Sister in-laws find themselves mixed up in a mystery when their shared loved one ends up in a coma and accused of murder. Sienna and Julia are battling against time to solve the mystery before Jason wakes up from his coma and is arrested for killing his boss. I was excited for this book and hooked right away, but the story quickly fell flat for me. I found it underwhelming and did not find either of the main characters very likable. There were no twists really, although classified as a thriller, and I found the motives and ending kind of silly.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An excellent thriller telling the story of two sisters in law caught in the crosshairs of a vicious crime and trying to escape with their lives. Loved it!

I absolutely devoured this latest Collins’ book. I’m a big fan of psychological thrillers and this one doesn’t disappoint. Great unexpected twists and two strong women who complement and learn from each other. What’s not to love!?!
Many thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for this ARC in return for my honest review.

Thicker than water

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC of this novel.

This story includes a murder the solution of which was intricate, imaginative, and incredibly difficult to solve..

My favorite part of this novel is also the thing that makes it unique: the friendship between the two main characters. They are almost childlike in their unabashed adoration of each other, I certainly have not had that close of a friendship with another woman since I was a child, and I would give anything to have it again as an adult. If any of us realized how difficult making friends as an adult would be, perhaps we would have tried much harder to keep the relationships developed in our youth! I loved it. I found their relationship the most important of the book, I cheered it on much more than I did the relationship they had with their male counterparts!

Everything about the book was engaging and entertaining, I just enjoy focusing on what makes a book unique.

Until next time, keep your friends close, and your enemies at bay. 😉

I literally love anything Megan collins writes. She is so talented with storytelling, it’s incredible. I blew through this in a day and have no regrets about my laundry not getting done. Bravo, Megan!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book. I have enjoyed Collin's work in the past so I was excited to read this one. She always hooks you right from the beginning and leaves you wondering until the very end! I love her thrillers!

Book Title: Thicker Than Water
Author: Megan Collins
Publisher: Atria Books
Genre: Mystery/Thriller - Psychological Thriller
Pub Date: July 11, 2023
My Rating: 3.8 Rounded up

I have only read several Megan Collin’s novels so was excited about this one as I enjoyed the others I read.
I love psychology thrillers! They are always a challenge that I totally enjoy!
I know the first step: Suspect Everyone!!
Yep I always do that!
However…..
Since I suspect ‘everyone’ I am bound to get one correct~ right?
Okay! There are times, I am close!!

I am hoping Julia and Sienna do a better job in finding whodunit! BTW: This story is told from the POV of Julia and Sienna.

Julia and her best friend, business partner as well as sister-in-law Sienna Larkin want to solve who murdered Jason’s boss Gavin who was found dead with his mouth sewn shut.

Julia is 38 and married Jason at young age, they have a teenage son Aiden and live in Jason’s childhood home.
Julia is shocked that her husband Jason is the prime suspect in the death of his boss
However, since the murder occurred Jason was in an accident and is in a coma so cannot speak to tell the police what happen the night of the party.
Sienna knows her bother wouldn’t hurt anyone. Together the sisters-in-law are out to investigate what really happened the night Gavin died.
Their approach is very different. Julia is patient, calm and logical. None of those words describe Sienna; as she has a temper and is impulsive. Actually there were times Sienna’s rage and foul language got annoying.

Once again I was sure I had this figured out ~ wrong.
There is a twist and yes it was a surprise.

Ms. Collins did not disappoint.

Want to thank NetGalley and Atria Books for granting me this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for July 11, 2023

4 stars

i really enjoyed Thicker Than Water.  It was a great psychological thriller and kept me wondering who really done it!  This was the first book I’ve read by Megan Collins and I will definitely be checking out her other books because I really like her writing style. 

I also liked how Collins incorporated the aspect of family trust into this novel.  Brother, sister and sister in law.  Where do your loyalties lie, and when it comes down to it, who can you trust?  Families can keep secrets from each other and in times of distress they come out to test loyalties.

Overall this book was really good and I would recommend it to anyone who is already a fan of Collins and thrillers.

***Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC copy in return for an honest review***

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. 3.5 Stars rounded up to 4. I'm not sure what to say about this book. I didn't LOVE it but I didn't dislike it. The overall premise is intriguing but a little predictable in my opinion. I also did not really love any of the characters- I didn't really find myself connecting with or rooting for any of them. One redeeming message I appreciated was the hoes before bros overarching theme- that bumped my rating up by at least a star! This was my first book by Megan Collins and I am definitely interested in reading her other books.

Thicker than Water is about two sister laws point of views when their brother/husband is being accused of murdering his boss, Gavin.

The book has two points of view. One from Julia (wife) and one from Sienna (sister in law), who are absolute best friends. I found Sienna to be very annoying throughout this novel and didn’t enjoy her character as much as Julia.

This book definitely brings in family dynamic, complicated relationships and realizing you don’t know people as well as you think. We only are perceived by what they decide to show.

Overall, I thought the book was 3 stars. I thought the ending could have been better. Thank you for letting me read this for my honest review.

A brutal murder, a tragic car accident and a web of secrets and lies completely upend the lives of Julia and Sienna, sister-in-laws and business partners. Julia’s husband, Jason, becomes the prime suspect in the murder of his boss. Julia doesn’t know what exactly to believe. Sienna, Jason’s sister, is convinced she knows her brother and that he’s innocent. As more and more secrets come out, Julia and Sienna are forced to question everything.

I was a big fan of this novel! I truly found myself needing to read as fast as I could to find out what happened to the Larkin family. Every time you thought a character was figured out, something else is added to the plot that left me second guessing! I loved the aspect of family secrets and hidden stories that created such an intricate plot. Megan Collins has a way of writing about families that is just so mesmerizing. This was such a satisfying thriller and I really enjoyed it!

Fast-paced thriller following the story of a family who is trying to prove their loved one’s innocence, but time is running out. I found the storyline to be very interesting, if somewhat predictable from the mystery aspect. The characters were well-developed and the author did a great job delving into very real family trauma, including the long lasting psychological effects of it. I finished it fairly quickly, and it kept me interested all the way until the end. Overall a solid thriller.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Sisters - in - law Julia and Sienna Larkin are best friends and business partners. Their relationship seems to transcend their ties to Jason, Julia’s husband and Sienna’s brother. But when Jason gets in a car crash and becomes a suspect in his boss’s murder, those ties become thinner and thinner.
To Sienna, Jason can do no wrong and has been mistakenly accused or framed. But to Julia, past betrayal leads her to wonder if she really knows her husband at all.
Thank you to @netgalley and @atriabooks for the advanced ecopy! I’ve been so excited for Megan’s next book and she certainly did not disappoint.
I love Julia and Sienna’s relationship. They go through a lot together in this book and in a way it’s their love story. True friendship can withstand even the toughest tests and Megan certainly tests them! They both have flaws that have led to the way things are in their relationship, and I really like the way that’s handled in the book as well.
Megan really had me stumped by who the murderer was! I kept going back and forth on Jason. I thought the ending was really well done in that aspect.
Thicker Than Water will be available in July wherever books are sold!

Thicker than Water by Megan Collins. Pub Date: July 11, 2023. Rating: 5 stars. I have never read a book by Megan Collins, but if all of her books are like this one then I will definitely be picking them up at some point. This is a psychological thriller focused around sisters-in-law. Jason, the husband and brother of this dynamic duo, gets into a car accident around the same time as his boss has been murdered. From there, it is a wild goose chase to determine who killed his boss and is Jason to be blamed or not. As secrets are revealed and family ties are pushed to their limits, this story leaves the reader turning the pages quickly and wanting to know more. I read this novel in 24 hours because I simply could not put it down. I found it propulsive, full of mystery and cliffhanger chapter endings. I highly recommend this novel for psychological thriller readers! Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own. #netgalley #thickerthanwater

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC. Great book with twists and turns told from the alternating viewpoints of Julia and Sienna who are related as Julia is married to Sienna's brother Jason. The plot revolves around the death of Jason's boss and who killed him, Jason is involved in a car accident and while he is in an induced coma the murder and suspects are explored. The book kept you guessing until the end. Definitely will recommend and look forward to reading more from this author.

This book centers around Julia and Sienna, sisters-in-law, business partners and best friends. Julia’s husband, Jason, is in a coma after an automobile accident. Jason is also Sienna’s brother. Jason is the prime suspect in his boss’ murder. Julia and Sienna try to investigate the murder while Jason is in the coma. They deal with things in very different ways. Sienna is all fire and emotion, while Julia tends to hold things in and not really show her emotions. A lot of secrets come out, things they have even kept hidden from each other. Can these secrets destroy their relationships?

The plot moves along fairly well, it drags a bit here and there when some points seem to be repeated several times. The characters are well written, they are human and flawed, which makes them relatable. The ending was a bit predictable once some things came to light. I enjoyed this book and would give it 4 stars out of 5 - I had to deduct a little for the things I just mentioned.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m feeling pretty bad about giving this book two stars because I’ve really enjoyed other books by Megan Collins in the past! This one just didn’t do it for me. There was a lot of repetition and I couldn’t connect with the two main characters. The book wasn’t suspenseful or thrilling at all and was not my cup of tea.

A huge thank you to the publisher for providing me with an advanced reader’s copy of this title via NetGalley.

Thicker Than Water is about a premise that I’ve always found fascinating - how do we correlate our views of our family with the reality that is forced upon us when life throws a major curve. The novel follows a very tight-night family as the husband, Jason, is involved in a horrible car accident and is placed in a medically induced coma. Soon it comes out that Jason is the prime suspect in the murder of his boss. His wife, Julia, and his sister, Sienna, start looking into Jason’s moves and actions before the accident while each are hiding secrets from each other. Nothing is really as it seems and the book challenges the belief that people can do horrible things, but still be good people.

Overall, I enjoyed the plot and story. I thought it was interesting how Jason was written despite us never hearing anything from his point of view. We as the reader were at the mercy of how these two women viewed Jason and the evolution of Jason’s character was masterful. The middle did get a little slow. I felt we were rehashing the same scene from both Sienna’s and Julia’s POV but pushing through, I was happy I got to see the growth in this relationship.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this advance copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I thought this book was slow and lacking in thriller/suspense.. There were a lot of relationships taking place and I felt that the book was more centered around the sister in-laws relationship with each other rather than figuring out who murdered the victim. Personally, I was hoping this book was going to be more a page turner.

This book starts out with a murder where the victim is stabbed, suffocated, then has his lips sewn shut.. talk about creepy. the victim turns out to be your husband's boss and when your husband becomes the prime suspect he can't prove his innocence himself because he is in a medically induced coma from a car accident. So you and your sister in law take things into your hands to try and prove your husband's innocence and figure out his Alibi. A mix of family relationships, heartbreak, and grief. After years of being married, you think you know your husband, but how sure can you really. be?

This was a unique domestic suspense story where I really empathized with both protagonists. The book centers on sisters-in-law Julia and Sierra; Julia is married to Sierra’s brother Jason. Despite their very close friendship, Julia doesn’t share any issues with Jason with Sierra, who thinks he can do no wrong. When Jason’s boss is murdered and he is in a coma and unable to defend himself, Julia and Sierra have ti put aside their biases and figure out what really happened.

Jason’s character was very interesting to me and I haven’t read about someone like him before. I could easily see why Sierra worshipped him (at least initially) and why those same actions frustrated Julia. The dynamic between all 3 of them felt very real. There was also a good mystery, where the author provides a few reasonable options to who the murderer is.

Overall, this was a good story of both friendship and mystery and I enjoyed it. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.