This is what I'd classify as a domestic thriller. There's a mystery of why someone got murdered and just how far a mother will go for her child .
The book was definitely a page turner and had me up till the early morning hours. The writing was great as well. ..
Definitely 5 stars!

The events of one tragic summer test the bonds of family and friendship in The Lifeguards, a captivating domestic thriller by Amanda Eyre Ward. Whitney, Liza and Annette live in an affluent Austin suburb where their three fifteen year old sons have summer jobs as lifeguards at the community pool. One hot night, the boys come home late and announce to their mothers (who have overindulged in the nightly glass of wine) that they have found a woman’s dead body on the nearby greenbelt. But… they didn’t do anything wrong. Later, Liza will regret not questioning her son Charlie more thoroughly. After the story comes out, bolstered by evidence connecting the boys to the scene, lawyers are hired and arrests are made.

There are so many secrets to be discovered here. Of course, we want to know who killed Lucy. We also want to know what family problem Whitney is hiding, why Liza doesn’t think she belongs in the neighborhood and what is going on behind the closed doors of Annette’s McMansion. All questions are answered as the plot builds slowly to a terrifying and unexpected conclusion. Amanda Eyre Ward has done it again! The Lifeguards has unforgettable characters, especially the three boys, and a compelling subplot involving a detective with family problems of his own. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and Amanda Eyre Ward for this ARC.

The Lifefuards by Amanda Eyre Ward was a mix between a thriller and a romcom, I liked having multiple points of views through out the book to see a wider picture of the story but sometimes it made the story go a little bit slow for my taste. The mystery part of the book keeps you intrigued and hooked. The romance was subtle but perfect for this story. This was a solid, interesting and fun read

This book was a page turner from beginning to end. Very captivating with amazing character development. A mysterious murder in a seemingly Picture perfect town where appearance and money are everything. How far will a mom go to cover for her child. And how far will another go to find the truth. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Unfortunately, this was not great. The writing was not smooth and I was aware I was reading a book the whole time. The characters were insufferable and the plot was so odd. The timing was off and the flashback scenes were awkward. It also felt like the author was very out of touch with current events and what kids are into. The teenagers acted way younger than someone their age would. A flop, in my opinion.

To begin I will say that I found this book interesting right from the start. It is told from the viewpoints of 3 best friends who have grown into adulthood with each other and are extremely close. You meet each women and get a glimpse into their lives as mothers and wives while all of the time, knowing that something is about to unravel their lives.
Shortly into the book a young lady dies and from there the “ who-done-it” part of the book begins. I found that I truly wanted to connect with any of these characters but I found them to be unrealistic and even a little bit predictable. The sons of these 3 best friends are all best friends themselves and are thrust right to into the middle of this sad tragedy.
I have the biggest issue with how it ended. There was no closure to the majority of the most pressing questions I felt.

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water…
A story of surprises, full of secrets, and untold stories.

Living in a very upscale neighborhood in Austin, Texas, safe and secure, three teenage boys “find” a body in the greenbelt which upsets the lives which their parents created for them. How could anything like this happen? The moms of these three musketeers, Charlie, Xavier, and Robert (Bobcat) are Best friends. But they are fierce to protect their sons and close their eyes and ears to any knowledge that their sons may be involved in the death of this young woman. Liza, a struggling single mom running from her past, has reinvented herself to be able to live amongst the rich where she perceives she will have a safe and stable life for her son. Whitney, a high-flying realtor adores her son, yet fears her violent daughter with no help from her status conscience husband. Annette, feels blessed to have her son who she struggled to conceive, but resents her husband’s need to mold her son to be a “man” and she feels she has become only a tarnished trophy now to her husband. What would you do to keep the privileged life that you’ve built together? How far would you go to protect your child? What happened in the beltway?

I enjoyed this book thoroughly although there were some loose parts that were never tied up such as the outcome of the sister and the sinister nanny, but otherwise I felt it was a great plot. A story of intrigue and twists and turns, this story had me glued to see what happens next. The characters are well developed and the author spins her tale so that by the ending, it becomes what you least expect. Told in multiple voices from the mothers, the neighbors, and the boys, we learn of a complicated tale of friendships, truths, half-truths, betrayal, and the loss of innocence. What happened in the greenbelt?

Many thanks to #netgalley #amandaeyresward #thelifeguards for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I liked this book! It wasn't better than The Jetsetters in my opinion, but that's okay, I'm trying to treat them as different books. I enjoyed the story and the multiple POV's. I just felt the ending was rushed and it really came at the very end and then was over.

Thank you to NetGalley, Amanda Eyre Ward, and Ballantine for this gifted eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I adored The Jetsetters and was so excited to get to read this!

This story focuses on the friendship of three mothers living in an affluent neighborhood in Austin. The women have been best friends ever since they met during pregnancy, raising their boys as the three musketeers. Even though they come from vastly different backgrounds, they’re bond was immediate. They protect each other and share everything with one another, or so they think. We soon learn that each woman has her own secret that she is trying to protect. Secrets, that they each silently fear, will surface after their boys find a body one night at the nearby swimming hole.

This story moved a little too slowly for me in the beginning, which is why I couldn’t give it five stars. But once the plot developed I was hooked. This is a domestic thriller that has a ton of twists and turns and will keep you continuously guessing “who did it.” The suspense in this one does not disappoint!

10/10 recommend giving this a read when it releases in April 2022!

This book took awhile for me to get into personally… It eventually picked up. I enjoyed the flashbacks from all of characters showing what had shaped them in their adult lives. Once I hit 60% I was very into finding out what happened. The ending was suspenseful but didn’t fully close the story for me. Wanted to understand what happened to Roma, how certain relationships developed & how the 3 boys just got passed something tragic.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the Kindle ARC. I've read almost all of Amanda Eyre Ward's books and have liked them all. The Lifeguards gave me the same enjoyable reading experience. My previous favorite of her books was Sleep Toward Heaven and The Lifeguards may have taken its place. Whitney, Annette and Liza have been friends since their teenaged sons were babies. They live in an affluent neighborhood. Liza is the single mom, struggling more than her two friends are. When the boys, who are lifeguards at the local pool, come across the dead body of Lucy in a swimming hole close by, their lives and the lives of the parents are upended. When it comes to friendship, it only goes so far. Its friendship or protecting one's own family and its pretty easy to figure out who will will. The book is engrossing and I found it to be fast-paced and really wanted to know how it would (or wouldn't work out). What seemed like an obvious choice for the guilty party in the homicide turned out to be wrong for me but that was a really good twist. As usual, another great read from Ms. Ward.

5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
I would definitely be recommending this book to readers on my Instagram bookstagram account.

It's been 20 years since I've had the pleasure of living in Austin, and WOW does this novel nail the ambiance and culture of the city! This fidelity extends to the rich cast of characters we get to meet. No character fits snugly into a satirical stereotype, but inhabits a deep and often relatable existence. Combining this rich sense of place and person with a stellar plot means that this novel will keep you up past your bedtime racing to see its conclusion. This author has long been a favorite of mine, with each new release adding admirably to an already rich oeuvre.

**Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this advanced reader's copy in exchange for an unbiased opinion.**

I started this book and initially couldn’t get past the first chapter, however, when I picked it up again, I read the entire book in one sitting.

When a dead body is found close to home, the friend circle and community is thrown into chaos.

While I was expecting a saccharin book about friendship and banding together, the mystery and dynamics of the friend group and their families sucked me in quickly.

I’m gonna be 100% honest the book sounded interesting when I requested it but I just couldn’t get into it. I don’t want to give a biased review if I were to read it going into it with the premonition that it’s not interesting. However if I’m the future I come back to this book and do end up reading it I will be sure to leave a review. This does sound like a promising book and I’m sure it will do amazing when it comes out. I have seen it on tiktok a few times but I personally can’t get into it. I wish I could tell you why but I genuinely don’t know. Again I apologize for this.

Honestly, I enjoyed much of The Lifeguards and found myself not being able to put the book down. However, I am only giving it three stars for a few reasons. First, the ending is extremely rushed. The reader finally gets to the climax of the story and then a few pages later, the book is done. Second, and this relates to the rushed ending, there are a lot of plot holes - a lot of unfinished storylines. For example, what happens with the nanny from the fraudulent daycare service? What happens to Roma? What happens in the bunker? None of this is resolved. I can like an open ending, if done right. In this case, I was just left with lots of questions. Finally, I had a hard time with the husbands - they all seemed to have similar characteristics and I had to keep going back to remember who was with who and who had certain personality traits.

As I stated at the start, I actually did enjoy a lot of the book. I liked the three main POVs and the fact that we got a few shorter chapters from "the lifeguards." I also really liked the setting of the book. It had a true neighborhood-in-a-city feel. If I didn't have so many questions at the end, I would have given this four stars.

Also, just a quick note - there is at least one minor reference to animal cruelty, which can be triggering for some people. I wish I had been given the heads up before reading that part.

I have always appreciated the prose style and character driven fiction of Amanda Eyre Ward..... she also excels at writing place which isn’t
done so much anymore. so much fun when the actual places in Austin do exist because regional fiction matters.. Still in my happy travel reading memory is a great article she wrote about
a spa vacation with husband...more please. All the characters were complex and well drawn in this novel even if I am not a fan of secrets or writing
about opioid addiction or gentrification in a been there done that way. The ending was ok hoping for something less predictable., more literary..

I’m finding myself feeling a little meh after this book. It started slow, and the beginning was very chick-lit. I was worried that vibe would continue through the whole book, but thankfully, about a third of the way through it turned into the mystery/thriller that I was waiting for.

I’m kind of tired of neighborhood thriller stories. Some are inventive, but most kind of follow the same formula: rich parents, spoiled kids, a family with a secret, blah blah blah. This one pretty much followed the formula with a group of mothers/lushes who raised their boys together.

When the boys are 15, the moms are having a great time at a little get together (with a lot of alcohol) until the kids race up on their bicycles yelling to call 911. They were hanging out in the greenbelt behind their neighborhood, when they found the dead body of a young woman.

Immediately, the parents are on the phone with lawyers, swearing to each other that if one of their sons had something to do with this young lady’s death, they’d all stick together to protect them. Odd response, right? Well, there are odd reasons for that, and a few other things that happen while the police are trying to find the killer.

Overall, this was enjoyable past the slow beginning. It kept a good pace, had cliche but decent characters, and the ending was alright. It just wasn’t a book that drew me in, even though I did like reading it. I’m giving it 3.5 stars, rounded down because it was a bit fluffy and generic for my taste.

(Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Amanda Eyre Ward, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.)

First, I have to say that I really enjoyed this book, though it is nothing that I thought it would be. Centered around the death of a young woman, three young teenage boys who serve as lifeguards at the local swimming spot and their mothers have to navigate complex relationships to get to the truth of what happened that tragic night. The characters had depth, but the story itself had some gaps that I wish had been closed. The ending left me wanting more, and I have a hard time liking the book title after finishing the book. All that said, however, this book kept me hooked and is a slow build suspense - I had to know how it all ended. Overall, I would recommend this book if you can overlook some plot holes and appreciate good characters. It is an entertaining read.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for and advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

#netgalley #TheLifeguards
Rating: 3/5

Woooweee! Amanda Eyre Ward’s latest novel The Lifeguards had me completely captivated from start to finish! Centering around a tight-knit group of mothers who pride themselves in their strong friendships with one another, well-to-do neighborhood, and amazing teenagers they’re raising. Everything is going swimmingly until tragedy touches their perfect community!

I loved that this novel is told through several perspectives—it really added so much to the storyline! I enjoyed that Amanda Eyre Ward gave us the characters current AND backstories! I truly felt like I was on the edge of seat the entire way through, the pacing was perfect and when I say perfect I mean unputdownable! The Lifeguards is a total and complete 5 star book that would make a fantastic book club selection! I look forward to reading more from Amanda Eyre Ward in the future!