McDonald's books are kind of hit or miss for me and, unfortunately, These Still Black Waters was a miss.
After a home invasion, Neve and her daughter Ash move to Black Lake, where Neve spent her summers as a child. A woman is found dead in the lake behind her home and Detective Jess Lambert is assigned to the case. Lambert is dealing with her own trauma and grief.
The story revolves around Neve's and Jess' grief, trauma, and personal decisions.
I thought this would be more of a mystery/thriller, but it has too many supernatural elements for my liking.
I found it slow-paced and tedious to read; it just wasn't what I was expecting.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this eARC!

Ooof this was a good one! It had my hooked immediately. There was a sense of suspense and eeriness throughout the whole story. I definitely didn't see the ordeal with Bee, it made me audibly gasp! Definitely enjoyed the twists and the ultimate conclusion. I will be picking up a physical copy!

I am in the minority with my review of this book. I did not like it at all. I found it laborious to read with unappealing characters and a boring storyline. It had a lot of supernatural bits thrown in here and there which did not intrigue me and was sometimes confusing. Thank you NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own. #NetGalley, #TheseStillBlackWaters,#ThomasAndMercer.

This book kept me entertained from the beginning. It was very fast paced and hard to put it down. I loved the the chapters were told at different viewpoints, including that of the killer. I did like the characters and their development. I was able to put the clues together and figure out what happened before the book finished. However, the ending was not for me. I’m not sure if this is a spoiler, but I marked it as such just in case, but it got into paranormal/spiritual ghosts which is just not for me. Other than that, great book. I look forward to reading from this author.

Not a bad read, but also not an amazing read. This book landed squarely in the middle in just about every aspect.

This book was great! There were definitely some surprising twists. My one complaint is that it was a slow start getting into the book. I had trouble understanding the different viewpoints of the book and how they all tied together, but by about the middle of the book it started making sense. I definitely plan on reading the next book in this series. I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley.

3.5/5

These Still Black Waters is a slow burning domestic thriller with supernatural elements mixed in. It did take me a little time to get into this one, but once I did I was fully invested in the characters and plot. While I did guess part of the twist, I definitely didn't put all the pieces together, nor did that detract from my overall enjoyment. 3.5 stars and a strong recommendation for what appears to be the first in a series from Christina McDonald.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Neve and her daughter, Ash arrive at Neve's childhood summer home. Neve is separated from her husband Eli, after a devastating home invasion.

Shortly after they arrive, a body is found in Black Lake. The body is that of Bailey, Neve's childhood friend. Bailey is wearing a rainbow friendship bracelet. The same bracelets that Neve, Bailey and another girl are wearing in photos that are found. Bailey and Neve have secrets from the past, secrets that they have hidden, and it has affected their lives, causing an unstoppable chain of tragic events.

Jess is the police detective investigating Bailey's death. She is haunted by her daughter, Ilse, who died in a road accident, and Jess was driving. She carries a load of guilt and heartache. Neve helps her solve the case of Bailey's death, and the reason Bailey had to die.

I don't like paranormal books as a rule, but this one was good.
I liked (most) of the characters. Yes, they made mistakes when they were young, but not all of them grew up to be bad adults.
I don't know if Christina MacDonald's normal genre is of the paranormal, but this was a well written book and I would read more by this author.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have read all of Christina McDonald’s books, and I will say that ‘These Still Black Waters’, is my favorite to date. This book was definitely different and not quite what I expected, but I just connected and resonated with the characters and storyline so much. This book has suspense, along with grief and trauma, and the past coming back to haunt us.

‘These Still Black Waters’ deals mainly with two characters. We have Neve Maguire, who seems to have it all. She’s married with a daughter, a beautiful home, and she’s a veterinarian. However, Neve decides to take a small vacation to her childhood vacation home in Black Lake after a traumatic event occurs. We also have Detective Jess Lambert. Jess is the detective working in Black Lake trying to solve the latest crime. I resonated with Jess’s character maybe a little too much, because like her, I have a bad leg that I use a cane for. I also walk with a limp and have severe pain. The trauma that surrounds the injury may not be the same, but I still found myself empathizing with her throughout this story.

As Jess Lambert works to solve the crime in Black Lake, everyone is suspect. Who do you believe? Who can you trust? Does our past always come back to haunt us?
With that being said, the book was left open a little bit to let us know that Jess Lambert’s work is not done and she will be back for book #2 (hurry up please!).

I highly recommend reading this book, and I would like to thank NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer, and the author for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. Publication date is: August 8, 2023.

Neve and Eli are taking time away from their marriage.
Neve and her daughter Ash go to the lake house she grew up at that her parents owned.
The very next day her neighbor is found dead in the lake.
Jess, a detective on the case, has her own demons, after a tragic accident happened to her injuring her leg and so much more. While Jess battles her own personal demons she has to fight through her pain and find the murder.

I enjoyed this psychological thriller mystery. By the time I got half way through it I just couldn’t put it down.

A very good read

A special thank you to the Author, the Publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for a review. I loved it.

These Still Black Waters is book one in the Jess Lambert series by Christina McDonald.

My first time reading this authors work and I'm very excited about it.
Her first series is going to be an amazing one.
Christina has created a solid, edge of your seat thriller with an unreliable narrator.
It kept me guessing until the very end. The mystery I absolutely loved which kept me glued to the pages.
This book draws you in from the first page and doesn’t let go until the end and then leaves you wanting more.
An atmospheric story that will have you guessing the whole way through.
I can't wait to read the next book in the Jess Lambert series.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy. I'm on the fence about this one. I have always enjoyed Christina's book because I felt they had a unique writing style. This book was good, but it feels like another cop series has been born. I'm not sure I would care to continue reading about Jess and her issues. Don't get me wrong, there were some good shocks in this book, but I did figure out the truth about Neve and who the killer was before they were revealed. Christina's books are usually much harder to figure out. I'm not sure I need another murder cop series. I will have to think about it. I Rec the book however, just wasn't the same.

This is the third August 2023 release I’ve read in the past week. Sorry not sorry to the January releases that I still have to finish from my NetGalley shelf. The week between Christmas and New Year’s belongs to those books.
Let’s talk about These Still Black Waters now shall we. I couldn’t put it down( the end of my review, just kidding). The story is told from three POV‘s. An unknown narrator who seems consumed with vengeance. Neve, a wife and mother who is going through a life altering experience, a home invasion. Then we have Jess, a detective who suffered a horrible loss and isn’t sure if she is losing her mind.
I won’t say more about the characters or the plot for fear of giving something away. I was 100% positive that I had this figured out. Was I right? Absolutely not. A very clever plot that had me looking left when I should have looked right and vice versa.
I thought about what I may have missed that sent me careening down the wrong path. I’ve decided in hindsight, the reality of what was going on should’ve been more apparent to me, but once I started down the wrong path, I was hooked on my theory. Well played and kudos to the author. It appears that this will be the first book in a new series and I’m all for maybe guessing correctly when the second book releases.

These Still Black Waters by Christina McDonald is a somewhat gripping novel. The story centers on Neve Maguire and Detective Jess Lambert. After a violent home invasion, Neve Maguire returns with her daughter to Black Lake, her childhood summer home, hoping for a fresh start. But when a woman's body is found floating among the reeds in the lake behind her house, she fears she has made a horrible mistake. The story revolves around a small town with disturbing secrets.

The book was a bit tedious to read and wade through the information. I usually like this author's writing style (I loved The Night Olivia Fell), but this book left a bit to be desired. I thought the characters were okay, and I liked the detective. Overall, an okay read for me. I would recommend this author's other books before I would recommend this book.

I rate this a 3 out of 5 stars.

#TheseStillBlackWaters #NetGalley @AmazonPub

3 stars

This was a really interesting thriller with many layers. The author explored how trauma can manifest differently for individuals, which was a major strong point of this novel. Both Neve and Jess were well-developed, fully believable characters.

However, the major "twist" of the novel didn't do it for me, personally. Though cliché in some ways, it was still interesting enough that I finished the book without complaint. The plot was compelling and I enjoyed the writing style.

I would recommend this to anyone who loves reading about a shady past, problematic yet conflicted protagonists, and shifting POVs.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for allowing me to read this book early. I really enjoyed it but did guess the plot halfway through unfortunately. It didn't deter me from finishing bc I still had to know what was going to happen next! This was my first from the author, and I can't wait to read another one of her books soon.

thank you to netgalley for allowing me to read this before its official release in exchange for an honest review.
i have major mixed feelings about this book - on one hand, i liked all the twists and the little hints that made total sense at the end and i liked that we got a lot of the characters backstories. on the other hand, i was pretty confused and a bit bored during most of this book. it started off strong and ended strong, but fell flat (in my opinion) in the middle.
the ending did have me sobbing tho!!!!
overall pretty decent, 4/5 stars.

Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Christina McDonald's "These Still Black Waters" is an intensely readable thriller. I breezed through it in the course of a day. Told through multiple perspectives, the novel follows both Neve, a middle-aged veterinarian reeling from tragedy, and Jessica, a disabled cop also coping with her own trauma. McDonald does well to delineate between these voices, often jumping between POV within chapters, as well as giving voice to the killer antagonist. McDonald attempts to come to grips with the symptomology of PTSD, but there are several instances that read almost as textbook rather than real character voice. What I mean here is that while I appreciate the nod to the complexity of PTSD in the two female leads, there are several points in the novel where it feels like you're reading a WebMD article on PTSD and the narrative lapses.

While the writing does feature quite a few cliches, they do not detract from the overall plot. One thing that I wanted McDonald to hash out more was the twist. (Those who read it will know what I'm talking about). I wish that this quality was introduced earlier, rather than relying on the PTSD hallucination storyline.

Overall, it offered a quick, thrilling read with a supernatural twist.

Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer and Christina McDonald for this ARC.

I love this author and the way she writes and loved her earlier book, The Night Olivia Fell so I was super excited to read this. I was immediately drawn in from the first page. The chapters are short which makes reading “just one more chapter” so easy. A woman and her 15-year old daughter return to the place the mom spent every summer as a child after a horrifying home invasion at their house. The next day a body is found in the lake next to her property.

What ensues is a game of cat and mouse told in several voices: the mother, the detective and the killer. What secrets happened all those years ago? What are these flashbacks? What are these visions she keeps seeing? Who are the notes and photos from that keep arriving?

One underlying theme that I liked throughout this book is mothers protecting their children.

The book takes a turn at a certain point and then the book starts to make sense. Kept me reading late into the dark to finish it.

This is the first of what appears to be a series in which the detective is the main character.

I'm so jealous of anyone who gets to read this for the first time! ☺️ This book was fast-paced, had unexpected twists, and was suspenseful just like all of Christina McDonald’s thrillers always are. Her writing style and character analysis in her books draw the reader in, keeping you engaged and connected to her characters and storyline. The first time I ever sat and cried with the ending of a book was honestly with her first debt thriller The Night Olivia Fell. This one was no different. Looking forward to continuing Detective Lambert’s next case in book #2.

Thank you to Netgalley, publishers, and the author for allowing me to read an early readers copy in exchange for an honest review.