I was interested by the premise of this book but unfortunately it didn’t deliver.
The plot of had many inconsistencies within it and the writing was so basic
Not one for me

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

OMG - could not put this book down, read it in one afternoon, only stopping to make dinner and do bedtime routine for kids. Wow! It was eerie and unsettling, and just brilliant storytelling all round. I had a sneaky suspicion about one of the characters, which proved correct, but I didn't guess every aspect. I loved how I couldn't tell where the story was going, and feel that the different points of view and timelines worked well to keep up the tension.

It felt like a very fast paced read, barely time to catch your breath - there were similarities to a couple of books ie The Girl On the Train, and The Breakdown - but it still had that fresh feeling that kept me gripped from the offset.

5*

The voyeuristic elements put me in mind of The Girl On the Train, albeit not as gripping. The twist was surprising and i didn't see it coming.

The book begins by introducing us to the newlywed couple, Liz and Adam as they start their married life in Australia. They have temporarily moved into Adam's late father's house while they sort out his estate. The house in question is situated at a creek and is overlooking three other houses... where not everything is as it seems.

Across the creek in those aforementioned houses, we have neighbour's Zac, beside him we meet Dee, Rob and their baby Ruby and we also meet Erica and Samir.

One night Liz hears and sees something suspicious across the creek and one of those neighbours goes missing... Liz is suddenly caught up in something that will ultimately change her life.

I really enjoyed this book, I've read a lot of psychological and domestic thrillers and there was something about this story that didn't feel copied and pasted like some thrillers can.

I found it very atmospheric which I enjoyed greatly, I thought the author did a fantastic job at setting the scene and making you feel spooked.

Some of the themes that this book deals with are domestic abuse, miscarriage, infertility and motherhood. I thought the exploration around motherhood and the connotations it has for each individual woman was really interesting.

The ending was what I would call a satisfying one and didn't leave me holding my hands up going what? which some thrillers can.

I would really recommend this book if you like slightly spooky and atmospheric thrillers. A solid 3.75/5 stars.

As this book is set in Australia I was immediately drawn to it, but then that doesn't always mean it will make it a good read let alone a good thriller. But the premise gave one that eerie atmospheric chill of a cross between voyeurism and obsessiveness. The tagline promotes "The Woman in the Window meets The Hand that Rocks the Cradle" which promises something of a creepy read. And I couldn't wait to get started.

Newlyweds Adam and Liz Dawson have just arrived in the remote area in the Myall Lakes, some three hours north of Sydney, and soon discover that it is a far cry from the bustling noise of East London to which they are used. But Adam's father has recently passed away and the couple have arrived in the regional town to organise his house that sits alongside a tidal creek in a row of other deserted homes before selling it and returning to the UK. It's a temporary move until they are able to purchase their dream house with money from the estate.

Whilst Liz sorts out his father's effects Adam commutes to Sydney to organise his father's business and legal affairs, but the long days leave Liz feeling alone in the old house. She begins to occupy herself by watching her neighbours on the other side of the creek from the loft window. Across the water, on the inhabited side, are three occupied houses in which Dee, Rob and baby Ruby live next to an older couple Erica and Samir with an adjoining gate to one another's yards. In the third house resides handsome bartender Zac, who has a habit of startling as well as flirting with Liz. He once told her, upon indicating his house, that if she were to scream he would hear.

Liz spends her lonely days and nights watching from her window, even using Adam's father's binoculars which he kept there for bird watching. Even a power blackout amidst a storm doesn't keep her from her new occupation. She becomes hooked on watching the lives of her neighbours, idly wondering what causes the obvious friction between the two women and the pensiveness she sees in an often naked Dee by her window at night, with whom she becomes particularly obsessed. Dee is a struggling new mother with a young baby who is the image of her...and yet Liz often finds herself wondering where is her husband?

And then Dee turns up at her house one night with an obvious slur to her words and the need for company. The two women share a few drinks and when Liz offers to listen should she need to talk, Dee gives her a strange look. Then a ping of a text on her phone and Dee suddenly makes her excuses and is gone before Liz knows what happened. What was that all about?

The following day, Dee and her baby Ruby are missing and Liz is frantic to uncover the truth behind her disappearance. Because, she realises, she must have been the last person to see Dee alive. Who amongst her neighbours is harbouring the secret of what happened to Dee and baby Ruby? And can she discover the truth before it's too late?

Although Liz is the main narrator, the story also unfolds through the perspectives of Dee and Erica though their narratives move back and forth in time leading up to Dee's disappearance. I am used to this type of narrative and timeline, but even I found it a little confusing at times and had to go back to clarify what month, day and time I was actually in now.

ACROSS THE WATER moves at a steady pace and although it isn't mentioned, it bears an uncanny resemblance to Paula Hawkins' "The Girl on the Train" with the voyeuristic nature of its narrative. Unfortunately, I don't think it was as interesting or as engaging as "The Girl on the Train" and I found myself losing interest about halfway. But as it was a quick read, I stayed with it hoping it would improve. It did offer a surprising twist I didn't anticipate which was a refreshing surprise.

I wouldn't call ACROSS THE WATER a thriller as such...more of an atmospheric psychological mystery that has an eerie creepiness that lends itself to the thriller genre.

There was one aspect that I feel I must point out as misleading and incorrect. Plovers. Annoying noisy birds that nest where ever the hell they like and attack you for even venturing near. They are not native to that specific area around the Myall Lakes but are found throughout Australia. We have them here and they are something of a menace. But I guess for the story to work, it had to be such.

Another thing I didn't like was the pure crassness of some of the language. I mean, I can take swearing in books but this was on another scale that I was just uncomfortable with.

Still...if you like atmospheric thrillers that are creepy and claustrophobic, then I'm sure you will like ACROSS THE WATER. For me, I can't rate it past 2 stars.

I would like to thank #IngridAlexander, #Netgalley and #OneMoreChapter for an ARC of #AcrossTheWater in exchange for an honest review.

From the author of The New Girl comes a other tense domestic noir, set in Australia where Liz has just relocated, and Delilah her neighbor struggling with motherhood, whose behaviors Liz has been watching. Liz is shocked when her neighbor disappears and investigates what the authorizes deem suicide. The novel is a bleak view of motherhood, trust and deceit with different timelines and narrators. It works as Alexandra is a great writer offering many versions of truth.

Well enough written and I read in one sitting. Lots of characters which took me a while to get to grips with, but I did enjoy it.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

This does remind me a little of Woman on a Train. A young woman spends time watching her neighbor's lives through the binoculars, giving their actions voice in her mind. She assigns each neighbor a story of their own and follows their comings and goings. She is bored so this is her main form of entertainment while she waits for her husband to come home from work each day. When one of the neighbors, a young woman with a small baby, goes missing, the police assume a suicide/ murder since most knew the young mother was struggling raising the baby on her own. But was it really suicide? When she starts questioning the police verdict, boredom turns into tension as the clues do not add up.

This is a great read. Slow to start as we meet all of the neighbors and get the back story in place. Then the tension starts to build. How could a young woman and a baby just disappear and no one questions it? Just remember, when you stir the pot, sometimes bad things come to the top......

This is a book that explores the darker side of motherhood. This book started off well . I loved the fact that they had Australia in the plot. It ended up being a bit confusing as there was so many characters and stories going on. It was a bit of a slow burner but overall I liked it but I coudlnt say i loved it.

The thought of this book was great, however I found it very similar to other books in this genre. I unfortunately didn't finish.

May possibly give it another try down the road.

This was just not the title for me, I really struggled with it, which was a bummer as I thought the synopsis sounded like a really great title, and I just wanted something MORE for the title to stick out from other thrillers I've read this year.

A quick read, but no game-changing elements. An easy thriller with a predictable ending. Nothing that really stands out in this one.

Great premise, the good started well when Liz and Adam go to Australia where Liz was left alone during the day and she got to spying on the neighbors almost to he point of obsessiveness until the neighbor and her child disappeared.
With multiple timelines and POVs it was a bit confusing for me, especially during such stressful times, the story had a few interesting moments where I could feel the suspense but I had many questions too which were left unanswered. Overall, it was a okay read.

This was an enjoyable, thrilling read, I enjoyed the different perspectives, and found it delivered well on the basic premise. I love reading books set in Australia but from an 'outsider's' perspective, and enjoyed the characterisation. The isolation so prevalent in this book was reinforced by reading it during lockdown! I really enjoyed and recommend this book!

This was an interesting read. I really liked the atmosphere. It felt very dreary. I liked Liz as a character. The timeline was a little hard to grasp. The plot was good if a little predictable.

I knew I wanted to read this book when I read the title and blurb. It sounded like the kind of mystery / thriller that’s right up my street. I’m so glad I got a chance to read it. This is an impressive debut, intense, gripping, full of twists and turns, misdirection and my old favourite, unreliable narration. The book is narrated by three women, Liz, the main character, Delilah, who goes missing and her friend Eliza who knows a lot more than she’s letting on. I love books that use multiple narrators. This hits the spot as the story becomes unclear and fragmented and it’s never clear who’s telling the truth or lying. Liz is portrayed as a mad woman, seen as unstable because of an incident when she was a social worker. The police are dismissive and think her barmy. It isn’t helped when she reveals she’s been spying on her neighbours with binoculars and is caught snooping around on their property. Her husband speaks to her like she’s a child and is always telling her to take her medication. I felt real sympathy for her. Delilah clearly has secrets but are they bad enough for someone to kill her? What does Eliza know? This is a gripping read. I look forward to seeing what the author comes up with next.

The premise of this book hooked me - Liz and her new husband Adam come to Australia after their honeymoon, to get Adam's recently deceased father's home ready to sell. The house is isolated, the closest neighbours across a creek, and Liz is alone for long periods of time as Adam commutes into Sydney to sell his father's business. Liz works at a domestic violence shelter back in England, and is suffering PTSD following a tragic event with one of the women from the shelter. To take her mind off things, she begins to spy on the neighbours across the creek. One is a young woman - Dee - with a small baby who seems to have a fraught relationship with the couple next door. When Dee and her baby go missing, Liz is convinced the neighbours have something to do with it, and tries to understand what has happened.

This book had the potential to be so good. I was fascinated by Dee's story, of wrestling with her reluctance to become a mother and the threat of her dark past catching up on her. I was intrigued by neighbours, particularly the wife Erica who seemed to loathe Dee yet would drop everything to help Dee with her baby. And of course, there was the mysterious disappearance. But...the writing really let this book down. There were so many inconsistencies in the plot, so many twists that only existed because someone for whatever inexplicable reason didn't say the obvious thing, and so many red herrings that felt too forced. And don't get me started on whiny, ungrateful Liz and all her pointless moaning. This book is told from the POV of the three female characters, but they all sounded the same, so my feelings towards Liz started to bleed into how I felt about the others...and the book in general.

So, this is a quick read and if you're into your mysteries then it might be for you (because I will say, I didn't guess the ending). But for me, it had too many flaws to feel satisfying.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC in return for my honest review. Dark, twisty plot that drew me in. I enjoyed this book. Can definitely recommend it and will look out for more from Ingrid Alexandra.

Liz and Adam Dawson are newlyweds from East London. When Adam's father passes away in Southern Australia, the couple travel there in order to settle his affairs. Adam's Dad's house was on the remote side of a creek and they live there on a temporary basis. Liz clearing out his father's effects, while Adam commutes regularly to Sydney so that he can handle the legal side of the estate.

Liz really minds the long days left alone in this foreign place. She hates the house and the location and can't wait to return to London. She has a perfect view of the three grand houses across the water from the loft in her father-in-law's house. She takes to watching them with binoculars she finds in the loft. She wonders if Adam's father used them to spy on his neighbours too....

She becomes obsessed with her neighbours activities - even more so when the beautiful woman in the middle house, along with her darling baby girl, goes missing...

MY THOUGHTS

A woman alone (for the most part), on the other side of the world from her home. An isolated locale, neighbours who are acting in a suspicious manner, and previous emotional trauma.... The setting played a huge part in giving this novel the 'creepy' factor. A tidal creek with few access points from one side to the other, one of which was via a mangrove.
The characters in this thriller were well depicted and I could easily imagine them and felt I knew them in some small way. If I had one grievance with the book is that the narrative jumped from person to person, and time line to time line too often. Or, at least often enough that I found myself wondering when the action was taking place.

This book examined parenthood. Those who wish desperately to have children, childless people and those who have children who they never really wanted. It also examines issues of trust and betrayal.

The story was suspenseful and the plot well executed. The ending was simultaneously satisfying and a tad ambiguous. A great conclusion for a psychological thriller novel.

This is my first read from Ingrid Alexandra, and I would readily read another of her novels. Recommended!