Wow, what did I just read? The book is about Martin Cresswell-Smith, who is the best thing that happened to Ellie. Following the tragic death of her young daughter, and her divorce, she has been struggling to reintegrate into everyday life. Upon meeting Martin, Ellie feels like she can have a second chance for a new life. She is excited to move to Australia with him, just like a fairy tale. Martin is loving, cordial, and cute with her. However, not everything is perfect. A sudden event happens that will complicate Ellie's life again. The murder of Martin, in which everyone believes that Ellie had to do something. Senior Constable Lozza Bianchi sees evidence of a psychological battle and a couple seeming to bring out the worst in themselves. Lozza believes that Ellie is hiding something that she does not want anyone to find out. This book is easily one of the most shocking stories I have ever read. It made me feel intrigued by what would happen next. It was hard for me to stop reading because the storytelling in the book was excellent. As I could feel Ellie's suffering from her past life and was excited about her new life in Australia, but at the same time, I was afraid that something awful could happen to her. The plot twists in the book were so unexpected. I wasn't foreseeing them, and they made this story unpredictable. I thank NetGalley and Montlake Romance for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

would like to thank the author and netgalley for letting me read this amazingly disturbing book

smoke and mirrors, a classic tale of mental cruelty and violence in a marriage or is it....

ellie is the spoil little rich girl, with everything at her fingertips, she is still recovering from her first marriage and the loss of her daughter, which ended with her spiralling into drink and drugs

but on this fateful night after meeting with her father and new girlfriend it all starts to fall apart and out with her girlfriend on a bender she meets martin

its a whirlwind courtship with a wedding in vegas and all should be well in their world

but before the year is out martin will be dead and ellie is under investigation for murder...

disturbingly brilliant with plenty of twists and turns, and at times had to walk away from the book as it hits some nerves...brilliantly written and with the back drop of australia it all adds to a gripping book

After her daughter’s devastating death, a divorce, and an emotional breakdown, Ellie hopes to move as far as possible from the grief, the rage, and the monsters of her past. When Martin Cresswell-Smith makes a whirlwind entrance into her life, she believes he may be the answer to her quest for a new beginning. Unfortunately for her fragile mind she doesn't realize that appearances can be deceiving and deathly. Filled with twists, turns, a gruesome murder set in the beauty of an Australian coastal town, this was my favorite Loreth Anne White novel yet! If you're looking for a great psychological thriller that will keep you guessing until the very end, this book is for you!

Looking for a book that’s sure to have you guessing until the last page, then grab this one! Well written, suspense filled, unputdownable, chilling read, which is sure to keep you guessing until the author tells you what you have yet to figure out! I thought it was unique, fun, and so thrilling, which is what I love and yearn for in thrillers! Will definitely be looking for more by this author, and trust me you should do the same! Don’t delay, grab today!
Will make sure to buzz around platforms and use lower Amazon reviewer number on release date!

Loved this book what can start as a fairytale can soon turn into something much worse, this is the first book I have read by this author and I cannot wait to read more thanks to netgalley for the opportunity to read this

It's February 2021 new south wales. Ellie is accused of killing her husband Martin. I wanted Ellie to battle for her innocence.

4+ stars. This is my 2nd book from White and another very entertaining one! In my review of "In the Dark" which was my first book from the author I stated "White does an amazing job of creating a spooky atmosphere that kept the reading somewhat addicting"...and I felt that exact same sentence held for this book as well. Even though I figured out ~2/3 of the main twist it a) didn't take away from the suspense/enjoyment of the book at all (& cookie crumbs were left for the reader so may have been intentional) and b) the remaining ~1/3 that I didn't figure out gave it that extra wow factor. I definitely plan to read more from White and am looking forward to it!

IN THE DEEP by Loreth Anne White is a tale of deceit, betrayal that is filled with twists and turns. The story takes place in Australia and the descriptions made me feel like I was there. Bats!! Wow. I felt the heat. I felt like I was by the water sitting on the beach.

Ellie - a heiress, struggling to overcome pains of the past and other tough circumstances - meets Martin, a real estate mogul who sweeps her off her feet. After mere months, they get married and that's when everything changes. Ellie invests in his company but when she learns the truth behind his venture and realizes she is danger, Ellie does not know who she can fully trust. Ellie is a flawed character with much to overcome. There were times I was frustrated with her decisions but I still rooted for her.

This has an intriguing story line that has some courtroom drama - and if you stick with it, I promise you will find an ending, a curve ball, you didn't see coming. I thought the author was clever with how she worked the twist. And, the suspense kept me reading to find out what was going to happen.
Thank you #Netgalley

This book starts out with a murder trial. Mrs Cresswell-Smith stands accused of the brutal murder of her husband Martin. Is she a victim or a manipulative killer, you decide. If you are a fan of mystery, suspense and psychological thrillers this is for you. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

Nothing is as it seems, a marvelous deception…

This book begins at what you would expect to be near the ending, at the onset of a sensational trial, a woman is accused of murdering her husband. We hear the thoughts that are running through her mind and you have to ask if she is an unreliable narrator after listening to her internal dialogue and the things she alludes to. Is she a victim of circumstance or a black widow? The story then jumps to the past, to the day the body was discovered in Australia, a year ago, before returning to the trial and the defendant’s anomalous musings. Between instances in the present and the past the reader comes to learn just how this woman ended up in the current situation.

After the accidental death of her child and the loss of a marriage that could not survive the tragedy, Ellie Hartley, an illustrator of children’s books and the daughter of a wealthy man spiraled out of control, it’s taken years for her to bounce back into some semblance of normalcy. And then she meets a handsome smooth-talking man, Martin Cresswell-Smith, and falls into a whirlwind romance that leads to a quick marriage that on the surface appears providential, a second chance to get things right, but is it?

This story is the psychological study of a woman who was a bit unbalanced to start with unraveling. A woman riddled with insecurities, having issues with drug addiction and alcoholism, the reliability of this narrator is one you have to seriously question. We are led to believe that there are three points of view, that of Ellie Cresswell-Smith, Senior Constable Laurel “Lozza” Bianchi, and an unknown watcher.

“The magician is much the same as a storyteller-a trickster who uses misdirection, sleight of hand, to manipulate a person’s beliefs about the world.”

Like a magician, an author spins a tale full of deception. The reader comes to the tale subconsciously wanting to be deceived yet trying consciously not to be. Who and what should you believe are the questions that need answering. Are the compelling narrators reliable? Is it just the main protagonist being conned or is the reader also in a way they don’t expect? Some twists are that good, and like a magician’s act, this story is a wonderful piece of misdirection that this reader did not see coming.

The author has given us a well-written, fast-paced psychological thriller/crime drama with great scenic and atmospheric descriptions that captivate one’s senses, a taught labyrinthine plot with oh so human flawed characters and killer twists. There are a myriad of emotions that run through the characters. One character uses a telescope to spy on her neighbor and that is how this reader felt peeking in on events as they unfolded, as a watcher/observer transfixed by the words on the pages.

“Life is a shell game, and in a shell game only the tosser wins. You’re either the tosser or the loser.”

Figuring out who was the tosser and who was the loser in this story was not easy or straightforward but it was definitely an enthralling reading experience.

An advanced reading copy was obtained from the publisher via NetGalley.

Loreth Anne White is one of those authors that you know you are going to get a story you just don’t see coming. Holy heck, was this one of those books. I will admit, this was the first book I have read of Loreth Anne White’s that I couldn’t get into it at first. However, once I got over the initial stumbling block, I couldn’t put it down. I think the main stumbling part is that I’ve never been anywhere close to Australia before so the terminology and what not threw me. However, even with that stumbling block, I was entranced in the story line. It goes from the past to the present and she wrote is so cleverly.

I don’t want to say too much because I don’t want to give away the ending. All I will say about the ending is that you don’t see it coming at all! If you love psychological thrillers, In the Deep by Loreth Anne White is right up your alley!

This author is so very talented and this was no exception. She has a way of sucking completely into the book. I’m looking forward to her next book. She always leaves me wanting more.

Just when you think Loreth Anne White has mastered her genre, she comes up with a mind-bending book like IN THE DEEP. The story's unlike anything she's written before and I read it in two days, unable to put it down. I love an unreliable narrator and this one is perfect. We see her murder trial through the eyes of she and her lawyer, as well as flashbacks to the beginning of her marriage to her abusive, and now dead husband. Trust me, you'll never see the ending coming. I loved it - I say that about every book Ms. White writes but this one was the kind of treat you want to clear your schedule for and read it all at once. Lay in a supply of snacks and drinks before you start reading. You won't be disappointed.

5 Stars - trigger warnings for domestic violence and sexual assault

This is another good murder mystery from this author. It kept me guessing until almost the very last page..
The plot twists were well timed.

This is a well written descriptive mystery that follows a cast of characters as the reader tries to uncover who killed Martin Cresswell-Smith. It is graphic and there may be some triggers for some (not horribly graphic but still i cringed). I really enjoyed many aspects of this- this book kept me on the edge of my seat trying to figure out what is going on. I have to admit I wasn’t sure I was going to like the suspect, Ellie, but the author masterfully built a case for her, building sympathy for a flawed character. The twists- they keep going until the very very end. I did love Lozza- the constable, and I wonder if this is a series that will follow this character? She is strong and honorable and a fantastic character. I wish they spent a little more time building up some of the other characters but overall, it was well paced. I received this book from NetGalley and the one minor issue I had is that this was billed as a romance and there was nothing romantic about this book. But as a mystery, this was a good one!

Thanks @netgalley for the advanced readers copy of In The Deep by Loreth Anne White. ⭐️⭐️ for me 🤷🏼‍♀️. Synopsis: Ellie meets Martin at her most vulnerable, after the death of her daughter and a new divorce. After a whirlwind romance, Ellie and Martin elope in Vegas and go into business together. That’s when the relationship goes downhill and with Ellie on trial for Martins murder where did it all go wrong ?! Ugh this book. It was a quick read and that’s about where the positives end. The plot has been done a million time, abused wife seeks revenge from con man husband. Ellie was drunk or on drugs most of the book so she was frustratingly unreliable. By the end of the story they had completely switched narrators, I couldn’t wait for it to end lol. That’s my honest review.

Don’t you just love it when a book has several twists you don’t see coming? This book is soooo good! This is the story of the Cresswell-Smiths. The action starts in Sydney at the trial for the murder of Martin Cresswell-Smith and then backtracks to the story of Martin meeting his future wife Ellie in Vancouver in 2019. The story is told from the point of view of Ellie, policewoman Lozza interspersed with the trial.

From the minute the book starts I was all in. The settings are fantastic- much of the story takes place in New South Wales at the Agnes Basin where Martin is developing a marina and luxury resort. The descriptions are vivid especially of Australia, the atmosphere is captured brilliantly and you feel like you an eyewitness to the dramatic events. The storyline has all the essential ingredients of a thriller - it’s well written, a great plot, a fast pace, a ruthless, vicious character you can hate, a victim, duplicity and cheating, counter cheating, hate, rage, lust, love and loads of twists and turns some you see coming and some you definitely don’t. The ending is excellent- a real wow! There’s plenty of creepiness, tension and suspense, in places it’s very exciting and in others it’s terrifying.

Overall, an excellent read that had me gripped in its clutches from start to finish and an easy five stars for me!

With thanks to NetGalley and Montlake Romance.

This was my first book by this author and I really enjoyed it. It was a well paced psychological thriller that kept me guessing.

I thought it was very well written, and I liked the switch from the different POV's.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this E-book to review via Netgalley.

Loreth Anne White could write an instruction manual and I would read it. Quite honestly, it would probably be the best written instruction manual ever. No one does descriptive writing quite like Loreth Anne White. When you read a Loreth Anne White novel, you ARE THERE! You become transfixed, you feel the wind blowing through your hair, the salt water misting your face, the sun heating your skin. I don't know... it's simply amazing how she sets the scene. You're not simply reading one of her novels, you're living it.

So, this is one of those novels that I feel you can't give too much away. I went into this one blind, because well, it's Loreth Anne White, DUH! I think not knowing what to expect made it all the better. So, this will be one of those reviews where I'm not going to give you anything. I think the synopsis says enough.

What I will say is that in some ways, it's kind of a slow burn. You're sitting there, thinking... "where is this going?" When it's over... bring on the slow clap.

I want to thank NetGalley, Montlake Romance and Loreth Anne White for allowing me the chance to read this novel in exchange for my review. I am a fan for life!

Intense with gripping intrigue in a tight-fisted web of deceit and betrayal. Framed for her husband’s brutal murder, Elle could do nothing but watch as the masses spurted their hatred and anger out at her, making her feel angry and yes impotent. But wait a minute, she ain’t married, oh boy, this a catastrophe. Elle, thought she had lost it all when her daughter died but with the murder of her husband, she soon realized she didn’t lose it all and now she hoped she wasn’t too late in trying to secure her freedom and yes, her sanity. She had grown from an angry lush into an even angrier and selfish person since the death of her daughter. This tale is twisted in all places even the heroine ain’t no hero, heck, this one grips your attention so deeply it ties your mind into knots trying to untangle this web of twisted deceiving vipers. If there ever was a vicious book, I would say this is it. These ladies are dangerous and very conning, so yes, you need to read this one, it is intensely gripping and captivating.