced by the author's own narration of the audiobook. She is also an actress, so it makes sense that she could make her book come to life. The book, told from the point of view of Erin, opens with her digging a shallow grave. We know who is dead and the rest of the book tells us why.

Erin is a documentary film maker and her new husband Mark is an investment banker. Erin is making a documentary about three prisoners who are about to be released. Holli is rebellious and participated in a riot. Alexa, a former lawyer, was convicted of a mercy killing. Eddie is a crime boss. Erin's involvement with criminals leads to complications in her life. However, these complications pale in comparison to events that take over the lives of Erin and Mark after they discover something in the water while scuba diving off the coast of Bora Bora while on their honeymoon. To say more would spoil the book, but you can never be sure who you can trust, or whose help you might need.

Sometimes the book had a little too much description of wedding plans, scenery and sharks, but overall the book was well-paced and suspenseful. Erin was not one of those ubiquitous unreliable narrators and she had intelligence and wit. The book kept me engaged and I didn't want to skim it (and that is rare for me when reading thrillers). I would read more by this author.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

3.5 stars

This book had a really interesting premise, and started off with a bang ... but it lagged, badly, in the middle. I think Steadman will develop better pacing as she goes along.

AWESOME mystery! I really enjoyed this book, felt compelled to keep following the plot, with many twists and turns. An ordinary couple, faced with an unexpected, life changing choice. Astonishing, gripping and unanticipated sequence of event. Thank you NetGalley for the reader edition, all opinions are my own.

Real attention-grabber of a beginning: Our heroine is digging a grave! For her husband! Whaaat?!

And it goes on downhill from there. After the first few descriptive pages of digging the grave and the work and intricacies involved, Ms Steadman just didn't know when to stop. She kept on and on, describing it over and over, in more and more jarring, then boring, detail. For a whole chapter. Nothing but digging a grave. I get it, it's hard work. It's gross having to deal with a dead body. But a whole chapter on that one subject? Overkill.

Finally we get to the plot of the book itself. All the action and events leading up to the burial in the first chapter. I didn't for a second believe her quick romance, love-at-first-sight with Mark. Her heroine never came off as entirely likable. And his definitely didn't. In fact, I never did care for his character, which made it hard to get through the romantic bits between the two of them.


It does have a 'surprise' ending sort of. But I read a lot of books in this genre and it was obvious almost from the start what kind of trickery was going on here, so when the big reveal happened, it was like Yeah, yeah, figured as much. Lets move along now.


There are SO many twists and turns and double-takes and red-herrings and plot changes it will make your head spin trying to separate the important stuff from the fluff. And there was a lot of fluff that didn't add much of anything to the overall story. It's very hard to write a review of the plot with giving anything away so I will leave you with this: I made it to Chapter 9 before throwing up my hands and going to the last chapter in the book. I had no trouble figuring out what was going on, what had happened and why, and was positively gleeful that I had guessed correctly way back in Chapter 4.

I’m so not happy with this book.

First chapter: A+. We know Erin is burying a body. She’s pretty entertaining as she does so and I cannot wait to hear what happened.

Then we move back a month. And as Erin tells her story we have to listen to every single random thought that goes through her head 24/7 for an entire month. Every. Single. Thought.

Meanwhile the author weaves this overly complicated plot that she has no way to resolve and so SHE DOESN’T. Is that a spoiler? No, it’s a warning. The reader seriously does not know what happened, how anything came to be, who people were, where things came from. NOTHING.

It took me almost three months to get through this book because nothing was really happening, and so when it finally started picking up at the very end there was even MORE disappointment when I realized there were no answers, no explanations!

I’m just so MAD. There’s a great outline here of a great thriller, and instead we get… nothing. A waste of time.

Mark and Erin are in Bora Bora on their honeymoon after a romantic wedding and engagement. While there they make a discovery in the water that requires them to make life changing decisions to avoid danger. Soon the plan backfires and they are in danger.
From the beginning of the book with Erin digging Mark's grave I was captivated. This is a outstanding psychological thriller and I was unable to put this book down. I loved it. The author does a wonderful job of subterfuge among the characters and the plot contains many hidden twists and turns to the reader which are reveled later on in the book.

The author is Catherine Steadman who played Mabel Lane Fox on Downton Abbey. This is her first novel. A outstanding debut ! I would definitely recommend it. Thank you for the ARC which does not influence my personal opinion.

A unique twist with an English flavor. A couple finds some valuables and decides to keep them. Then the fun begins. Enjoy!

Mabel Lane Fox was a sly babe on the make in Downton Abbey. Now in real life, the author/actress tries to pull on a sly one of us. It’s engaging enough to keep you reading but, seriously when you’re burying the husband in the first chapter, (spoiler alert? I think not) some of the slyness seeps out of the tale. Plus, there is a HUGE question of motive here that lingers like the odor of bad perfume. I like Eddie though, Caroline; there’s your next book. Have him hook up with Erin in a new caper.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for a honest review.
This is the second book that I have read by an TV actress who wrote a novel, and in both cases I have been pleasantly surprised. Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman is a well written, taut thriller. The opening pulls you in immediately. After the first chapter, you get the back story of how it came to be that Erin is digging a grave for her husband, Mark.
Erin is a documentary filmmaker, filming a series about the people serving sentences in prison, who are due to be released soon. One is an arsonist, the other helped with an assisted suicide, and the third is a mobster. Mark is a banker, who has lost his job. Erin and Mark are trying for a family, and planning their wedding and idyllic honeymoon, when something happens to turn their lives upside down. How they handle this unexpected event changes everything.
Things happen in the story that make you question just about everything you thought you knew about the characters. The author weaves a tale of greed, deceit, and murder. Very well done!
I look forward to reading much more from this author!
#SomethingInTheWater #NetGalley #CatherineSteadman

After falling madly in love Mark and Erin travel to Bora Bora on their honeymoon. While there they make a discovery that will change their lives. They must decide how to handle what they have found and whether the benefits outweigh the potential danger. As they get deeper into dealing with the decision they agreed upon things get scary and they find themselves falling deeper into the hole they are working to escape. We know something has gone wrong with their plan because the book begins with Erin digging Mark's grave. How did something we all dream of turn their lives into a nightmare? Were they each the person the other thought them to be?
The author Catherine Steadman is known to most for her role as Mabel Lane Fox on Downton Abbey. This is her first novel and it is well written. I loved the intensity. I did get frustrated at times with Erin's ignorance as a character. Maybe it is realistic since many people in love overlook what is glaringly obvious to those of us on the outside. I would definitely recommend it.