I liked this book but, as with the first one in the series, I kind of struggled through it. About half way through, I set it down for about a week. Eventually, I picked it back up to finish and am glad I did. The same thing happened with the first one. The foreign names, locations, and references are confusing to me, and there is a lot going on with multiple ritual murders in two time lines. This book did a wonderful job in fleshing out the characters from before, and we learn a lot of background information about them. Will definitely read the third book in the trilogy.

"This is where your hunt ends and mine begins."

Unai “Kraken” Lopez de Ayala barely survived his encounter with a serial killer in the first book of this trilogy. As this second installment opens, Unai is on leave from his job as a profiler in the Criminal Investigation Unit of Vitoria's police department. As he recovers from Broca's aphasia after the bullet to his head (he can't speak) he is stunned when his boss and lover, Deputy Superintendent Alba Díaz de Salvatierra, tells him that she is pregnant. Their discussion is interrupted when Unai gets a message from his partner, Inpector Estibaliz Gauna. A body has been found that shows signs of a ritual murder and is identified as being a woman Unai was involved with during a summer camp when he was 16 years old. He's drawn into the investigation as yet another victim is found who is killed in a similar way. Unai knows that these deaths are related to what happened at the summer camp and he and Esti need to find this villain before it happens again. He's especially worried because the victims were expectant parents and, if he is the father of Alba's baby, he may well the killer's next target. NO SPOILERS.

Oh wow - there is so much going on in this book and it's 480 pages of nonstop guessing as the narrative flips back and forth in time and the story plays out. I loved the first book (and the Netflix series) so much that I took my time and savored it. I love the setting, the descriptions, the characters, and the intricate plotting that kept me glued to the pages and immersed in the White City world. The historical and archeological details are a huge part of this thriller and provide such and interesting background to the events that transpire. The relationships between the characters are explored and thus they are multidimensional and compelling. I am so looking forward to the third and final book in this trilogy and hope to be reading it soon.

Thank you to NetGalley and Vintage/Black Lizard for this e-book ARC to read and review. Very highly recommended for all crime thriller fans.

I liked this complex procedural for its Spanish setting and the unusual mix of characters- starting with Unai, a detective struggling with a TBI. He finds himself wrapped into a murder case involving an old friend who is killed in an odd Celtic ritual. Then there's another murder and it all seems to be linked to a summer camp that Unai attended as a teen. His colleague Esti and his boss Alba (who is pregnant with his child) are dynanic foils. I felt as though I missed a bit about these complex relationships because I did not read the first book but the plot itself is interesting. Thanks to Netgalley for the ArC. For fans of world crime fiction.

A smartly written second installment that places more focus on the characters, their relationships and tying together multiple worlds of this series.

I was a fan of the first book in this series. In a similar way, the author does well writing in serial killings that are historically interesting and graphic, true, but yet not overly gruesome or meaningless. The main focus in this second book was 100% more on connecting and deepening the characters vs. the serial killings themselves and, even, the history encapsulating it all. We get a whole, unearthed back story about Unai and his cuadrilla, as well as new and surprising information on Alba and Esti. I appreciated a lot of this character building that I missed in the first book!

I did feel that it was an unexpected play of events, in the sense that we understand who the killer is a good ways from the end. The mystery comes more from unraveling the entire backstory. This threw me off a bit, as I felt it caused me to rush through the ending a bit as a reader.

All in all, I loved seeing more into this world and I appreciate when an author truly continues to dig into characters vs. just plopping them all into a new crime with very little development. Highly recommend continuing this series if you were a fan of the first!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing the ARC of this translated novel. This is the second in a series with the same lead character, a criminal profiler named Unai. Although this could be read as a stand alone, it will probably be more enjoyable if you read the first in the series because there are numerous references to what happened in that book. Overall, I didn’t enjoy this as much as the first book, but s I got closer to the end, I became more and more invested in what’s going to happen with the main characters next. So I guess I’ll be reading the next one too! The mystery was good but strained credibility a bit. Still engaging and I recommend for fans of police procedurals.

The Water Rituals by Eva Garcia Saenz is a superbly written book that will hold the reader's attention. well worth the time spent!

I am totally loving this trilogy and I cannot wait for the final book to come out. Not that this one is out yet, but you know what I mean. This series definitely follows true to my translation theory. It must be good or no one would bother to translate it, right? I was so pumped when I got this ARC that I immediately found and read the previous book in the series. And you should definitely start there, but you could probably also read this by itself.

There is a lot going on in this book, but in the best way possible. You will have a hard time figuring out how everyone ties together before the reveal happens. Basically, this is so well thought out and there are so many clues that you won't know what's going on or how all of the pieces fit until the author decides to tell you. I love when that happens.

If you're into Noir or mystery novels, I definitely recommend this trilogy. I'm looking forward to seeing what else this author comes up with.

This is the second book in the trilogy of White City. I recently read the first one and was very impressed with it so decided to get my hands on the second book as soon as I heard about it. While the second book can be read as a stand alone, there are a lot of references to happenings in the first part that you won't comprehend without reading that one first.

The second book takes off shortly after the first one ends as another series of murders based on ancient rituals start happening in the city and to people known to Kraken (the main character). The pace is relentless for the most part with multiple threads converging in the end. Love the writing style and the mystery contained within. However, the first book is a shade better (maybe the novelty of it all). There were some instances in the book where I couldn't help shake my head at the blindspots of the investigators. Minor nit-picks though.

Eagerly waiting for the concluding part.

This is the second book in the White City series which I have come to like very much. The storyline is intricate and very intriguing. I especially like the historical selections on the Celtic-Iberian influence on the area and how it weaves into the narrative. I like the characters very much but if the names of persons or location give you pause, please do not let that deter you from reading this book.

Wait until you get to the ending......

The Water Rituals is a second book of the Trilogy of the White City, but it can be read separately.

Profiler and inspector Lopez de Ayala alias Kraken tries to solve the misterious murder of Ana Belén Liaño, which was his girlfriend in the past. Ritualistic murder is connected to ancient celtic mythology. Soon it becomes clear that the situation has roots in inspector's past and also the past of his friends.

Really dynamic and interesting novel, with vivid characters and dark twists and turns.

I'm looking forward to next book.