3.5/5

I really enjoyed the twists and turns of this story and because of the length of the book, the characters were well-developed. I did feel like the end was mostly predictable and that this story was much too long to keep the pace going, but I actually loved that the way this book was written was thought-provoking and really explored human nature. It was more psychological-based than thriller but I liked the journey it took my mind on.

A standalone crime mystery, The Body Below by Daniel Hecht (2023) is enjoyable, if a long 515-page novel. Its protagonist is a former, investigative reporter for a major newspaper, who returns to his hometown in disgrace. As part of his recovery, Conn Whitman has discovered a joy in distance swimming. One morning, he kicks a submerged body in the local Lake, but fails to say anything. When a missing single mother is believed dead and possibly murdered, Conn not only follows the case but gets caught up in it. The investigation unfolds with surprising revelations and more bodies, as the local police struggle without Conn’s assistance. A fine murder mystery with a folksy small-town vibe and secrets, that make for a three and a half stars read rating. With thanks to Blackstone Publishing and the author, for an uncorrected advanced review copy for review purposes. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own, freely given and without inducement.

If you're ok with some triggers (SA, abuse, etc) then this is a great read. The writing style was amazing and the mystery/suspense aspect was superb. Definitely worth a read!

All in all, this was an enjoyable and twisty Suspense/mystery read! Thank you to NetGalley and the author, Daniel Hecht, for allowing me to read and review this book.

The good:

The writing in this was superb! I really enjoyed Hecht's writing style. The various twists and turns in this book kept me guessing throughout, and eager to find out the answers. I paid close attention to the little context clues throughout the book, and was able to piece together part of the ending, but there was an element to the final "twist" I did not foresee and was surprised by!

Things that could be improved:

Several areas of this book felt very slow and drawn out to me. I feel that there were many chapters that could have been greatly condensed to keep the book flowing more seamlessly, rather than giving such lengthy descriptions of everything. I would go from immersed and reading eagerly to fighting through pages of information that felt irrelevant, and back again. I also had a hard time connecting to any of the characters, personally.

Triggers:

This book does contain mention of addiction, abuse, and sexual abuse. I did not find any of these mentions to be overly graphic, but wanted to note in case this information is troubling for other potential readers.

Unfortunately, I just never connected with the story or characters and had to stop and re-start more times than I can count. Daniel Hecht is a talented writer, but this book just wasn't for me, or isn't for me in this moment. I would try reading this author again.

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the e-ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

Disclaimer: I was gifted this book via netgalley and I'm reviewing voluntarily.
While I enjoy psychological thrillers, this one wasn't what I was hoping for. The characters are complex and nuanced, which is always important. Every character has had questionable pasts in some ways, which imo humanizes them. But despite this discussion about great character depth, I feel this book fell flat. At times it tries too hard to be this mysterious, complicated story, and there are no less than 4 different suspects. It almost relies on the plot twist as a device for story telling and it's kind of extra. This book has promise but the whole idealization of mason bothered me--dudes a literal cop. Of course he's suspicious

Daniel Hecht keeps the reader moving along in this mystery. There are a few eccentric clues and fascinating people with character in a true sense of the word—banged up in the present and interesting stories and experiences as to how they got here. Though there’s not a lot of action, the pace seems right as you delve into small-town Vermont life as the protagonists, Conn and Celine—journalist and counselor respectively—augment law enforcement’s efforts to discover if Conn’s sister is dead and who may have killed her. You quickly learn that Conn and his sister were estranged but not the entire story until you get near the end. This has you questioning, commiserating and celebrating the ebbs and flows maneuvering through their and our individual lives’ defeats and victories.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy. This was an interesting story that felt frustrating to me at times. The length was definitely too long with too much extraneous detail that was irrelevant to the mystery and story. Not quite the page turner I was hoping for but still interesting if you can slog through it.

This book was a DNF for me. I just couldn’t get into it. Thank you NetGalley and Daniel for the ARC!

This is a complex story involving themes of domestic and sexual violence against women, redemption, ethics and friendship which are expertly woven together by Hecht. The main characters of Conn, Céline, Mason and Selanski are fully drawn as we navigate this mystery. The question of what makes a good person when we all make mistakes is deftly explored from several different angles giving the reader plenty to think about once the story is over. This is one of the better psychological thrillers out there.

I couldn’t get past the 20% mark. The premise was good but I honestly didn’t care for the characters, they felt flat, stiff and snob. I’m not saying is a bad book but it wasn’t for me at all.

The Body Below is absolutely a pulse pounding thriller that kept giving the reader just enough to keep them turning the page. The prose and characters are both expertly crafted as well.

Heart pounding thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Definitely one of the best books this year.