Actress Josie Ashbury is taking a sabbatical in her Ohio hometown after an on-set breakdown. She's teaching acting classes at a local high school and dating another fellow teacher, but she's still struggling with insomnia.

That's the least of her troubles in Amy Young's novel The Water Tower.

Josie is the one who discovers the dead body of one of her students. The girl, Amber, fell off a water tower after overdosing on fentanyl. Because Amber was the daughter of a local politician, the case is quickly closed and ruled as an accident.

But Josie doesn't believe that Amber would kill herself. So much like the character she used to play on a crime TV show, Josie plays detective.

The story was pretty interesting, but I do have some critiques.

While Josie's mental health offered a strange twist toward the end of the story, it was a little predictable in terms of "whodunit". I couldn't figure out the specifics, but there were enough cues to point me in the direction of the bad guy.

Speaking of guys, I did want to see more development in Josie's relationship with her boyfriend Jack. There also wasn't much evidence of Josie and Amber being close. It's just something that Josie says - "Oh, I'd become close with her."

I also wish there had been more connection between Josie's real-life sleuthing and the acting she did on her crime show. Someone should have called her out for not being a real detective; only playing one on TV. Felt like a missed opportunity.

The Water Tower is published by Level Next Books and will be available to purchase tomorrow, June 20, 2023. I received a free e-ARC.

This was really good so could not stop reading as wanted to know who did it, a surprise in store and really well written as the suspense takes you all through. The main character was nice so it all worked well together.

A mystery thriller set in a small town in Ohio, where an iconic water tower servies as no other purpose except a historical landmark, and a climbing pursuit for the youth. When something goes wrong: Josie, a teacher at the local high school, was out jogging and comes upon one of her female students, Amber, dead at the bottom of the water tower. Amber is the daughter of the Congressman Oldham.

Josie is dealing with her own demons; insomnia causing a mental breakdown in her acting career, so she is back at home teaching until she can heal.

The plot is simple, but this edge of your seat mystery will find love, clues to solve and a content storyline! Great job to the author for this debut!

Or main character,Josie, a successful actress, returns to her hometown in Ohio after seeing a breakdown and works as a drama teacher at the local high school. Josie, dissatisfied with the police response to one of her students stidents suicide, takes it upon herself to investigate the deaths.
An interesting twist is of Josie battling with insomnia, which affects her daily life and memory. The ending parts , after the explanation of the cause of her breakdown, could've been better treated, in my opinion.
Overall a pleasant read and hope to see more from the author.
Overall rating of 3.5 stars.
Thank you Netgalley for providing me a copy of the book for my unbiased review.

This was a quick, enjoyable beach read. It wasn't very believable, the characters were not very well developed and the plot was predictable but it was a quick, easy read. Recommended for the beach.

Thanks to NetGalley and Level Best Books for an advanced reader copy.

The plot revolves around Josie, a successful young actress who has fled her life in Hollywood and returned to her hometown, a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. There she lives in her own house with two cats and works as a drama teacher at the local high school. When one of her students plunges to her death from the town’s water tower, it is later discovered that the girl was high on fentanyl when she perished. Josie discovered the girl’s body when she was out for her daily morning run. Then, another teen death rocks the town and Josie investigates when the police seem to be apathetic or governed by budgets and political clout.

Meanwhile, Josie is suffering from insomnia, which affects her daily life, thought processes, and impacts her memory. Her three hometown friends provide a much needed support group for her. We know that something caused Josie mental anguish the previous year, but the reader is not privy to her backstory until almost the end of the book. I feel her backstory should have been revealed sooner.

I’m a real cat lover, so I thoroughly enjoyed the scenes that included Josie’s two felines, Presley and Monroe.

This debut novel held my interest throughout, though to be honest it read more like a YA novel than one geared toward an adult audience. At times I grew tired of reading about what the characters looked like, the clothes they were wearing, etc. The dialogue with the teenagers was grating at times, though I acknowledge teens do intersperse most sentences with the word ‘like’, I suggest that the practice was exacerbated here. I liked the rapport Josie seemed to have with her students, and it highlighted the effect of the opioid epidemic and social media on today’s teenagers and young adults.

This novel propounds the fact that it is naive and dangerous to be too trusting. The ending provided an excellent segue for a sequel book.

In summation, this was a worthy effort for a debut novel. I enjoyed it enough to read the author’s second novel.

Thank you for letting me read an early copy of THE WATER TOWER by Amy Young.

This one was just okay for me, I think it needed some more editing to flush out some awkwardness. Sadly, it just wasn't for me.

Josie Ashbury, a one-time successful actress, is heading to her hometown in Ohio to relax and recover after a breakdown. She contacts her old high school to see if she can teach an acting class. (I had to smile and wonder what teachers would think of that as a good way to recuperate.)

Josie, who suffers from insomnia, as well as recent bouts of dizziness and forgetfulness, finds herself heading to the kitchen for a glass of water one evening. While there she notices some activity at the water tower behind her house. The next morning, while out for a run, she discovers the body of one of her students, who also happens to be the daughter of a congressman, lying dead at the bottom of the tower.

Though the police manage to quickly close the case, Jose is sure there is more to it than the suicide ruling by the police.

My Concerns
While these may be small concerns for some, they added up for me:

--The dialog dropped credibility with the overuse of "like" by the students.
--Unless I missed it, were Josie’s health issues due to her movie-star-breakdown?
--The characters felt immature, at one point I even checked to see if it was a YA book.

Final Thoughts
This audiobook was neither hot nor cold for me. It was enjoyably lukewarm. As far as the characters, I’d like to say they had some believable qualities, but for me, they didn’t.
The story felt a bit contrived, and the mystery was relatively easy to solve, yet I still didn’t struggle to finish the audiobook, so don't overlook it as a reading choice.

This is an audiobook that you just might find enjoyable.

Thank you NetGalley and Swell Media for an audio ARC.

I really enjoyed this debut novel and found it very smooth to read in spite of some segments where we got an overly descriptive rundown of what Josie was wearing and how she matched her boots with her handbag, etc. Josie was a well-written likeable character who wanted to see justice for Amber, the girl found at the bottom of a historic water tower, even though her family and the police insisted the fall was either suicide or an accident. Talk about your citizens gone rogue! Josie did more investigating than the police did on their best day and you just know she's going to get herself in trouble. Still, I liked Josie as a character and was invested in the story. I'd definitely read another book by this author. I like the cover of the book but it would be more meaningful if there had been the suggestion of a water tower in the mist.

My thanks to Level Best Books via Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book which was published on June 20, 2023. All opinions expressed are my own.

The tenacious heroine at the center of this book is admirable for her doggedness and determination. Most of the other characters are not as memorable. In fact, some of the characters are hard to distinguish from each other because they are so similar.

Although the story is somewhat intriguing as it is interesting to find out what Josie is going to do next, there is not much excitement to the mystery. It is pretty clear who the culprit is from very early on in the book, especially to regular readers of murder mysteries, due to the lack of viable suspects. Also, the story ends on somewhat of a cliffhanger, and there is no indication of whether or not there will be a sequel. Accordingly, if you don't like to be left hanging or if you don't want to get caught up in a series in case there eventually is a sequel or two, you might want to think twice before choosing this book.

A digital copy of this book was provided to me by NetGalley and Level Best Books. The opinions are my own and freely given.

Cast of Characters:

Josie - the actress
Nikki - reporter
Alex - bartender
Heather - doctor
Jake - English teacher
Sean - cop
Amber - the victim
Tony - Amber's boyfriend

Josie has a breakdown on set of her hit TV show and has to move back to Lakeview, Ohio. There she teachers at her old high school and reconnects with her best friends. One morning while running, she discovers the body of one of her students. Autopsy confirms she had drugs in her system, and she was pregnant, but was it an accident? Josie, whose father and brother are FBI agents can't seem to stop digging. Because Josie and her 3 friends meet to discuss the case and investigate things on their own, this reminded me a little bit of James Patterson's the Women's Murder Club.

I got a little annoyed with Josie and how she was able to really look into things without being a law enforcement officer. It makes sense that this was what she was taught to do by her father, but it was just never really mentioned. However, I liked this story and will definitely look forward to another story by this author.

Thank you NetGalley and Level Best Books.

I had a really difficult time becoming engaged with this book, and was not able to finish it. I do appreciate the opportunity, however, to read an advance copy.

WOWZA! I mean, are you seriously telling me that this is Amy's debut novel??? WHAT???? I was hooked on to the story and couldn't put it down until the end. The pacing is simply perfect. The characters portrayal and development - marvelous. Storytelling - stupendous. Mystery keeps one guessing till the end. The twist in the second half of the story - unexpected and totally surprising. The Water Tower is one of the best debuts I have ever read.

We have the perfect combination of character introduction, scene setting, and mystery. Josie's background and her current lifestyle can make her a pretty impressive amateur sleuth. Pretty please Amy, I want more of Josie Ashbury's sleuthing adventures. ASAP!

If you are looking for a perfectly paced thriller with an intriguing mystery and an explosive ending, I highly recommend you give The Water Tower by Amy Young a try.

This is a pretty good mystery that combines elements of a regular mystery plot with some mental issues. I like that Josie has to become an amateur sleuth after the police department succumbs to pressure and closes the case prematurely. It is typical small town politics.

The characters were drawn rather well. We get a good sense of Josie's troubles and the reason she left a successful acting career. The villain was no surprise as I had anticipated the individual early on. As for the plot, the tension builds slowly and methodically yet I was surprised at the suspense near the end.

This is a good debut effort and I enjoyed it so I will be looking for the next one from Young.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book through Swell Media. My comments are an independent and honest review.

The Water Tower was an entertaining read, this was a new author for me and I really enjoyed her writing style. The book was filled with lots of twists and turns and I would recommend it to others.

I received and ARC from NetGalley and Level Best Book, and I am leaving my review voluntarily.

I was caught up in the whole storyline from the first chapter.
Very, very, old money, politics a private club , and several deaths ….. what could possibly be suspicious about that? Descriptive, well written, chapters pull the reader from chapter to chapter.
The Water Tower is a summer must read!
I look forward to reading other books by Amy Young.
Thank You to NetGalley, Level Best Books and Amy Young for the opportunity to read and enjoy this ARC.

The plot itself is interesting. The mystery keeps you guessing. Josie has a lot of potential as a character. As this one was left open for a follow up I hope to see her develop. Overall it's a good read. However, several things felt like they came out of nowhere when they were revealed. I would give this author a try again.

Former Hollywood star Josie has returned to her suburban Cleveland hometown to teach high school drama. She discovers the body of one of her students, the daughter of a state senator, but when the police abruptly close the case and declare it to be suicide Josie suspects much more is going on. She is an appealing character; feisty and brave but her battles with insomnia and tragedies from her past make her vulnerable. Good beach read.

When your stellar, incredible acting career comes to a screeching halt, where you do retreat to figure out what's next? For Josie Ashbury in Amy Young's THE WATER TOWER, you return to the small town where you're known for who you were before all of that, where people say hello because it's what's done, and where you successfully leverage yourself into teaching drama at the local high school. When a student dies under strange circumstances and the official investigation is hastily managed, Josie dives in to figure out what really happened -- as she does, discovering that all is not as it seems to be, even the places and people you thought you knew best. I enjoyed the story, liked Josie especially for her compassion, creativity, and willingness to poke into matters others think left alone. While the writing felt heavy and overly worked in places, the overall story was interesting and engaging. I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

Josie Ashbury was a star. When she suffered a breakdown while filming, she decided to take time off and return to her home town. Now she is teaching an acting course at the local high school. Since the death of her parents, she suffers from hallucinations and insomnia. On one sleepless night she sees a shadow at the top of the water tower. The next morning she discovers the body of one of her students at the base of the tower. It is ruled as a suspicious death, but her father is a powerful political figure and pressure is brought to rule it an accidental death and close the investigation. Josie is uncomfortable with that decision and initiates an investigation of her own. Clues lead her to an exclusive club which she believes is involved in illegal activities. As she continues her investigation, she places herself in the path of a murderer.

Amy Young’s story has the close feel of a small town community. Josie is supported by her friends from her own school days, Sean, a former boyfriend who is now a police detective, and her own brothers. Murder, drug overdoses, Josie’s own struggles with mental health and some unexpected twists lead to an explosive conclusion that does not disappoint. I would like to thank NetGalley and Level Best Books for providing this book for my review.