Gideon gets a little more time on the page as we meet his college friends, who have come to see him marry Natalie. One presence is much missed: Travis, who died of a drug overdose while they were in graduate school.

Of course, there are secrets. Of course, they are dangerous secrets. And eventually, Gideon finds himself a target. Naturally, Natalie gets involved, and soon she’s in danger, too.

This time, the Shakespearean inspiration is Julius Caesar. We see those threads of ambition and power throughout the story. And again, Black is able to misdirect our attention, setting up multiple possibilities as to who is behind the murders. Naturally, they all have things to hid. But exactly who is hiding exactly what?

Travis’s mother is not very likable as she tries to steamroll Natalie into changing almost everything about her clinic in order to memorialize Travis. Luckily, Natalie has a strong backbone and doesn’t fall for it—even though it could potentially mean alienating Bob Chapman.

There is a secondary plot that I particularly like here: Natalie’s thorny relationship with her sister Andrea. Andrea would like to reconcile, but that’s a pretty tough prospect for Natalie. Even though she is a mental health professional, Natalie realizes she’s still working through her own family issues. These scenes are particularly well done.

Thank you to NetGalley and Covenant Communications for providing an ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.


Possible Objectionable Material:
Murders. Danger, Betrayal. Lying. A difficult marriage dynamic. A little gaslighting. Mental illness. Natalie’s somewhat abusive mother is mentioned frequently. There is no swearing and the violence is not graphic. Some people drink alcohol, but I don’t recall anyone being actually drunk. Drug use. Complicated personal relationships. Manipulation.

Who Might Like This Book:
People who like suspense stories. Those who like complicated family dynamics and other relationships. People who like allusions to Shakespeare stories. There is bit of romance here, but it is definitely not the focus of the story.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. A great mystery novel. I really enjoyed it. Perfect for those who like who done it/mysteries.

Bound in Shallows is written by Stephanie Black and is the fourth and final book in the Natalie Marsh series. It is not necessary to read the prior books to understand the story but you’ll want to. Ive purchased the other books to be able to go back and read the backstory and other mysteries. Bound in Shallows is a clean mystery/thriller. It’s an unpredictable whodunnit. The characters and story are very well written and will draw you in to where you don’t want to put down the book.

I received an ebook via NetGalley and Covenant Communications in exchange for my honest review.

Whoa! Hold on tight for some twists and turns, plot twists and surprises! In this latest Natalie Marsh book by Stephanie Black, Natalie and Gideon are prepping for their wedding and some quiet time. But that's not what they get! Nope! Gideon reconnects with some of his college friends and it's all a rollercoaster ride from there on.

Poor Natalie. She just can't catch a break in each of these books. But as much as I feel for her and Gideon and the many "adventures" they're experiencing, I sure enjoy reading about their mishaps and "adventures." If you enjoy a good suspense, mystery, whodunnit, twist and turns plot, this series is a great one that I would recommend. I really enjoy these characters and the way the author reveals information to the reader. If you're reading closely you can catch some of the twists and turns but others might be a big surprise. Early on I had an inkling about a character but I couldn't say for sure. So I tucked that inkling away and keep enjoying the unfolding and suspense until the big reveal! I knew it! I was right! Lol! I always love being able to say I figured out who the bad guy is, or a part of the plot. My family and I are big BBC masterpiece mystery fans and if you watch carefully the bad guy is revealed in the first five minutes or less of the show. We like to make our predictions at the beginning of the show then watch and see who was right.

Even with my inkling, I still was surprised at many points throughout the book. I haven't read all the books in the series but plan to go back and do so. If you don't want to read all the books can I recommend that you at least read the first book before diving into this one. I think it's pretty important for understanding Natalie and her family background and her and Gideon's relationship.

Buckle up and get ready for a wild ride! Natalie and Gideon...I'm so sorry you're going through this again, but thanks for a great story!

Content: This is a suspense/murder mystery book, so there are some murders and death throughout the book. The deaths aren't overly graphic, more that somebody finds the body and there's mention of how they died. There is some blood and injuries from a couple attacks as well as the use of a gun. The book isn't overly graphic but it is intense due to the genre. I would say that it is a clean read within this genre. There are a couple very mild innuendos but nothing more except a few kisses.

I received a copy from the publisher, Covenant Communications, via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions in the review are my own.

Happy Reading!!!

Unfortunately I was not aware that this was the fourth book in a series. There was definitely a lot of backstory I felt like I was missing so that does play into my rating.

Overall I thought the book was interesting and had a lot going on, though I do feel like it could have used some more editing. I had a hard time keeping the characters separate in my mind but this could definitely be because I missed the first three books in the series.

It has piqued my interest in the series and I may go back and read book one.

Bound in Shallows
by Stephanie Black
Covenant Communications
Christian | Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date 23 Nov 2020


I am reviewing a Copy of Bound in Shallows through Covenant Communications and Netgalley:



Natalie Marsh doesn’t have a moment to spare the week before her wedding. But after potential donor requests a meeting regarding Natalie’s mental
health clinic, the soon-to-be-bride makes time for the conversation—especially since that donor is tied to a tragedy in the life of Natalie’s fiancé, Gideon: eight years ago, Gideon’s roommate Travis died of a drug overdose.


Travis Mother is determined to honor her son’s memory by helping others avoid the same fate. It is a noble request that soon turns into a nightmare.


As wedding celebrations begin old friends renew acquaintances. But what begins as a party of wedding guests becomes a cast of suspects when the discovery of a bloodstained knife puts them all under the spotlight.


Things begin to take a deadly turn leading Natalie and Gideon to come to the horrible realization that all those years ago Travis didn’t overdose, someone murdered him. His killer is willing to take deadly action to keep the truth hidden.


I give Bound in Shallows five out of five star!


Happy Reading!

I love this Natalie Marsh series. I like to see the recurring characters grow and develop. And Stephanie Black is a master of the twists and turns of mystery. This one was wonderful.

This is #4 in the series. Natalie and Gideon are finally going to tie the knot. Or are they... Friends from the past show up to be part of the wedding festivities and bring with them a dark secret about a death when they were in college. On top of that, there are some really off-balance people in this story, everyone is suspect, and people are dying in the here and now.

I spent this entire book trying to figure out who did what and when and why. And I was wrong. So totally wrong. After the reveal, it made complete sense and I could believe it—and I love it when a writer totally stumps me. (And Stephanie Black has stumped me in more than one book.)

This is a murder mystery/suspense thriller and there is violence and death. But no language, no sex, and no gore. I'd approve it for 16+ who really like this genre. I give if 5 stars.

#boundinshallows #netgalley

This book is very suspenseful. The plot twists will keep you guessing all throughout the book.

Bound in Shallows by Stephanie Black

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Story Notes

Stephanie Black brings readers the final installment of the Natalie Marsh series and its one that no mystery/thriller reader will want to miss!

Mystery/thrillers are my favorite genre to both read and watch so I’ve been really excited about this book coming out. Natalie Marsh is such a good character and I’ve loved her story from the first book. She is now about to finally marry Gideon but, as usual, that will not be a smooth sail in the least. It’s seven days before the wedding and Natalie was looking forward to an easier workload. However, the possibility of a potential donor willing to invest a large sum into Nefesh Bria, her psychiatric clinic, has her willing to put in some extra hours. Ivy Morrigan is an heiress on a mission to keep other young people from falling victim to substance abuse like her son. Travis Morrigan was a college student when he died from an apparent drug overdose. Ivy hopes to create a substance abuse program within Nefesh Bria to help combat that issue. Natalie promises to look over the proposal as soon as possible and see if what Ivy has in mind would be a good fit. Alongside this unexpected deadline, Natalie also has dinners and last minute details to finish up. The first hurdle will be meeting Gideon’s college friends for dinner. The dinner goes along fairly well until Julianna Cassidy accuses Natalie of lying about an email she sent. Her husband Simon tries to brush it off as her being overworked but Natalie and Gideon both find her behavior very odd. So begins a crazy journey of strange happenings and journeying to the past to confront assumptions before anyone gets hurt. As Natalie and Gideon work together to discover long buried secrets, more danger is lurking because someone is willing to do whatever it takes to keep the past hidden…even if it means someone else needs to die. This book was such a chilling thrill ride. From the psychological aspects included to the crimes that were committed, each succeeding chapter just made the story that much better. Every detail was carefully revealed at just the right moment and the characters were perfectly written. No excess conversations were included which allowed for the tension to remain high throughout the pages and the question of who was responsible to remain a mystery until the very end. And what a great ending it was, too! I loved the final chapters and final revelation of culprits. I will certainly be recommending this story to others to enjoy the thrill ride too. I’m also hopeful that Ms. Black will begin another excellent series very soon.

I received this temporary complimentary E-book from Covenant Communications via NetGalley in order to provide a fair and honest review. I will receive no fiscal compensation for this review and the opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.

Old friends of Gideon's are there for his wedding to Natalie and she's dealing with a wealthy woman who'd like to make a large donation to her clinic. It would enable Natalie to start offering drug addiction treatment services, but the would-be donor is being very demanding about how much control and say-so she would have in the running of Natalie's clinic. Then accidents start happening and people start dying. Are they connected? Who's behind it and why? Could Natalie and Gideon be next?

Natalie and Gideon don't need wedding presents, they need to put a good psychologist or psychiatrist on retainer. With all the things these two have been through in the previous three books, you'd think they could have a little bit of calm the week before their wedding. Think again!!

I love a good, clean suspense/thriller/mystery and count always count on Stephanie Black to deliver. That's why she's an auto-read/auto-buy for me. This suspense/thriller/mystery was a welcome break from the romances and Christmas stories I'd been reading. There were so many people who could've easily been the guilty party and I kept changing my mind as to who it was. The reader doesn't get to see anything from the villain's point of view and we aren't given any extra information that the main characters (Natalie and Gideon) don't have. That means we're just as surprised as they are when things happen.

Of course I didn't figure out who the killer was let alone why. I didn't want to put the book down and was not happy when the necessities of life (like cooking) got in the way of finding out who did it. This is a standalone but I high recommend you read all of the Natalie Marsh books, starting with Not a Word, to see how she and Gideon met and all they've been through.

I received a complimentary copy from Covenant Communications via NetGalley, all thoughts and opinions expressed in my review are my own.

An interesting read that starts as a cozy mystery, but amps up the suspense about halfway through, and becomes a twisty-turny-edge-of-your-seat suspense book by the end! A few revelations had me stunned. A few I saw coming, but NOT the way they were revealed. I do wish I had already read the beginning of the series, but only so I could get to know Natalie and Gideon better. The mystery itself was for sure standalone. I definitely want to try out more books by this author (and read more about Natalie’s crazy benefactor...He made me laugh).

Interesting read! I feel like this was a second installment of a series; there were allusions to an earlier adventure for the two main characters. However, this was still easy to follow as a stand-alone mystery as well. The book begins with a suspicious death at the very start, and the body count keeps piling up. There was a surprise twist at the end that truly caught me off-guard. Several times I thought I had solved it, only to get a new clue. This book kept my interest and had me rooting for Natalie and Gideon all the way through. Perfect for fans of Terri Blackstock, Lynette Eason, and Mike Nappa.

Rated PG-13 for violence
--no sexual content
--no language
--some violence/death, little to no gore
--some drug references

I was provided this ebook free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Bound in Shallows by Stephanie Black, 320 pages. Covenant Communications, 2020. $17.
Language: G (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG13
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Looking forward to their wedding, Natalie and Gideon are doing their best to keep it as stress-free as possible, despite old family drama and new tensions with friends. With secrets and ulterior motives at every turn, eloping sounds like a much better plan -- Natalie and Gideon can’t even make it through their wedding weekend before getting the police involved.
While the context of the previous books is nice, readers can still build rapport with the characters and feel the suspense without the prequels. I love how open and trusting Natalie and Gideon are in their relationship, especially with all the crazy going on around them. Reading about a solid couple is refreshing and allows more focus on the mystery at hand rather than trying to improve relationship troubles. The mature content rating is for drug abuse and other illegal activity; the violence rating is for blood, mentions of suicide, and murder.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

Wow, I tell you what, wow.... I am not sure how Natalie Marsh manages to get herself into so much trouble. With this fourth book in the series we meet some of Gideon's college friends and the return of Andrea, Natalie's sister.

The book centers on the weeks surrounding Natalie and Gideon's wedding and boy is it a ride.

This is the kind of suspense novel that you are definitely not going to want to put down, even though it is part of a series, it can be read as a stand alone. The necessary background information is supplied so that you aren't lost, which is important for me since I have only read books 3 and 4, but I am definitely going to go back and read 1 and 2. There is a twist at the end that I should have seen coming as the clues were there, however subtle, however, I missed it and it made for some great reading. I was captivated from beginning to end.

This book has it all - murder, intrigue, manipulation, a wedding, family drama, and a kidnapping. This is definitely a great read for a suspense lover. This book is just asking for a cozy blanket, your favorite beverage, and a comfortable place to read. Tell your family to leave you alone and settle in. It's perfect

I received an early copy of this book and this is my honest review.

If you are looking for suspense this book has it. The twists and turn will keep you reading well into the night.

This was a great mystery! Black is very good at keeping the reader on the edge of their seat. It was fun getting to know Gideon better and meet his college friends. The plot kept me guessing until the very end.

“Bound in Shallows” by Stephanie Black is a wonderful read! This was the first book I’ve read by Stephanie Black. I’m looking forward to reading more from her. I didn’t realize until after I had already started this book that this was part of a series. Although it may have helped to read the first three books, I felt like I still understood what was going on this book.

This book was full of suspense and intrigue. I was totally floored by the ending. I never saw it coming. This book is one that will stay with you long after you finish reading it.

I definitely recommend this book to anyone that enjoys good, clean, suspense novels. I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley for my honest opinion.

3 stars
This is a very good book but not meant to be read as a stand-alone. I missed a lot of back story from the other book which I have not read.

I had not read the first three books in this series before reading Bound in Shallows, but it did not detract from the story, Events from past books were referenced, so if you want to read the whole series, I would recommend starting with book one. This was a story that kept me guessing and surprised me more than once. It brought up themes like love, friendship, political aspirations, and forgiveness. I plan on suggesting this book to my suspense-loving friends!

BOUND IN SHALLOWS by STEPHANIE BLACK is a really exciting thriller with a great plot and interesting characters.
The story revolves around Gideon Radcliffe and Natalie Marsh, their wedding and the wedding guests.
I am not going to say any more excepting that it is a most enjoyable read with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing right to the end.
I highly recommend the novel to anyone who enjoys this genre.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from covenant Communications. The opinions in this review are completely my own.