DNF at 45%

I was hoping I would love this book like I did "The Butterfly Garden," but I just could not get into it. Having almost every male character be either a rapist/predator or portrayed as capable of assault got old really fast. I understand the author's desire to bring attention to the reality of sexual assault, especially on college campuses, but it was just over the top. That, along with the flat characters and lack of suspense in the first half made me decide to give up.

3.5/5

At a university in Gainesville, a male student’s remains are found in alligator infested waters. At first this seems like an accident, but soon another body is found and both victims were known for assaulting women.

The premise is entertaining enough but the presentation could have been executed a bit better. At the beginning, I found myself confused with the introduction of so many characters and was frustrated trying to follow the dialogue (who was talking to who).

I received a reviewer copy of Deadly Waters by Dot Hutchison from the publisher, Thomas & Mercer, through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC of this book. I enjoyed reading this book. It was just as good as the author's past novels. I hope to be able to read more from this author in the future. Always keeps me guessing to what's coming around the corner.

There's a vigilante in Gainesville killing off rapists and horrible college boys! Did I mention they're being eaten alive by the gators? If that doesn't peak your interest in a good book, I don't know what will!

Deadly Waters follows Rebecca, Ellie, Hafsah , and their roommates/suitemates as they go through rapes, cat calls, and life at The University of Florida. While there, there is a vigilante killing college males via gator bait during their courting season. They navigate the #metoo movement along with passing their finals to be able to get through until the summer.

When I first started to read this, I had to reference back to who was who. At the beginning, we're thrown six or seven different girl names and relationships at once. It was very confusing since it all came at once. However, once you got to know most of the girls, I enjoyed their different types of personalities. I felt they all meshed well together. You don't necessarily get that lucky in college assignments to have such different personalities getting along so well together. Hafsah and Rebecca joke about how they "tolerate Ellie" and they adore her, and that's the true friendship most have in the dorms.

I feel like the consistency that these women were harassed/attacked was a little unrealistic. Yes, women are harassed constantly. Yes, they are touched without consent. Yes, people put things in their drinks. Yes, sometimes people come on too strong. But this many instances in a span of a few days? I understand that the intent was there to show the #metoo movement and how easy it is for men to get away with these horrible acts, but I feel it was over dramatized (because of the frequency) that it doesn't give it the lasting effect needed to spark a conversation about these situations.

The ending was the best part, by far. I enjoyed the fraternity accepting fault and trying to be better. I enjoyed the celebration that a simple symbol of "this is no longer tolerated" spoke volumes. I loved the birthday celebration, and the conversation afterwards.

I wished there was more time spent on the mystery/thriller portion of this book than anything else. It was not what I thought it would be, but I'm glad I was able to hang in there and finish the book!

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I still haven't read any Dot Hutchison's book despite the rave reviews of her Butterfly Garden series.
But after reading this book I am going to make sure that I read her other books as well.

The concept of this book was really good and starting off the book I was completely hooked and immersed in the story. That's not an easy feat because mostly it always takes time for me to get into the story but with this one I was fully engaged.
This is not an easy subject to write about but the way the author treats it is fantastic. Her honest discussion and treatment of harassment, sexual assault and rape, and basically the overall treatment of women in this society is handled so well.

The author tells a compulsive story with great twists. The plotting and pace of the book was perfect. Despite this book being a tad difficult to read, only because of the subject matter it is still very compelling.

I was rooting for the protagonist. And though you might guess some things in the story it does not take away from the excellent writing and the gripping narrative.
An amazing and intense read. I really enjoyed it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for sending me a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars!

I enjoyed this read! This story centers around college girls, which created an enjoyable atmosphere that I sound entertaining.

This story was twisty enough to keep me interested, however, be warned of potential triggers.

I think this was a great mystery that would be awesome to pick up in the summer months especially.

I look forward to checking out much more of Dot Hutchison's work!

I have enjoyed this author's previous work, but this one fell a little short for me. The writing on this latest book is good and as always the plot moved well. I found the story to be a little far fetched though. I liked the characters and the relationships between them. The atmosphere was set up well. However, I didn't feel like this book had as much suspense as I was expecting and the "twist" at the end fell flat for me. Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this book. I will be publishing this review tomorrow to my Bookstagram and companion Facebook page, @thatreadingrealtor.

2.5 stars The Butterfly Garden is one of my favorite books of the past five years, so I was thrilled to see a new Dot Hutchinson title available on NetGalley.

But this book just did not do it for me.

Centered on a college campus, a group of girls--struggling with the horrific rape and brutalization of one of their best friends--reacts to a string of mysterious attacks. Someone is feeding rapists to alligators (yes, really) and the social order is in upheaval. Lady Gators Snap Back, the headline reads, and as the truth of the exorbitant number of attacks comes to light, the question shifts from who's feeding these bad men to the alligators to what's going to happen next?

Okay. So, right off the bat, I'm not dismissing the subject matter. Sexual assault and rape is a relevant and important topic to explore in literature, and when so often a woman's rape is used as a plot device to further a man's vengeance or downfall, having a female-centric cast explore the stigma and statistics is a good idea. However, the exaggeration here is borderline frustrating. Every woman is in danger. Nobody will believe them anyway so why report it? We can't go out to the bars or for a walk or basically exist without being hit on, pressured, or downright attacked. The writing wants you to believe that women as a whole are in a constant state of fear.

I get it. There is merit to this exaggeration, but every single page is filled with preachy rhetoric and stereotypes I found annoying more than relate-able. Angry girl.. Studious girl. Emotional girl. Levelheaded girl. Sensitive man. Predator. There was no in between. And while there are moments where I found the dialogue fun or interesting or really endorsed the point, it was just SO hard to get into this. Most of the conversations centered around: rape, the prevalence of rape, the victimization of women, how angry women were, how girls tell stories in the bathroom because they're afraid to say them out loud, helplessness, and societal normalization of rape.

The college environment, too, I found strange. Women were victims and men were abusers to the point of being caricatures--and the only one brave enough to take action or do anything about it is an anonymous vigilante using her sexuality as a weapon. I just...really struggled with this. One of the opening lines referenced them being "pretty girls" and implied that sexual assault was just an inherent struggle because of their good looks.

I'm not sure I would recommend this book to anyone. I recently read another title that dealt with the same subject much more successfully. What Deadly Waters failed to capture was the nuance, relying solely on preconceived notions, exaggerations, and stereotypes instead of layered characters. This might have been better focused just on Kacey's attack and the fallout as it pertained to her friends.

I’m going to start by saying Deadly Waters is not for everyone. Trigger warnings for sexual assault and rape.

“They’re overtrained, perhaps, by society and their own experiences; there’s a reflexive fear in being alone with a man they don’t know.”

Deadly Waters is a story about Vigilante Justice in the #MeToo era. Young men start disappearing from the University of Florida’s campus after being eaten by alligators. At first, law enforcement thinks this is just an unfortunate accident due to encroachment on the gator habitats. Then they start making connections between the men. Their own victims start speaking out about what these men have done to them and law enforcement begins to consider the men are being intentionally fed to the alligators for warped justice.

Deadly Waters is complicated. It wasn’t as much of a thriller as it was a story of #MeToo and complicated emotions involved with being assaulted, the aftermath, the guilt of not being able to protect the people you care about, and finding your voice to tell what happened to you.

As far as thrillers go- the method the killer uses is unique, but it’s pretty easy to figure out who the killer is early on. I wouldn’t say there’s a shocking twist, but the subject matter and how all the layers of emotion are presented is interesting and thought provoking.

Special thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Fair warning this is very different from Dot Hutchisons other novels. That being said it was very well written and delves right into a serious issue facing today’s women. There is murder and suspense and it’s all a mystery, of course. I found this an easy to read book with a focus on vigilante justice. It does keep you guessing till the end “whodunit” . I enjoyed the characters and the way the story was told. The ending was so well done. I love books that don’t just end with a classic happily ever after

Rebecca is an undergrad student who is still struggling to come to terms with a sexual assault on her friend.
When body parts of a male student are found in alligator inhabited waters, the students are warned to be careful.
But when more bodies turn up, and police become suspicious, none of the girls on the campus seem to be mourning any of the dead boys, who all had at some point sexually assaulted someone and had gotten away with it.
Is there a vigilante among the students trying to extract justice on their own?

It was an interesting, unusual read.
The story, interspersed with the vigilante's perspective, follows Rebecca and her friends and their reaction to the unfolding events.
Dark and chilling, it raises an important topic of sexual assault.
It definitely is a book that stands out among the mystery genre, but I'm on the fence about the rating.
It was a gripping, albeit not exactly suspenseful read but I found it a little far fetched that most of the campus' male population were portrayed as predators and the girls had to take so many precautions especially given that we think of student life as carefree and laid back, but I guess the exaggeration served a purpose.
I guessed correctly who the killer was, so the conclusion wasn't shocking, but overall I find this book deserves to be read, and I will definitely reach for the sequel. I give it 3 stars.

I love Dot Hutchison's books. Her Butterfly Garden series is excellent. So when I saw that she had a new book I was very excited and extremely thrilled when I was approved to get an ARC from Netgalley and the publishers.

I thought the concept was fantastic and just for that I will give this book all the stars. This is not an easy subject to write about but the way the author treats it is very good. Her honest discussion and treatment of harassment, sexual assault and rape, and basically the overall treatment of women in this society.

The author tells a compulsive story with twists and pace, the plotting and though this book is difficult to read it is very compelling. It clearly illustrates what the victims of sexual violence must face if they report it.

I completely was rooting for the protagonist. And though you might guess some things in the story it does not take away from the excellent writing.
A gripping and intense read. I hope others enjoy it as much as I did,

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for sending me a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to like this book so much! I've had several customers tell me about this author so thought I would try a book!

For me this book was almost like reading teen fiction. It takes place on a college campus in Florida and involves murder by Alligators. The first part of the book seems to take forever setting up and we follow a group of girls to bars and are subjected to their drinking and anger issues. At this point we assume one of them is the murderer but as any good suspense novel will tell you we don't really know for sure.

I didn't connect with any of the characters and disliked most of them. I feel terrible that I couldn't give a good rating but I just can't!

I first want to make clear that I am already a huge fan of Dot Hutchinson and the Butterfly Garden was among my favorite reads. Secondly, this novel allowed me to wear my two "hats" simultaneously -- which I rarely ever get to do. As a lover of an edge-of-your-seat-thriller and as a professor of women's and gender studies, I found a novel that could indulge both of myselves. This was a powerful mystery that was constructed through a feminist framework that explored how sexual assault victims can move from victim to survivor. It was provocative, empowering, thoughtful, and reflexive. The easily narrative structure was able to make the arguments accessible to a wider audience than that of an academic essay. I cannot wait to recommend this novel to by friends and students alike.

Deadly Waters was an interesting and satisfactory read, although it did not measure up to The Butterfly Garden especially, and that series in general.

3.5/5

This book centers on a group of college students in Gainesville, Florida. The group navigate through drunken nights, their coursework, sexual predators, and a string of grisly murders. Men accused of rape have been found torn apart in alligator infested waters. Rebecca Sorley keeps constant watch over he volition roommate Ellie. Ellie gets in bar fights and will let everyone know she hates predators. As more and more bodies wash up, Rebecca can’t help bust suspect maybe her friend knows too much about the victims.


Whew. This one was a heavy read. First and foremost, I am so thankful this book was written by a woman. Dot Hutchison has such a fantastic writing style. I found the characters in this book well written. I loved the interactions between the friend group. The basic premise of this book drew me in immediately.

I went to a large “party” college. A lot of what happens in this book occurs. However, it did feel like every male (save one) was a predator. This to me is not believable. I found myself getting lost in all the horrible details of the rapes and assaults in this book. At times, it was just too much. On the other hand, almost everyone I know has a rape or assault story.

I will say I did guess the final twist.

I would recommend this book to a person who is not triggered by rape or assault, however I don’t know that I would read the sequel. I’m not sure how a sequel could be done without being repetitive , but maybe I’ll be surprised!

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for a free copy of this book on exchange for my honest opinion.

I just could not get into this book. The premise of the novel was thin and just did not sustain my interest. The characters were stereotypes, painted with broad strokes. The setting seemed fake to me, almost like a version of college imagined by someone who has never been to college. When compared to other thrillers I’ve loved where you dig deep into human nature and get introduced to characters with psychological depth, this book just fell flat. I’m not sure who I would recommend this book to. Perhaps it would be a good beach read, but it just was not for me.

I thought the concept behind Deadly Waters was fantastic and on concept alone, this book would have gotten 5 stars. I also applaud the author for her honest and open discussion and treatment of sexual assault and rape, harassment, and the overall treatment of girls and women in modern society. I think the author made many valid points that I wholeheartedly agreed with. However, my rating was brought down by two things that frustrated me. The first was the unnecessary level of detail, which slowed down the action and made me start skimming certain parts. I am all for being descriptive but I found it to be a little much at times. The second was the pervasive idea that all men are monsters. I understand that the author was writing from the perspectives of the characters but it felt like every male, except for one, was depicted as a terrible, sexist pig. I would have liked a little more variety and depth to the male characters because not all men in the fictional and real world are monsters.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advance copy of Deadly Waters, the first novel in a projected series about vigilantism, set in Gainesville, Florida.

When a body is found in alligator infested waters the students on campus are told to be careful. When a second body with links to the first is found Detective Corby is convinced there is more to the deaths than an accident. Meanwhile Rebecca Sorley and her room mates are trying to get through the exam period and protect Ellie, whose behaviour brings her under suspicion.

I have very mixed feelings about Deadly Waters. I really like Ms Hutchison’s writing, her ability to tell a compulsive story with twists and her easily digestible prose. This is no different with a straightforward narrative about the students’ doings and reactions interspersed with a first person narrative from the unnamed vigilante. As with all students there are lengthy discussions about guilt, friendship and what they should which become quite boring but Ellie’s actions and reactions liven things up considerably. The vigilante’s narrative is extremely chilling in its cold-bloodedness.

My reservations lie in the atmosphere of the novel. The victims are all sexual predators who have managed to get away with their crimes. There are many reasons for this, including law enforcement indifference, burden of proof, he said/she said, in fact anything covered by #MeToo. I would like to think that it is exaggerated but probably not. I’m not sure how to explain it but the condemnation of the majority of men and the precautions the women take to avoid attack give the novel an oppressive vibe, especially given that it’s set on a university campus where life is supposed to relatively carefree. I’m not young and I don’t live in a city so I can’t comment on the reality of it, only on my impression of the read.

I must admit that I did guess the identity of the vigilante as the novel progressed but I suspect that the reader is supposed to, in a compare and contrast way. The final chapter, however, is the best part of the novel, providing explanations and a wicked twist.

Deadly Waters is an interesting read as a one off but I don’t think I would want to read more of the same in a sequel.

I have reviewed a book by Dot Hutchison before so I was eager to jump into the first book of a reported new series. I was not disappointed.

Her writing is solid and her setting descriptions really make you feel the oppressive humidity of Florida. The only two draw backs I found in this novel were the large amount of characters you are hit with in the beginning. They are hard to keep track of at times and I hope they are fleshed out more in the future books. Also, the topic. Young male predators and the women they sexually assault. This is an important topic to be discussed but there were a few moments that it felt like the message overpowered the book and was a bit preachy.

That being said, let's get to the good stuff! Rebecca Sorley is a college student at the UF campus in Florida. One body pops up and then another. The connection between them? They have previously assaulted a female student. It seems that we have a vigilante on our hands. How many more bodies will there be? Is anyone safe?

I was able to guess who the killer was early on in the story and you would think that it would make it less enjoyable. That's not the case. The author intertwines the story of Rebecca with the killer and her room mates, most notably Ellie and Hafsah. Ellie, especially, has a history of violence against men and speaking her thoughts with no filter. She's immediately made the number one suspect in the reader's mind and in Rebecca's. Quiet and strong Hafsah shares the same thoughts. If you thought your best friend was a killer, would you be able to turn her in? Would you agree with her motives?

The story makes you think "well maybe I was wrong and the killer is X" and then there is a little swerve that makes you doubt yourself again.

Without giving too much away, the killer disposes of her victims with the help of a familiar Florida native. The gator. As the story goes on, I was made to question whether or not the killer was really evil. I mean, the guys she was killing were scum. Wasn't she doing the world a favor?

It also makes you take a good look about how secretive many women are about sexual assault and reporting it. If your offender was only going to get a slap on the wrist from the court system, wouldn't having someone erase him from the planet be a better option? If that happened, would you actually feel justice and closure?

This book is intense and gripping and the ending, though for some predictable, will leave you wondering...what is going to happen next? I've asked so many questions here and I must say, the book makes you question a lot of things as well.

I sincerely hope that I am offered the chance to request the next book in the series once it becomes available. I won't be satisfied until I read the whole story.

A million thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to review this book. Especially to NetGalley for introducing me to Dot Hutchison back when she wrote her debut novel. I'm forever grateful as she has a true talent and a joy to read.