I always appreciate a boom with short chapters! Josie was well rounded for a main character and very likable. And all the supporting characters were developed in my opinion. It was a solid who done it read for me. Somewhat predictable in some places but I still enjoyed following the investigation and going threw each potential suspect. And it had some good twists thrown in there. Not a bad debut book I would definitely read from this author again!

Josie is an interesting main character. You can visualize Hollywood looks as well as her nice girl persona. The plot will have you moving quickly through other characters and untangling the mystery of the murder. I loved the short chapters! If you like mysteries, this is a must read for your list!

This book was an ok read and I did finish it rapidly. I just found it a little too predictable :.lol

#TheWaterTower is Amy Young's fantastic debut 'whodunnit'. I was hooked from the first page, and I love it when a book does that.

So, here's the lowdown: something's not quite right in the small Ohio town of Lakeview. When a high school student, Ivy League candidate, falls from a water tower, her death shocks the local community. They're split on what happened - was it suicide or something more sinister?

The local police have their hands tied as the case is shut down by local politicians, but Josephine Ashbury, a local actor catapulted to fame with a breakthrough 'Bond girl' role, can't help but start snooping around and playing detective. Is she ready for the dangers that lie ahead? Josie has only just returned to her hometown after some very troubling events that left her scarred with PTSD. You feel for her, but she's not the most reliable detective.

This is a fun crime story with all the necessary ingredients: fully developed characters, a good line-up of suspects, and well-constructed plot twists with many rabbit holes for us to explore. Let's just hope that Josie can come out unharmed. Amy Young has crafted a competent murder mystery, and I predict a whole Josephine Ashbury series stemming from this debut. I'm rooting for her!"

Big thanks to Netgalley and Level Best Books publishers for the opportunity to access the advance review copy.

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Oh Amy Young, who are you and where have you been my whole life!!!

The Water Tower, is a stunning debut by an author I know I am about to start a long standing "book'-ship" with. One of my most favorite things about being a blogger is discovering new, up and coming authors that I can fall in love with. Amy Young, is exactly that.

The Water Tower was absolutely wild.

I liked the title.

There is never a rhyme or reason for how I pick my books. It could be a title, a cover, or the synopsis. The originality of this title peaked my interest. "What about the water tower?" I asked myself. I had to know.

Well, I don't think I could have ever assumed all the power this book held to knock me right off my feet.

So as I lay here on the floor thinking about what I just read, all I can say is "WOW"

Here is a little teaser :

Josie Ashbury was a successful Hollywood actress with a booming career—until an on-set breakdown sends her back to her small Ohio hometown to recover. Taking a job teaching at her old high school, Josie is beginning to put the pieces of her life back together when one of her students dies under suspicious circumstances. The police close the case quickly, without any real answers. Josie is determined to find the truth behind the girl's death.

Josie Ashbury had been a successful Hollywood actress with a booming career, until an on-set breakdown sent her back to her small Ohio hometown to recover. She took a job teaching at her old high school, and began putting the pieces of her life back together when one of her students died under suspicious circumstances. The police closed the case quickly, without any real answers. Josie was determined to find the truth behind the girl's death.

At the same time, Josie battled demons of her own. As she faced debilitating insomnia that left her with gaps in her memory, she dove into the tangled secrets surrounding the investigation. When she finally unraveled the web, she discovered that the truth lay much closer to home than she could have ever imagined.

Nothing exciting, dragged quite a bit for me. Didn't like the characters very much either. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

I received a free ARC of <i>The Water Tower</i> in exchange for an unbiased review.

So many problems with this book. Former successful actress Josie has returned to her hometown after a very public breakdown. She secures a job teaching acting at the local high school, her alma mater. Close childhood friends and her family are very supportive but Josie initially appears ditzy and forgetful.

Out for a morning run, Josie discovers the body of one of her students, Amber; her death was caused by a fall or leap from a water tower. The autopsy also shows deadly amounts of fentanyl. Josie is determined to discover the truth about Amber's death.

Problems for this reader include the abysmal way Josie treated Amber's mother, the overwhelming concern for Josie's health without explanation for readers, the horrendous overuse of "like" every time a teen speaks, and the incredible acceptance by law enforcement that money and power can end investigations. Worst of all, there is a hint of a sequel.

Thank you providing me an ARC copy for review. I always love a good thriller so when I saw this one I def wanted to read it. It started off pretty good and I was happy to see that the chapters were short. This one though fell short for me and give it a average rating for a thriller. The writing was good but I just felt like it dragged a bit. The investigation was interesting as Josie tried to figure out what went wrong but other than that its your typical Thriller.

So generic I lost interest after four chapters. Skipping to the end showed me I didn't miss much; I'm tired of "mysteries" that the young woman protagonist solves only by putting herself in danger. The hooks -- young dead pregnant teen from important family, ex-Hollywood star with insomnia and other mental issues back in her hometown after public breakup (and breakdown) -- seemed promising, but I found the writing much too flat and uninvolving, when it wasn't cliched. ("She felt like she was trapped in a bad dream." "It was going to be a bad day.") The unappealing cover, with nothing to make it stand out, accurately reflects the contents, in my opinion.

The Water Tower by Amy Young is not ready for publication. While I applaud the completion of a first-time novel, sending an ARC of such poor quality does a disservice to the author and the reader. The premise itself is intriguing and timely, and one roots for the heroine, but not enough clues are planted early to explain her need for therapy (I.e. the loss of her parents…as it currently reads, the reader thinks she’s devastated by the boyfriend drama). No clear explanation is given for her blackout episodes; at least, I detected no believable reason unless the murderer doctored her tea when he sneaked into her home. If the former boyfriend, now a policeman, is to become a future love interest, there should be more heat between them. Also, she shows no trauma for having slept with the man who killed her student.

As a high school teacher, I’m well acquainted with teenage girls and their way of speaking. However, in a novel, after including a few ‘likes’ in dialogue, it’s not necessary to continue that style. In fact, it becomes annoying.

The end of the book implies a sequel, but I found no compelling reason to revisit these characters…yet. A strong developmental edit would help. I will not post this review on any site, as I don’t intend it to be negative, only constructive.

This is an amazing read full of strange goings on at an American high school. Josie is a famous actress but after a breakdown comes to work as a teacher at her old high school. A young girl called Amber falls off the old water tower. However her autopsy reveals that she was pregnant so was she actually pushed off the tower? Josie’s friend Nikki is a journalist and between them they start an investigation and interview all her friends. Both of them get a message saying keep looking when they come up with nothing. Josie finds love with Jake who is one of the teachers at the school.
This is an exciting and well told story that is full of surprises and twists and turns .At least Sean the local policeman can be relied upon to offer support and information throughout. A posh local nightclub adds yet another dimension to the story. Did you work out the killer before Josie or was it a complete surprise to you?

This is a compelling story. Josie Ashbury, Hollywood actress, moves back to her hometown in Ohio, and is now teaching acting at the local high school. Good beach read. Recommended.

4!
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for a review!
I enjoyed this book and it kept me guessing, but to me it wasn't as gripping as I had hoped it would be but that could be completely on me! Josie was a very entertaining character. I'd like to see a sequel as it leaves on a perfect way to hint at one!

An engrossing story which had me drawn in from the start. I received this as a complimenatry copy from the author via Netgalley and leave this review voluntarily.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Josie returns home to be a teacher at her local high school. Whe a student dies, josie nees to find out why. This opens a whole new can of worms that she is unfamiliar with. I liked this book.

Mystery story about an actress who returns home to recover from a breakdown, teaches drama at the local high school, and thinks she witnesses a murder. When a local girl is found dead, her political parents call off the investigation. But, Josie is pretty sure not everything is what it seems. Along with her best friend, a reporter, they continue to look into the death, especially when another student dies.

The story was good but too long winded because all it really goes on about is Ms Ashbury about her full story on every chapter but when you get past chapter 35 it gets a little better but not that much better after 40 as it didn’t get me like “oh my it was that person who done it”.

Another thing is the story ended abruptly as I felt there was more to be added because when she came out of the hospital, she was going to be doing more investigations, so the wasted chapters could have been used properly to really have finished off with this story and also when ambers friend who supposedly took an overdose etc that was not fully investigated due to everyone knowing he’s not that type of guy.

It would have been great if the story had finished properly with all the investigations done and if something happened to that “O” company if all was found out to be more than what it was etc

But overall like I said a good storyline but it wasn’t as intense as I thought.

I was offered the chance to read this early and so glad for the opportunity. It pulled me in and kept me guessing. I’m hoping for a sequel!

I really loved this intense, crazy story!
I was trying to help to solve the mystery of how and why a beautiful, intelligent, happy high school teen died.
Was it an overdose, accidental death or murder?
Can the main character Jessie, who comes back home to rethink her life, and lands a teaching job in the high school find the truth?
Can she solve this tragedy?
I could not- Not until the very end!
It's just so good and I was kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time!

Thank you to @NetGalley and to @Level Best Books for this ARC and allowing me to read and provide my own review!