3.5 ⭐️’s
Julia and Sienna are not only close friends, but sisters in law as well. Owning a business together has brought them even closer, but they are both not sharing everything about their lives. When Julia’s husband is involved in an accident shortly after his boss is murdered, he soon becomes a suspect. Sienna has always looked up to her brother and in her eyes can do nothing wrong, but with the evidence mounting, Julia isn’t so sure and is soon questioning everything. Delving in Julia and Sienna learn things that only put Jason is a worse light, but being in a coma makes it a bit difficult to ask the questions that Julia needs answered. As the evidence stacks up and the police are only looking at Jason, the two women are at odds. Will their friendship weather the test or have they both been betrayed by the person they so desperately love. Thank you to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

This is a slow burn but worth it! Sienna and Julia are sister in laws who are also best friends and run a business together. This book is told from two POVs. What would you do to find out what happened to your brother/husband? Thank you to net galley and the publisher for an ARC

What happens to family members when they are at odds with each other? When sisters-in-law Julia and Sienna begin to doubt each other’s views when Julia’s husband, and Sienna’s brother Jason is in a coma and accused of murder, their different opinions of his innocence or guilt pull at their relationship. Megan Collins knows how to write a good thriller, and this one doesn’t disappoint.

Thicker than Water by Megan Collins is a mystery/ thriller consumed with secrets, lies and trauma destined to tear a family apart, but will it? Sienna and Jason are brother and sister who live in the small town of Willow Creek. Jason marries Julia and introduces her to his sister and they become fast best friends and business partners. Julia is pregnant with Aiden which initiated the quick marriage . 15 years pass.
Sisters in laws, best friends put to the ultimate test when tragedy hits and their relationship is challenged by assumptions and things left unsaid. . Jason’s boss is murdered and Jason becomes a prime suspect but before he is informed he is in a terrible car accident leaving him in a coma! Sienna has an untethered view of her brother placing him on a pedestal. As evidence is discovered, doubt envelopes Julia putting severe anguish on their friendship.
Deceit and secrets play a vital role in how the girls are reacting to the truths that unfold. Sienna is determined to plead her brothers innocence no matter what while Julia is struggling to come to the same conclusion. Aiden, now a teenager is struggling with things he has seen and heard not knowing how to handle what’s happening. What would one do if someone they love is accused and the evidence seemed insurmountable? As Julia and Sienna take a different stance , what will become of their relationship? Will families and relationships find their way back?
Truths will be told ! Justice will be served !

I RECOMMEND this book for anyone who enjoys a mystery. I enjoyed it, kept me interested and took me only a couple days to read. The title is appropriate and fitting! Despite the heavy mystery and “who done it”, it has heartfelt moments filled with hope bringing it full circle. Filled with emotion, this is an entertaining read.

Thanks to @netgalley and @atriabooks for this ARC for an honest review!

This was a slow burn, but a good thriller that I really enjoyed reading! I look forward to reading more books from Megan Collins! Thank you for the opportunity to read this arc early!

A slow burn but when that plot hits man does it hit hard. Unputdownable is too light a word for this novel!

This book touched on the relationship between family — both blood and marriage. I really enjoyed hearing from both points of view Julia - Jason’s wife and Sienna - Jason’s sister, There were many plot twists and both points of view kept me interested

I sat on this review for too long. I couldn’t decide how I actually felt about this book. I was really excited to read a thriller since it’s been so long. But this read was less than thrilling.

Reasons this book wasn’t for me:
🖤 The tension of a thriller was missing
🖤 Events were chaotic for no reason
🖤 I found the characters annoying and immature
🖤 I wanted everyone to be guilty - no one was lovable
🖤 Nothing about it was surprising

I usually would DNF a book that I disliked this much. But this one was like a train wreck I couldn’t look away from.

As always Megan gives us a great tale. Loved this one so much. The complex characters and their relationships. I had a hard time trying to figure it all out and was pleasantly surprised when I was wrong! Megan is one of my go to authors for sure!

Ah, a slow burn! A good one though. I really enjoy Megan Collins style of writing, and this one was great. If love a good domestic thriller, pick this one up.

I love a good domestic thriller, and Thicker Than Water was no exception! Megan Collins took a slight spin on the typical narrative. There was still the whole husband becomes incapacitated and wife uncovers dark secrets/tries to solve the mystery. However, Collins added another family layer to the dynamic -- wife is best friends and business partners with husband's sister -- which certainly added to the drama. I loved the plot and character development. Overall, this was a great read for 2023!!

Megan Collins ALWAYS writes an excellent book, and this one is no different. Told from Sienna and Julia's POVs, these best friends suddenly are working together to uncover why Jason (brother/husband) is a suspect for murder. But the kicker is he's unconscious and can't help them. One of my favorite things was the strained relationship that showed the realities of friendship. This is such an original idea, and Collins pulled it off very well!


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Megan Collins has become an auto buy author for me. I loved the suspense and dread factor in this one. I truly had no idea what was going on throughout and loved the almost creepiness of it. Will highly recommend.

A family psychological thriller designed with detailed character development and an unusual premise that I loved! Julia and Sienna are best friends as well as sister-in-laws. They spend most days together and own a business together - they balance each other out. What happens when all that they treasure falls apart. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the read!

Julia's husband and Sienna brother has went into a coma after a car crash. It seems that everyone has secrets that they are hiding from each other.
A very good read.
Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

DNF at 35%. I thought the premise sounded interesting and I’m always excited to try a thriller that sounds like something different. Unfortunately this one really didn’t work for me and my criteria when I’m deciding whether to continue is if I am curious enough to see how the mystery will end. And for this one I decided nope - I’m not interested and can stop here. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free ebook.

A story told from two POVs - one from the sister (Sienna) and one from the wife (Julia), and they are best friends. Both are working to uncover why Jason, the brother/husband (respectively), is a suspect for murder.

It is a tense novel traversing trust and the strength of the relationships at hand. They both have some doubts about the truth of Jason’s involvement, though Sienna hides hers despite the evidence at hand. Julia wants to think the best, but some lies and the discovery of Jason’s savior complex has her feeling like her husband was more involved.

This was such a great read and I definitely suggest it, as I do love a good thriller!

If we are going with full disclosure in this review, then I must mention my dislike for Megan Collins' last 2 novels. I honestly wasn't going to pick up anything else from her, and then I accidentally requested Thicker Than Water on NetGalley because I got my Megan's confused. Well, now I couldn't be happier that I did, and I'm so glad that even though it was an accident, I didn't completely give up on Collins. My issue with her books has always been her characters, and I have loathed how idiotic her FMCs are. Thankfully, Julia and Sienna are NOTHING like the others, and they were seriously the best. I loved that the author took a new take on the domestic thriller and used sisters-in-law to walk us through this story and get to the shocking conclusion. I loved being in both of their heads through alternating viewpoints, and they were not quite loveable, but I enjoyed them anyway.

I would also recommend listening to the audiobook and I got loads of enjoyment from listening to Gail Shalan & Emily Tremaine narrate. They were perfectly cast for their characters, and they did a beautiful job bringing Julia and Sienna to life. While there was crime and a mystery going on, that was really just a small fraction of what the book was truly about. At the same time, I also loved the mystery aspect, and the women, especially Sienna, are quick to put on their thinking caps and try to figure out who killed Jason's boss. Because it can't be him, right? I loved following where the clues took me, and I loved how surprised I was by the end even if I did finally start to see it coming a bit right before the big reveal. There is some repetition to the story, but it was fairly minimal and didn't end up bothering me as much as it sometimes does. Collins has officially redeemed herself in my eyes, and now I will definitely be giving her next book a shot!

Megan Collins is a go to author for me. I can always count on her books to get me out of a reading slump. Thicker Than Water was just what I needed. This book was a fast paced thriller that had me flying through it wanting to see how it was going to end but also with the dread of it being over. Can't wait to see what Megan comes up with next.

Warning: This review may be slightly spoilery! As I am not recommending that you read it, I just really don’t care.

I was so excited to read this and, sadly, it was very disappointing for me.

Julia and Jason have, until now, had a picturesque marriage and family life with their teenage son, Aiden. Julia and Sienna, Jason’s sister, became fast friends. The book is dual POV from both Julia and Sienna.

Sienna feels very righteous towards female empowerment, obsessive over the death of their parents by a drunk driver, and unwilling to re-commit to her now ex-boyfriend after his infidelity. Sienna is hot-tempered, extroverted, and not afraid to speak her mind.

In contrast, Julia is meek, aims to please others, and is willing to keep the peace over her own happiness, and has lived her life by her mothers mantra to “never trust a man.”

At first I found the writing to be punchy and the personalities quirky until they became annoying. The story starts with a bang. In chapter one alone I found myself OMGing several times.

Jason’s boss is found stabbed, suffocated, and with his mouth sewn shut. After an accident, evidence is found in Jason’s car linking him to the crime, except he is in a coma and unable to give his account of events. Thus begins the sort of amateur investigation by the sisters.

And then it all fizzles out from there. The story was overly concerned with their character arcs, whereas the plot could have been so much more enthralling. The twists weren't all that exciting or surprising.

It is extremely dialogue heavy and very telling instead of showing. Nothing ever really happens, we are simply taken from one conversation or inner monologue to the next. It was all rather slow and boring actually.

The murder mystery was lack-luster. And it fell prey to one of my absolute most hated tropes where the bad guy tells all in an endless monologue in the ending chapters, which always feels silly, stupid, unrealistic, and unsatisfying.

The writing was bland, the plot was bland, the characters were bland. The first few chapters had me and then the rest was meh. It’s really the writing that failed me most I think. The premise had a lot to work with and it just wasn’t executed in an engaging way.

From the beginning, Julia and Sienna’s relationship has very off-putting vibes. They are oddly, overly close to one another. I really expected the story to play more into this dynamic with some sinister twist happening there, especially considering the title. But it was more about them taking their own personal growth stories and learning how to be less codependent on one another.

It also explores the nuances of parenting a teenager. As well as not thinking about people in terms of absolute, good or bad, but rather accepting people as being somewhere in between and loving them anyway.

Two stars because I usually reserve one star for DNFs. I cannot recommend this. I didn’t enjoy it and I don’t think others will that much either. It wasn’t a thrilling read. It tried to have the depth of a contemporary/literary read and failed. It just wasn’t great and with so many books and so little time, I’d say skip it. There are better family murder dramas out there than this one.

This is not me hating on the author. In fact, I’m willing to chalk this up as just a flop and I still really want to read whatever she writes next. I just don’t think that this book accomplished what it intended to.