This is a dark, gripping thriller that deals with some disturbing events. I like the way the story behind the woman in the water is told, and it unfolds at a good pace. I was hooked early on and found myself racing through the last few chapters. There was a bit of a twist near the end (that I did not see coming!) that made the whole story even more sinister.

It is a graphic story, and without giving too much away there are scenes of violence, domestic abuse and rape, so this may not be to everyone's taste. I felt it was well written and I liked the way it explored how the characters involved felt & reacted to these events.

This is the 6th book in a series following Detectives Adrian Miles & Imogen Grey, but if you haven't read any others in the series I don't think it would matter as I feel the story still works as a stand alone. It's the history of the relationship between the two detectives that's build up over the series, and I loved this latest installment.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is another great book in the series.
Adrian comes across a woman’s body in the river and goes to investigate, and is shocked when he realises she’s still alive. She’s been beaten badly and he wants to know what happened to her.
In the hospital she can’t remember her name or what happened and then disappears.
Another body is found in the river but this time, dead, and when Adrian and Imogen start investigating they come across the woman from the river.
It’s clear something’s not right with her relationship with the construction boss but can they prove it?
Reece is a nasty character and has a hold over many people and Adrian gets a warning he’ll never forget.
This is a gripping crime thriller that had me hooked throughout the book.
The relationship between Adrian and Imogen is tested in this book and I hope they come out of it ok as they make a great couple.
Thanks to Avon Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Woman in the Water is the 6th book featuring detectives Adrian Miles and Imogen Grey. And follows them investigating follow Adrian’s discovery of a badly beaten woman in the river, followed by a body found further up stream. Who is the woman and who is responsible?
The twists and turns keep you reading, there is however a description of a sexual assault which takes place which some readers may find difficult, I do however think that Katerina Diamond wrote it in as sensitive a manner as such an assault could be written. It left me feeling shocked and wanting the victim to come through.
Cannot wait to read more from this author.
Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review

Warning -- this is not a crime thriller for the sensitive and delicate as it deals with some extremely graphic material that I can't elucidate as to avoid big spoilers. This book was, at times, difficult to read.

"People warn you about strangers, but no one warns you about the people you love, the people who say they love you."

DS Adrian Miles is driving along Glasshouse Lane when he notices a crowd by the wall of the riverside. He pulls over only to discover a woman in the water -- she's alive. The beaten and bruised woman is taken to the hospital where she refuses to give her name and says that she doesn't remember what happened to her. Soon after, the body of a young male is pulled from the same river and the woman vanishes from her hospital bed. Miles and his partner and lover, DS Imogen Grey, are very concerned over the fate of the abused woman and the police investigation into the murdered man (once he's identified) takes them into a situation that will change their lives forever. Their first shock is when they arrive at the home of a man they want to question about the dead male and find that the woman Adrian rescued is no other than Reece Corrigan's wife. Adrian feels drawn to Angela Corrigan because of his own experience with domestic abuse growing up and his reactions and behavior indicate he's close to going off the rails with this case. Things escalate quickly as the detectives discover that people who cross Reece Corrigan end up broken or dead. Can they get the evidence they need if no one will speak up or testify against him?

Wow, this was quite the intense read and I was almost gasping aloud as I sat glued to this book reading it cover to cover in a single sitting. I had no idea going into this one that it was part of a series as it's not listed as such so I had no previous exposure to either Adrian or Imogen. I didn't know their history or how their romantic relationship developed so it was somewhat difficult to relate to them as a couple given all their worries and problems being work mates as well as lovers. They were actually kind of irritating as they danced around their issues and insecurities, but I just sort of let that go since there were other overwhelming events that occurred to take the focus off romance. I must say that I have never read a story that contained this particular...I wish I could actually talk about it here, but I won't. I don't think I'll ever quite look at some things in the same way again having really not considered them before. The bad guy is really evil and the climax and conclusion were spectacular even as the end left room for a follow-up that I definitely want to read. There's a lot of repair and healing that needs to happen and I hope for the best! If you like a gritty thriller that makes you squirm, this is for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for this e-book ARC to read, review and recommend. I definitely wish I'd started the series from the beginning rather to come in at book #6.

Woman in the Water is the 6th in the Imogen Grey detective series.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Avon Books, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

  

Series Background:    (Warning – May contain spoilers from previous books)
DS Imogen Grey, and her partner DS Adrian Miles don’t always play be the rules, but they are both top-notch detectives.  They have learned to trust one another.  Their relationship is complicated.  Their boss, DCI Mira Kapoor is relatively new, but they have learned to trust her, but the jury is still out on DI Matt Walsh.



My Synopsis:   (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)

Adrian saves a woman who was half submerged in the icy river, but she is uncooperative, stating she doesn't know her name or know how she ended up in the water.  Her body shows signs of abuse, and she seems terrified.   The body of a dead man is found further down the river.

By identifying the man, they hope to identify the woman....who disappears from the hospital.  When they find the man's old boss, they discover that his wife is their missing woman.  They are sure that her husband is abusing her, but the woman still refuses to co-operate.  It is starting to look like the husband is a bully, in both his work and home life, and thinks he is above the law.

Adrian is having problems with this case.  All he wants to do is save this woman from any more harm.  Reminiscent of his own home, where his mother was the abused woman, this case quickly becomes personal, and Adrian starts taunting the husband, just as he had taunted his father in hopes that his mother would be spared.  This does not go exactly as planned.

Meanwhile, Adrian and Imogen have taken their relationship to the next level, but it is still secret.  However, this case may put an end to many things.  Secrets are never good.

 

My Opinions:  

First,  read these books in order, as the background of the characters is important.

Second, I think this is one of the police procedural series out there.  I love the writing, and the author's descriptions are graphic and leave little to the imagination.  I love the characters, who are gritty, and very "real".  I still don't like relationships between co-workers.  However, the author makes this work.

As I've noted before, the author has no problem dealing with difficult topics, but WOW.  She really stunned me in this one, she has made a gutsy move.  We went from spousal abuse, to bullying, to rape.  It's a somewhat dark tale.  Without giving anything away, to say that the twists surprised me is an understatement.  To say it made the book even more interesting, well, that goes without saying.  It was an emotional read.

I cannot wait to see where Katerina Diamond takes us next.

So far I have read all of the DS Imogen Grey series so was extremely excited to receive an ARC of this! As well as enjoying the investigations in each book I also enjoy the development of Imogen’s private life and after the ending of the previous book Truth or Die I was really looking forward to see what developed!
The plot gets going immediately with a woman being found in the water by Imogen’s partner Adrian. From there on out the plot of this novel thickens and thickens. You’re constantly wondering ‘why is everyone afraid?!’
Around half way through the book it takes a turn and if you have read all of this series you will really feel for the individual character.
The ending of this book shocked me to my core and I did not see that coming at all!
I already can’t wait for the next instalment!!

Detectives Miles and Grey #6

A young woman is found half submerged and badly beaten in an icy river. Shes still alive. She claims she has no memory of whom she is or what happened to her. But then a body is found close to where she was found. The difference in this case is that the police k ow who committed the crimes, they just can't prove it. No o e will speak out. They're too afraid.

This is a very dark and at times a disturbing read. The book covers domestic abuse, wape and violence so it wo t suit everybody. It's a difficult story to read in places. The story is full of twist and turns. There's not a lot more I can say about this book as I don't want to spoil it for potential readers. Katerina Diamond has truly did justice to the taboo subject matter. The final reveal shocked the socks off me. I do recommend this book but it's not for the faint hearted. Even if you are a fan.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Avon Books UK and the author Katerina Diamond for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Let me get the criticism bit out of the way first.  For my tastes, the conversations between the various characters could have benefited from the addition of contractions, and sometimes it wasn't always clear who was saying what.  These things occasionally interrupted the flow of the story - but not my enjoyment of it.

When people use words like "gripping", I worry that a story won't live up to the hype.  This one did.  Gripping, unflinching, engrossing, edge of your seat storytelling.

The bad guy?  Not a secret.  But the route to the unveiling is an in your face, violent  and provocative read.   A book which may leave a lasting impression.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book.

I really need to pay more attention to when books are part of a series! Luckily, this book works as a standalone, but because I was missing some character backstory, I struggled to get into the romance plot-line - it was a little distracting from the main plot. BUT now that I know there are earlier books in the series, I do want to go read those and once I've been with the main characters from the start, I won't have the same struggles. Overall, this is an excellent thriller and the rating is due almost entirely to reader-error.

This book lacked the sophistication I was hoping for. Instead, it was an overly simplified read with lots of repetition and stilted dialogue.

Adrian seemed way too bothered by the case to feel believable as a detective. And Imogen apparently hasn’t ever read up on real-life cases since she chides Adrian by claiming no one actually kills someone to send a message to another person. Try telling that to Tyshawn Lee’s family. His real-life Chicago murder case discovered that he was, in fact, murdered to send a message to his father.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC.

Another stellar read from Kat Diamond!!
I literally read this book in one sitting for the first time in months, a totally gripping, unputdownable read!

*thank you to Netgalley, Katerina Diamond and Avon Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*


4 stars

Trigger Warning: Domestic Violence and rape


Woman In The Water was an intriguing read. I really enjoyed Detectives Adrian Miles and Imogen Grey. I felt an almost instant connection with this and it felt easy and light to do so. I could easily read this whole series about them. They are one of the more interesting duos in books such as these, that I've read in a while. You never really know which way the story will turn next. It keeps you on your toes and the ending felt satisfactory. I would definitely read more books written by this author, Katerina Diamond.

I really enjoy the twists and turns in this series, the characters are multilayered and interesting. This was a little too heavily tilted towards the relationship between the leads, rather than the crimes but still a good read.

At first I wasn't keen on the narrative from the victim's point of view as I thought it detracted from the tension, but, as the story progressed I realised how important it was. Hard hitting police procedural that is unafraid to tackle the problem of male rape. Great lead characters and such a twist at the end. Very, very clever.

I love this! Fast paced, twisting psychological thriller that doesn't hold back from exploring the darker side of the human psyche. This book continues the series featuring detectives Imogen Grey & Adrian Miles and follows their investigation into the woman found in the water. While it is part of the series, it can be read as a standalone novel.

NB: This book comes with a trigger warning, particularly for survivors of domestic abuse and male sexual assault. While it does go into detail about the attack, the aftermath is sensitively handled, believable and very well written.

5 solid stars. This book was one I found to be very riveting and hard to put down. Diamond did an amazing job at making sure that she used all the right mystery/thriller tools, which are sure to hook those who love that genre. Well written, fast paced, characters developed amazingly, and unputdownable!
Will make sure I buzz it up!

Until I finished the book, I did not realize this was part of a series. However, at no time did I feel like I was missing anything. Sure there were references to things that happened prior, but overall it felt very much like a stand alone book. In fact, I looked to see if maybe it were the first in a series! Ooops! Ms. Diamond definitely does not shy away from uncomfortable twists or topics. Abuse and rape play a large part of this story line. And while I am not a big fan of reading about rape, I was truly impressed by Ms. Diamond's approach to the subject and what the victim went through. The story line felt realistic and the characters and how they reacted to events did not feel forced or engineered to cause shock. I hope there is more coming in the series because I intend to read them. Well, after I finish my internal debate about going back and reading the previous books in the series.

Woman In The Water by Katerina Diamond
I was a good bit into this book when I realised it was the same 6th in the series and I already had the 1st book but haven't read it yet. Thankfully the book is a standalone. This book gripped me from the start and held my attention right through, with lots of shocking moments, and perhaps not for the faint hearted.
I will be going straight on to book one next and will do a catch up on this series. A great read.

**Review**
The Woman in the Water by Katrina Diamond
‘I’m alive, but I can’t be saved.’
Mystery surrounds the discovery of a woman in a river left for dead. How did she come to be there? And why? As the story unravels it becomes clear it is a much deeper and twisted tale than anyone could have imagined.
This was my first Miles and Grey crime thriller by Diamond, and it did not disappoint. It was dark and suspenseful, and kept me eagerly turning the pages.
I really enjoyed all the characters in this book, and although past events for Miles and Grey were mentioned, I felt it was fine to read as a stand alone novel.
Without giving too much away, this is very much a book of two halves for Miles’ character. I applaud Diamond for taking on such an intense subject in such a sensitive way. It really had an impact on me which, although meant it became hard to read at times, is a sign of great writing.
A real page turner, and has made me want to pick up her other books even more!
Publication date: 11/11/2019
Thank you @netgallery and @avon for this advanced copy for review.

Woman In The Water is the 6th book in the detective series Adrian Miles and Imogen Grey. This just gets better and better!!

A young woman is found badly beaten in a river, she has no memory of what has happened to her or her name. A man’s body is found nearby and the police duo try to work out if the two of them are connected in any way.

This is such a great riveting series, I have to say that there is an assault in this book that made me nearly give up reading it. I couldn’t see the words as tears streamed down my face. It was very upsetting but told in a sensitive and not overly dramatised way!!

Imogen and Adrian’s relationship is flourishing, but Adrian is hiding a big secret that could jeopardise their future.

As always this is a gripping, fast paced thriller that had plenty of twists and kept me on the edge of my seat.

The ending left me wanting more. Please don’t make me wait too long for the next book in this amazing series!!

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.