This is the kind of book that will do well with book clubs. It will be an excuse for women to complain about their partners and their inlaws.

Two sisters-in-law are as close as best friends can be. When the man that connects the two is in a near-fatal accident resulting in a coma, the two women work together to clear his name because right before the accident, his boss is brutally murdered. The friendship is tested for the first time and loyalties are questioned.

It was....okay. A little slow on the start, but quickly picked up.

Enjoyable, but it's not something I would read again.

The queen of family dramas, Megan Collins, returns following The Family Plot with her latest gripping psychological suspense, THICKER THAN WATER—A family bond is tested when a husband/brother is suspected of murder, leaving the two sisters-in-law to seek answers.

A favorite author, I have read all her books; no one does complex family relationships better than Megan Collins! Two sisters-in-law are connected to a man suspected of murder and in a coma. Is he guilty or innocent? Everyone is keeping secrets in this gripping domestic suspense. How far will they go to protect those they love?

Julia is married to Jason with a young son Aiden. Sienna is Jason's sister. She and Julia are BFFs and business partners.

Jason's parents were killed in an automobile accident, and he inherited the family home where he and Julia reside. She is not wild about the wallpaper and decor.

The two women have different personalities. Julia is mind-mannered, trustworthy, and patient. Sienna is impulsive, quick to anger, and fiery.

Jason's boss, Gavin, is murdered.
Jason is in an automobile accident and a coma.
Jason is the prime suspect in Gavin's murder.
Now the sisters-in-law must join forces to prove this innocence.

A brutal odd murder. Someone stabs him, smothers him, and sews his lips shut. Why?

Julie and Sienna are keeping secrets from one another. Even though they pretend they bare all. Jason withdrew $10K from their joint account. They were saving for a second honeymoon since they did not have a first one—so Julia is unsure about Jason's innocence.

Sienna is currently dating her ex-boyfriend, Wyatt, who cheated on her, but she has not told Julia. She thinks her brother can do no wrong.

As the two try to investigate on their own, the bonds become unraveled between the two women. They find themselves on opposing sides. Who can be trusted? Which one has a better take on Jason?

We do not know much about Jason except he has a savior complex. He always wants to save those in need to the point of obsession. We hear about him through the voices of Julia and Sienna in alternating chapters.

Who killed Gavin? Is Jason innocent, and how is he connected?

THICKER THAN WATER is intriguing and mysterious! An emotionally-charged, complex, multi-layered twisty psychological thriller that will keep you reading into the wee hours of the morning—an exploration of trust, family, friendship, and betrayal.

A character-driven domestic suspense, the author is a pro at writing family dramas and exploring the lines between family members, loyalty, and friendships. If you have not read her books, I highly recommend them!

For fans of All That Is Mine I Carry with Me (William Landay) and A Good Family (Matt Goldman).

Stay tuned for my July #AuthorElevatorSeries with Megan, where we go behind the scenes of THICKER THAN WATER and this multi-talented author!

In the meantime, check out my two previous interviews with Megan
THE FAMILY PLOT
BEHIND THE RED DOOR

Thanks to #AtriaBooks via #NetGalley for a gifted ARC for review purposes.

Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: July 11, 2023
My Rating: 5 Stars
July 2023 Must-Read Books

I love a family drama.

Julia and Sienna are sister in laws, best friends and business partners brought together by Jason (Julia’s husband and Siennas brother)
When Jason’s boss gets BRUTALLY murdered and Jason has an accident and is in a coma the police are looking at him as the murderer.

I really enjoyed this. It wasn’t the most unpredictable but loved watching it unfold. I liked the characters and the pacing it was slow burn in a great way.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for an eARC.

Thicker than Water is a novel that follows the potential murderer of Gavin Reed. Gavin was found suffocated, stabbed, and his mouth sewn shut in his own backyard. The man that is implicated for this murder is Jason. The novel is told from two different perspectives. Sienna, Jason’s sister, and Julia, Jason’s wife.

Jason is in a car wreck, which leaves him in a medically induced coma. As Jason is being implicated for the murder, he is unable to speak for himself. This leaves his wife and sister to try to put together the pieces. His wife grows more and more suspicious of the man that she thought he knew, while his sister continuously is convinced of his innocence. Sienna even goes far enough to start investigates the murder herself, since she believes the police are not following all leads. Conveniently, she has in to the department through her ex boyfriend, Wyatt.

Lies are told, alibis are questioned, but eventually the truth comes out. (For the sake of the review, I won’t give any spoilers 😉). This leaves the family trying to build back their relationships and to strengthen the trust they lost.

All in all, I found most of the characters likable, but the ending wasn’t very surprising to me in any sense. We all know it’s never the guy that is the suspect. I found Aiden’s, Jason’s son, behavior to be a little suspect. He knew too much of what was going on for a kid to me. I also HATED the constant reference to the stupid rooster wallpaper. 😂 That wallpaper was probably referenced at least five times throughout the entire story, along with Sienna’s mother’s saying to never trust a man.

Speaking of Sienna, I don’t think that her dealing with Clive should have really played that much into the story. I understand that it gave Jason some kind of motive for his actions, but I don’t think that it was a very convincing motive.

Overall, this book was okay. It was fast paced, but also wasn’t anything that was incredibly shocking or unlike anything I’ve read before. If you want a quick murder mystery, I’d say this is the book for you. If you want a mind twisting thriller, this isn’t it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Another great read from Megan Collins! I was invested in the story of each character! I was guessing throughput and did figure out some twists. Overall, a great quick read!

This is the 1st book I have read by Megan Collins but it won't be the last. Thicker than Water is a very suspenseful, mystery that has many twists and turns and deals with family and drama. Julia and Sienna Larkin are sisters-in-law, connected by Julia's husband and Sienna's brother, Jason. More than that, the two have been devoted best friends since Jason introduced them. Julia’s husband, Jason, was in car car accident and is put in an induced coma. Julia and Sienna are shocked when his boss was found murdered and the police list Jason as the prime suspect. Julia and Sienna are bound and determined to clear his name. They learn more about Jason that neither of them knew. This is a very captivating story that is an absolute must read. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Julia and Sienna are sisters-in-law and best friends, as devoted to each other as they are to Jason, the man who connects them. When Jason becomes the primary suspect in a murder, their relationships and beliefs will be put to the test as they try to figure out what really happened - and what they all are truly capable of. A quick and entertaining read, Thicker Than Water is a bit of a slow burn, domestic drama/mystery. While I didn't find it particularly "twisty," it is well written and the relationship and character development is very well done. Overall I really enjoyed this one!

Thicker than Water is a mystery told from the perspectives of two women who are best friends and business partners, but most significantly, sister-in-laws. When the man who connects them (Julia's husband, Sienna's brother) is accused of murdering his boss, they surprisingly take different sides. Julia is not convinced of his innocence, while Sienna is and will go to the ends of the earth to prove he's not guilty.
I enjoyed this mystery and family drama, and thought it was unique in that the sister-in-laws love each other so much and are so torn up about being at odds with one another. It's not very thriller-y, although there is a twist at the end. I was kind of kicking myself for not thinking of it myself!
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for the ARC.
ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is less of a thriller than a domestic suspense novel, heavily focused on the characters of Sienna and Julia Larkin, sisters-in-law connected by Jason (Sienna's brother and Julia's husband). They have a tight friendship but when Jason falls into a coma after a bad car accident and is then the prime suspect in the murder case of his boss, Sienna and Julia's bond is tested to the max.

I LOVED the character work in this. Megan Collins really shines in her character work. Sienna and Julia were so good individually and together, and I loved their respective arcs. While this is highly character driven, there is also the plot/mystery of what really happened and what Jason's involvement was. The mystery isn't super twisty—I figured it out pretty early—but that didn't matter so much to me because to me, that wasn't the focus of the novel. The two women and their relationship were. So, if you go into this expecting a super plot heavy twisty thriller, you might be disappointed—but don't! Read it for the characters.

Siri, play “no body no crime” by Taylor Swift...

I finished reading Megan Collins' latest thriller pretty much in one sitting. I enjoyed every second this twisty and unputdownable murder mystery. I especially enjoyed the dynamics between Julia and Sienna, sisters-in-law with two very different perspectives on a man they both love and his potential involvement in the aforementioned murder. It felt fresh and was thought provoking, and fans of character driven domestic suspense will enjoy this book greatly.

Thank you so much Atria and NetGalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

A great thriller that I can see being a big hit with book clubs.
Thanks for the opportunity to read and review!

The drama, the suspense, the thrill are all classic aspects of Megan Miranda books. This book was so enticing from the start with the fast paced developing psychological drama that had me wondering who to trust. The family aspect was what made this book better just because of how much they know and don’t know about eachother which makes the stakes even higher to keep the secrets in the dark. So thrilling and addictive! Thank you Megan and NetGalley for the arc!

Thicker Than Water is another wonderfully intoxicating thriller by Megan Collins. Propulsive, suspenseful and compelling. A thriller that grabs ahold of you and won’t let go. Keeping you guessing and pondering until the end.

Julia and Sienna are more than just sisters-in-law, they are business partners, best friends and soul mates. But their devotion and affection to each other is severely tested when Julia’s husband/Sienna’s brother Jason lays in a coma after a car accident and all signs point to him being the primary suspect in the gruesome murder of his boss. Sienna believes her brother can do no wrong and will go to the ends of the earth to prove his innocence. Julia knows Jason is not perfect and doubt creeps into her mind, especially as the investigation uncovers damning evidence, secrets and lies. Forcing the women to face some hard truths about the man they love and their relationship with each other.

The central plotline of Thicker Than Water is the evolving investigation into Jason as a murder suspect and the strain that puts on Julia and Sienna’s relationship. And it’s very well done, the story switching back and forth from the differing point of views of Julia and Sienna as they try to clear Jason’s name and/or come to terms with what he might be capable of. All the while, the reader gets a backstage pass to the inner thoughts and drive of each character as they process the events occurring around them and work through their own feelings. Which is a great device for urging the reader to keep going, since each successive chapter provides a different mindset from the previous one. Making it hard to put it down when you feel the need to know what the other person is thinking/doing next.

However, the thing that elevates this novel to another level beyond a crime thriller or police procedural is the deep dive into several themes about human connection. It explores key questions such as how well do you really know someone? How fragile is trust when doubt starts to creep in? How much distress can friendships endure, and can they come out stronger as a result of hardship or will the crumble under the pressure? Should you just write off people who have wronged you because it’s easier or will being strong enough to accept people’s flaws lead to a more fulfilling life? So while you are entertained and trying to guess whodunit, you think about your own relationships and actions.

Enjoyment with contemplation. A combination that makes for a great book just like chocolate and peanut butter making a great sweet and savory treat.

Everytime I put this book down I kept picking it right back up. Two best friends thrust into a life altering tragedy and trying to make sense of it while starting to truly see each other for who they are. The tension is rife when they begin to see things differently. It’s a fast paced read, I just wish that when everything came out it wasn’t so cut and clean.

I really liked this one. The story was interesting but I loved such an interesting relationship between Sienna and Julia.

Thicker Than Water is an adeptly crafted, character driven psychological thriller that takes a hard look at family loyalties and female friendships. Julia and Sienna are sisters-in-law and very close friends. When Sienna's brother, also Julia's husband, Jason, is in an accident that results in him in a coma, Sienna and Julia also find out he is the prime suspect in a murder investigation. Sienna cannot believe it, but the more Julia discovers, she doesn't know if she can stand by her husband's actions. The unraveling of the truth is perfectly paced, and the conclusion is utterly satisfying.

I was looking forward to reading this since I LOVED the author's previous books. Unfortunately, this wasn't one of my favorites and would give the book 2.5 stars. It didn't seem like much of a mystery/thriller and was more centered around Sienna and Julia, not the actual crime. My favorite part of the book had to be Sienna and Julia's relationship. I'm pretty sure Julia married Jason because of Sienna. The women always enjoyed themselves around each other and there was always laughter. I found myself smiling with with the stuff they would say, like motatoes (which was probably repeated a hundred times) and telling Aiden his mom was bit by a rat. Why didn't Maeve tell the police about the gutter cutter? Did the police actually look into Gavin's death and properly question everybody? Sienna and Julia were able to figure it out pretty quickly. Sienna had Jason on a pedestal and he could do no wrong. She also had double standards. She didn't want to forgive Wyatt but expected Julia to forgive Jason. Jason also had a hero complex. He always had to to stop and help someone even if it hurt his family. Strangers always came before his family. Gavin's murder seemed to be a very small part of the book and when the truth was finally revealed, I wasn't really shocked. I really enjoyed most of the book (really the parts centered around Sienna and Julia), just wasn't invested in the actual crime or anything to do with Jason. I loved Wyatt.

Definitely recommend giving the book a try, especially if you enjoyed Megan Collins's previous books. I thought the book was going to be more of a mystery/thriller. Thankfully Julia found her voice and is finally getting rid of those awful roosters. Look forward to reading more books by the author.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Atria Books, through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I liked the book but it felt more like a cozy mystery than a thriller. The chapters alternate between Julia and Sienna's POV which I really liked. I also really liked their relationship. They were both well developed characters and their dialogue felt authentic. I was just hoping for something different, less predictable, but I would definitely check out another book from this author again. Thank you @netgalley @atriabooks for the ARC.

🗓️ Pub Date: July 11, 2023

When Integrity Plus’ owner Gavin, is brutally murdered, and days later Jason, who is a team member at Integrity Plus gets into a car accident that lands him in a medically induced coma, we wonder if someone is targeting members of the organization. Only upon closer inspection, evidence surfaces that points to Jason being the killer.

Jason’s wife, Julia, and sister, Sienna are the only ones who seem to think there’s no way that Jason could have killed Gavin.
The secrets they’re all harboring weave messy webs, and the delicate veneer of lies they’ve told are starting to show their cracks. Maybe blood isn’t thicker than water after all. Maybe the people you’re closest with, are people you don’t really know at all.

Megan Collins was able to craft an intriguing mystery/family drama, spreading little clues throughout the story that kept me guessing.

A big thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Megan Collins for providing me with an advance reader copy to read and review. As always, all thoughts and opinions are completely my own.

I really enjoyed Thicker Than Water. I pretty much blew through it in a few days. The characters were well developed and I enjoyed the multiple POVs. It was captivating and kept you guessing. One moment I suspected someone and then had to reevaluate how I was looking at the entire thriller plot. At the end, I had two possible solid suspects and the one I was leaning towards was ultimately who it ended up. I kind of wish my second guess was it because it would’ve been less expected. Also, there was a decent amount of chapters after the big reveal and although I understand the need to tie up loose ends, I wish I ended sooner. So for those two reasons I deducted a star.
Overall, I enjoyed and would definitely recommend this book to everyone. Megan Collins has quickly become an automatic read for me.
Thank you to Atria books via Netgalley for the opportunity to read the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.