I absolutely loved this latest thriller by Mark Edwards and trust me, I have great expectations of his work because he's set the bar high. The characters are well developed in this novel and the descriptions are very vivid. The different personalities throughout the book provide a lot for us readers to uncover and work through, and the ending was satisfying yet the author still finds a way to leave a shiver down the spine.

If you love a book with plenty of plot twists and red herrings then The Darkest Water is a must read.
The book starts with a dead body that has been buried in the sand and boy does the plot thicken from there!
Just when I think I've figured it out Mark throws another curveball!

Calvin has recently opened up a coffee shop with cakes to die for, unfortunately he has little customers and it looks as though he might have to close his dream business.
His wife Vicky who runs the local animal shelter and his assistant Tara come up with plan to share his amazing cakes on social media and it starts to get some online traffic, especially from local resident Mel.
When a video of an elderly lady saying something deliciously funny about Calvin's cakes the video goes viral and every wants to try out the new coffee shop.
But when a break in happens at the coffee shop and Tara is hurt Calvin is trying to run the shop by himself until Mel offers to step in. The only problem with that is his wife Vicky doesn't trust her .
Strange things start to happen in this quite town in the Lake District and for police officer Imogen Evans that isn't a good thing, Imogen took this job to get away from murder and serial killers but it looks like her piece is about to be shattered.
When Vicky suddenly goes missing no one is taking it seriously and Calvin is out of his mind with worry. He keeps remembering how he couldn't protect his seventeen year old sister who died in 1995.
Who is the mysterious man found dead on the beach and what deep dark secret's is Calvin hiding from his past?

A totally gripping and addictive read.

3.5 stars

It’s been Calvin Matheson’s ambition to open a café and bakery but his new venture in Elderbridge in the Lake District is struggling, and if he can’t turn things around his dreams are over. Encouraged by his wife Vicky, he reluctantly agrees to promote the business on social media. He’s delighted when a clip they post goes viral and initially the direct messages he gets from someone are innocuous, but later somewhat creepy, realising all his fears of social media. Meanwhile, DI Imogen Evans, newly arrived in the Lakes from Shropshire, is investigating a body found buried up to the neck on the tideline of Drigg Beach. She prays it’s a freak incident, but knows in her heart it isn’t. Who is the victim and who would want this man dead? Almost immediately Imogen is under pressure to find out and close the case quickly. The story is told by Imogen and Calvin and parallel timelines, which works well.

First of all, the start is excellent and a shout out for the fantastic setting which injects a lot of atmosphere with its bleakness lending just right tone to the unfolding drama. Elderbridge and the Drigg beach area are quiet places and they are a stark contrast to the shock of the crime and demonstrating that bad things can happen anywhere. There’s a sense of foreboding overhanging, it’s creepy on several occasions and there’s a feeling of danger after some unsettling incidents which go from bad to worse. It becomes twisty as some astonishing connections are revealed which poses conundrums. Wherein lies the truth? Your heart sinks, when you learn of one pivotal event, which changes everything.

The characterisation is good, they’re all well crafted even the peripheral ones, although described briefly, they deftly done. The victimology is very interesting and I enjoy the directions this takes. Some characters are a real puzzle, bizarre even, and I find myself asking a lot of questions and generally coming up with the wrong answers! Through one character, the question of social media identity is introduced, and eventually this leads to toxicity, demonstrating how people can bend with the wind on social media and hide behind it.

The ending is OTT, there are a lot of coincidences, and in my opinion, it stretches things a bit too far, although it is entertaining!

Overall, this is a glide through, enjoyable and easy read.

With thanks to NetGalley, and especially to Thomas and Mercer for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

It is 12:39 a.m. and I just finished The Darkest Water. This book is another wonderful read by Mark Edwards! Just when I thought I had it figured out, he would throw in a plot twist to the point that I literally found myself shaking my head in disbelief! I have always enjoyed Mark’s books and think they are all great but I feel he’s getting better and better with every one that comes out!
If you’re looking for a suspenseful, twisted page turner that keeps you guessing, this is your next read!! Well done, Mr. Edwards!

This was excellent! Another really good thriller from Mark Edwards, I do enjoy his books. I wasn't sure how the past and present storylines would tie up but all becomes clear in the end.
I love the whole social media furore, so true to life. Some extremely creepy characters and the death of the man on the beach would give you nightmares! I felt sorry for Calvin and his life seemed on the up only to crash dramatically. I really enjoyed this book.

A lot is happening in this story, bodies turning up on beaches, murders in trailers, kidnappings, animals let loose, stalking and car crashes so I don't know where to begin with this review. It was just so crazy and over the top and not in a good way. I honestly kept thinking to myself "This is just stupid".

The story started out okay and I was engaged for the most part. I liked the two timelines with one in the present and then flashbacks to 1995...but I hated the protagonist, Calvin, from the beginning and didn't understand why he did some of the really stupid things he did. He didn't check references of someone he hires for his business, someone who gives his wife the creeps and it's not like she's a friend or family member even?!? And to get addicted to social media after one post? This was plain weird all the way through.

There are a lot of threads in the plot and they all link together in some weird way by the end BUT there were just too many coincidences and too much unbelieveability to look past. And don't let me get started on a detective letting a past crime go..."we're all good here"...that didn't sit well with me. I have liked a couple of other books by this author so I don't know what's going on with this one. Maybe it's me because thrillers just seem to be getting more and more ridiculous lately, like those horror movies where the stupid teenage girl goes down the dark basement stairs.

Please take my review with a grain of salt as this book has a 4.44 GR rating at the time of this review. I don't know how, but it does. I think readers have an author they like and give books four and five stars regardless of how good the book is, but that's just my humble opinion.

4.5 rounded up
Great, relatable characters. Interesting storyline with a lot of side stories. I figured out some things but others were a total surprise. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

Wowee, what a rollercoaster of a read. It was an absolute delight to get lost amongst the pages of this book. It had me totally gripped from the first page. Each chapter came in short bursts leaving me on a cliff edge each time so I just had to keep turning the pages. So good to be back with some of the original characters from the Lucky Ones, I do hope this means that there will be more to come from Detective Imogen Evans.

Absolutely loved this book. I cannot recommend Mark Edwards enough. He always delivers a rollercoaster of a story. The opening scene of this book is brilliant and it keeps getting better and better.

Another great psychological thriller by Mark Edwards. Gripped from the first page I couldn’t put It down. Very likeable characters with a few twists and red herrings thrown in make for a great storyline. I highly recommend this book and author. Mark is a. brilliant psychological thriller writer. Can’t wait for his next book.

The Darkest Water was a superb thriller.

I enjoyed the characters, the seemingly unconnected terrible things that were happening, and there were some good twists. The flashbacks added a lot to the story and kept things interesting.

I thought the writing was excellent, and as promised Mark Edwards writes about "scary things that happen to ordinary people." How normal the characters were, really adds to the spookiness of the book.

5 stars from me!

Love the author and this new novel was a cracking read. The story centres around a likeable but gullible cafe owner in a small Cumbrian village, just as his business takes off a macabre murder starts a chain of events that throws his life into turmoil. It’s a gripping story which takes place both now and in the nineties, the last few chapters were a blur with twist and turns and a final shocking ending.

I enjoyed this book so much, another great book from Mark Edwards. The two main characters are Calvin and his wife Vicky, both very likeable characters. Someone knows Calvin is hiding a secret that happened some years ago and that puts him and his wife in danger. The reader is kept guessing who is responsible and I admit it shocked me. That ending was brilliant too. I highly recommend this book and it is an easy 5 stars from me.

This is my fifth book by Mark Edwards, and I want to say he just keeps getting better and better. All of his books I always give 4- 5 stars though. This kept me very engaged from the very first page and I loved the twist at the end! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for an honest review. To be published April 2024.

Calvin owns a coffee shop/bakery in a Lake District village. He promotes it on social media and suddenly the business takes off beyond his wildest dreams.
A woman starts sending messages, and, being a social media newbie, Calvin communicates with her, which his wife is not happy about.

A man living the life of a hermit is found horrifically drowned, and Detective Imogen Evans has to find his killer.
There is so much more that happens, kidnapping, another murder, accidents, a suicide, and Imogen begins to think that Calvin is at the centre of it all.

Oh wow!
Talk about a thriller! There are so many subplots and they all tie into the main plot in some way.
I feel that Calvin is very naive in the ways of the world, still wracked with grief many years after losing his sister.

Mark Edwards has woven a very intricate murder mystery, dark and twisty, and totally enthralling.

It is a tense thriller that kept me rapt to the end.

thanks to Netgalley and Thomas and Mercer for the opportunity to read this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the eARC of The Darkest Water in exchange for an honest review.

The Darkest Water is one of the most unique thrillers I’ve read in the sense that it is set in present day with social media presence. The main character is a coffee shop and bakery owner and ends up in a web of terror. There is a little back and forth with present day and 1995 when Calvin was a teenager but mostly set in present day. I love reading about the 90s and feel it described the era well.

The story was twisty and I did not see the ending coming. Definitely a unique story, with some interesting characters.

Calvin has finally achieved his dream of opening his own cafe but doesn't yet have the customers. His wife encourages him to start a social media account to drum up some business and it works but it also brings some unwanted attention from another woman. He replies to be polite but things get out of hand quickly. It's a dark book as a body is found on the beach at the beginning and it seems Calvin is involved more than he first thought. Its a really twisty book and I definitely couldn't have predicted how things played out!

Mark Edwards, the bestselling author of "Keep Her Secret," delivers another chilling thriller in "The Darkest Water." Set against the picturesque backdrop of the Lake District, this tale plunges readers into a web of suspense, dark secrets, and unexpected danger.

The story revolves around Calvin, who finally realizes his dream of owning a bakery in an idyllic village. However, the sweetness of success turns sinister when a viral social media clip attracts an obsessive fan, leading to a series of creepy messages that shatter Calvin's newfound happiness. Simultaneously, a local recluse is discovered buried on a beach, setting off a murder investigation that Detective Imogen Evans is determined to unravel.

Edwards skillfully weaves together the threads of an unfolding mystery, creating a tense atmosphere as the community grapples with the shocking death and the unsettling presence of Calvin's obsessive admirer. The narrative is laced with suspense, keeping readers on edge as they navigate through the twists and turns of the plot.

The characters, especially Calvin and Detective Evans, are well-crafted and relatable, adding depth to the story. The author explores themes of trust, the consequences of one's past actions, and the vulnerability that comes with unexpected fame. As events spiral into darkness, Edwards keeps the tension taut, leaving readers guessing until the final pages.

"The Darkest Water" stands out not only for its compelling mystery but also for its exploration of the impact of social media on individuals' lives and the thin line between adoration and obsession. Edwards' writing is immersive, drawing readers into the village and its secrets.

In conclusion, "The Darkest Water" is a gripping thriller that will satisfy fans of the genre. Mark Edwards crafts a tale that keeps readers hooked from start to finish, with its atmospheric setting, well-developed characters, and a plot that skillfully navigates the murky waters of suspense. This is a must-read for those who enjoy a mystery that keeps them guessing until the very end.

Good story with twists and turns. Engaging and hard to put down. I believe this is part of a series but I read it standalone and it didnt impact the story

Thank you Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the copy of The Darkest Water by Mark Edwards. I loved how the book started with a horrific murder that immediately piqued my interest. Who is the dead man and why was he killed? Then the story changes to Calvin, who’s trying to start a coffee shop. He did seem a little clueless about running a business and about women though! The consequences of the advice he gets to start using social media was believable and I liked how it was woven into his story. This was a fast and fun read because the stories were interesting, and I liked how they all came together in the end. I can see why some people will love the epilogue, but to me it was too predictable and too much of a cliché. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.