Erin has everything going for her. She's about to get married to a gorgeous, successful banker named Mark. She has great friends and mentors who have helped open doors for her in her burgeoning career as a documentarian. And after months of planning, research, and drowning in red tape. she's about to start her first solo documentary about three prisoners who are about to be released. Life is good for Erin and Mark. 

Until the honeymoon. 

While in Bora Bora, they encounter temptation in the form of unclaimed treasure, and then they are forced to make a series of decisions of what to do. They had to decide how many risks to take. They had to decide how many secrets to keep. They had to decide how many lies to tell. And of course, all those risks, all those secrets, all those lies have consequences. 

Something in the Water is Catherine Steadman's first novel, but if her name seems familiar, it might be because you've seen it in the credits for Downton Abbey. As an actress and a writer, she knows storytelling, she knows how to build suspense, and she knows how to hold something back for a very special ending. 

I really liked Something in the Water. I loved that Steadman could craft such a good thriller without the usual tropes. I like how smart she makes Erin, someone who knows how to research hard even though she has no real experience in the world she gets thrown into. I like the story tension Steadman builds by telling you the end (or part of it anyway) right up front. Part of the story here is hiding in plain sight, and all I could do was to follow the breadcrumbs until I was too deep in the story to turn back. Not that I wanted to. Something in the Water is a great thriller, and I can't wait to read Steadman's next novel. 



Galleys for Something in the Water were provided by Ballentine Books through NetGalley, with many thanks.

Wow...I was blown away and enjoyed every minute of this gripping debut thriller by Catherine. Steadman!

The book starts out with Erin digging a grave for a dead body. Then goes back in time to explain how she ended up there. Erin and Mark are a picture-perfect couple...planning their upcoming wedding, talking about starting a family, etc. Erin tells us the story, beginning with how she met Mark though the unexpected event that turned their life upside down.

There were no overdone love scenes or wasted words on trivial details. Steadman is a great storyteller and has a wonderful way of keeping you captivated. The story was easy to follow and definitely surpassed my expectations. The best book I’ve read in quite some time...couldn’t put it down!

Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

#SomethingInTheWater #NetGalley #Amazon

“Something In the Water” by Catherine Steadman is a tale of love, greed, betrayal, mystery and murder. All those things that make a great book!

Erin is a documentarian and she has thought of a great idea… interviewing three inmates who are getting ready to be released soon. She will interview them inside prison, film their release and interview them after. During this process, Erin and Mark finally get married and take a dream honeymoon to Bora Bora. However, while deep sea diving, they find a mysterious bag that changes their lives forever… and not in a good way.
Spoiler Alert! If you have neither started the book nor finished, get it, read it and come back later for the review!

I loved this book. It had a great beginning and I was hooked from the first sentence. It kept me entertained and I have never pondered the difference between flotsam and jetsam so much. 😉

In the end, my only issue was that I was not 100% sure about the wreck and when Mark became involved. I think that he was tangled up in the mess from the beginning. He was an experienced diver and it was quite coincidental that they just happened upon the wreck, he found the bag, and he dove to the wreck alone. In the final chapter, Erin is pondering how everything happened and she recounted the huge blow up with Mark the night they slashed the wedding cost. I also thought it odd at the time that they cut the wedding expenses so much but still went to Bora Bora for two weeks. I think I know why; he was involved from the get go!

Also, he had not seen Hector since before the wedding. He was busy planning something for all that time and his persona changed quite a bit. I think that deep down Erin knew that there was something “off” with Mark and that is why she chose not to tell him about the baby.

I loved how all three of her interviewees became a part of her life, especially Eddie. I still wonder if Eddie might have been involved somehow in the whole mess or was he just somewhat of a father figure/helper to Erin. He obviously liked her since he assisted her in the sale of the diamonds and the ensuing coverup of Mark’s murder.

Perfect ending… “You can’t save everyone. Sometimes you just have to save yourself.” Erin proved that she had what it took when it came to saving herself and her unborn child. The book wrapped up satisfyingly, and I wonder if there might be another that would include a few more details and Erin’s “other favor” for Eddie.

Publication Date: June 5, 2018
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Cover: Perfect
Rating: 4 stars
Source: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review. Thank you for the opportunity to read this great book!

#SomethingInTheWater #NetGalley

This was a great read! The story line kept me interested and wanting to find out what happened next.

I read this book as fast as I could, sometimes skimmed, because I couldn't believe the unbelievable decisions this couple made and I needed to know how it could possibly turn out.
The end was "ok", but not worth the aggravation of the previous 40 chapters. I don't describe this story as a psychological thriller. This is a story about 2 greedy people making bad decision after bad decision.
The only upside of that is the reader gets to feel superior, knowing "I would never make those decisions or choices."
The reason I skimmed so much of the story was because the main character Erin, babbled on and on about nothing that advanced the story. The majority of the story was Erin's narrative, which was very juvenile at times.

This book starts off slow....really really slow. To the point I almost gave up on it. I read some reviews that said it picked up at 30% and they were right. Once the book got going I didn't want to stop reading. It begs the age old question "what would you do if....". I enjoyed the story line and the questions that arise from Erin and Mark's choices. I feel like there are a few unanswered questions but not enough to take away from the story. A solid 3.5 stars.

My first book by Catherine Steadman, but it certainly won't be my last! I look forward to more of her publications in the future.

Although I finished reading this book - it was not one of my favorites. I didn’t enjoy the writing style I put it did manage to finish it so I could find out what really happened at the end.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I thought this book was a nicely paced addictive psychological thriller.
This is the author’s 1st book and I can’t wait to read what she writes next.
I highly recommend this book.

Fantastic story. I was hooked from the start. Intriguing and deliciously scandalous. This was very well written, with tons of excitement and plot twists. I loved it!

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

A first book, by a new author. So giving her some leeway, it is an interesting start. However, the jumps in time
were hard to follow. Some of the characters actions were very hard to believer. This being said, I will watch this
author for future novels. She does have promise.

Loved it so much! Definitely a book that stays with you! Could not put it down!

Highly recommended if you enjoy suspense genre! Thank you for my review copy, which I received through Net Galley.

I received this from net galley and really enjoyed it! I have questions but they are the same as the protagonists. Good suspenseful read!

<b><i>Have you ever wondered how long it takes to dig a grave? Wonder no longer. It takes an age. However long you think it takes, double that.</i>
HOOK. LINE. SINKER.
A wickedly creative and absolutely terrifying debut! This Adrenaline ride definitely hits all the marks!
Something in the water, indeed! </b>

ERIN
<i>I’m not sure if I dozed off, but when I open my eyes the speedboat motor is changing tone and we’re slowing. I look up at Mark. We’re not back to Bora Bora yet. There’s nothing there, just ocean stretching miles in every direction. And then I see what he sees. In the water all around us. Paper. Sheets of white paper.

Maybe it was the storm that brought it here? I study the swirls of illegible black running across the white pages. If it was important, it’s not now.

The silence is broken by a <b>thunk</b> against the side of the boat. And another. <b>Thunk. Thunk.</b> The waves are knocking something repeatedly into the side of the hull. We look toward the noise; whatever it is, we can’t see it over the rim. <b>Thunk, thunk.</b> Mark frowns at me. I shrug. I don’t know. I don’t know what it is either. But there’s something in his demeanor, something in the set of his shoulders, that makes my blood freeze. Something bad is happening. Mark thinks something very bad is happening. <b>Thunk, thunk.</b> Insistent now. <b>Thunk, thunk.</b> Mark steps toward the noise. <b>Thunk thunk.</b></I>

******
Debut novel [book:Something in the Water|36388243] by [author:Catherine Steadman|16847770] is fully loaded with danger, nervous foreboding, and the insatiable anticipation of discovering what happens in the end.

I recieved the eBook edition from netGalley but
most of this review is based on the audiobook edition so I could share quotes from the story with other readers.** I'll explain in a minute.

The allure of audiobooks for me is that I can close my eyes, effectively removing the need to use my sense of sight necessary to read the black on white pages of the book. This allows me to visualize what's happening in my mind alone, making it much easier to envision what's taking place and to feel the emotional impact far more effectively. It's for this reason that an professional narrator is critical! This audiobook is narrated by the author, [author:Catherine Steadman|16847770], whose scintillating five star performance profoundly increased my enjoyment and experience of this book as I listened to the story play out.

Imagine it this way. You're sitting in a comfy place, your eyes are closed so that there is only darkness behind your eyelids. All of the information coming in is through your sense of hearing alone. Now you can focus all of your attention on <i>Catherine's</I> voice. Urgent, terrified.
Mark and Erin are scuba diving in Bora Bora. They are 10 meters down, near a shipwreck when, it happens......

Erin
<I>We sink. A movement in my periphery view. Not an object, but a change in color depth just beyond my field of vision. I turn my head and focus hard into the blurred blue beyond us. Straining my eyes to see through the shaded water. Then I see them. They’re all around us. They come into focus one by one. With each, my heart skips a beat. The fizz of adrenaline shoots through my veins. The water is full of them. Arcing in great loops over the wreck, and out around the reef. Their hulking bodies hanging weightlessly in the blue-green air around us. Fins, gills, mouths, teeth. Gliding like ocean liners. Sharks. So many sharks. What type they are doesn’t seem relevant to my central nervous system, which has taken over. </I>

It's a comfort knowing that MY nervous system is in perfect working order! You enjoy only a few moments of calm. Your eyes are still closed. Then....

<b>Thunk, thunk.</b> Insistent now. <b>Thunk, thunk.</b> Mark steps toward the noise. <b>Thunk thunk.</b></I>
!!!!!
Oh, my gosh! I could not stop listening now, how could I? Breath held, my heart pounding against my ribs, matching each <b>THUNK! THUNK! THUNK!.</b>

***
What a story! What a masterful narrative performance! What a ride! Wave after wave of adrenaline, with little time to recover before the next terrifying moment. This is one of those audiobooks that you don't want to stop listening to, and yet... you don't want it to end, either. Several times I was still mesmerized, riveted at 2:00 am in the morning! I had to battle with myself to pause the story, to add a bookmark, save my place until the next time I could return to it. Otherwise, I could have easily listened to it from start to finish in one go! All eleven hours, forty-five minutes of it! (Yes, I started the audiobook from the beginning). Needless to say, I was hooked!
It's very hard for me to comprehend that this is [author:Catherine Steadman|16847770]'s debut novel?!
I can not wait to see what she has for us in  future novels. Will she narrate her next book? Oh! I do hope so! Regardless, I will be snapping it up, still untitled, but scheduled for release in July, 2019. It's already on my wish list shelf!

**With a very big thanks to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group Ballantine, and the author for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. After only reading the first few chapters, I was inexcapabley snagged! At this point, I learned that the audiobook edition was already available AND that it was narrated by the author herself! How great is that! Being an audiobook junkie, I just couldn't resist so I immediately purchased the audiobook edition from Audible and I'm so very glad I did! I loved it!

Such a great read...I didn’t want to put it down! From the very first page, Something in the Water is a tightly spun, fast paced thriller! There were so many nights that I wished I didn’t have so much work to do because I just wanted to sit and read and find out the ending. This plot keeps you guessing, especially because the first chapter tells you where you’re going to end up, but 90% into the book I still had no idea how we were going to get there. I highly, highly recommend this! I can’t believe this is her first book because it is a stunning read!

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for providing a copy free of charge in exchange for my honest review.

The book begins powerfully with a step-by-step account of digging a grave. The reader is immediately driven to learn why an intelligent well-spoken woman would be frantically excavating a hole in the dead of night. The story then goes back to brighter days in the narrator's life when she and her partner appear to have the world by the tail. Initial appearances, however, are deceiving. This power couple are not quite as successful as appearances would suggest and the story is driven by the need to get on firmer financial footing. Like many such stories set in the glitter of contemporary London, there is an underlying corruption that permeates the entire story. I prefer not to spend much time with such flawed individuals driven by greed and the need to keep up appearances. With no real moral imperative, this story left me unmoved and anxious to leave this crew behind.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview this ARC of Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman.

Erin and Mark a newly wed couple on their honeymoon, is faced with a decision of a lifetime when finding actual treasure on their honeymoon in Bora Bora. Hard up for cash, it's an opportunity that it really hard to pass up, but sometimes things really are too good to be true.

Simple premise, lots of promise, but in the end, meh. I was overall underwhelmed at the turn of events this story took. I felt like the main story got watered down by the smaller side stories, it didn't gel and it all felt a bit sloppy.

This truly has been my summer of suspense novels! I just cannot get enough of them and summer seems like the perfect time to read some things a bit on the darker side.

Something in the Water is about a couple, Erin and Mark. They get married and go on the ideal honeymoon to Bora Bora. However, while they’re enjoying some time out diving in the ocean, they come across tons of papers floating in the water, a plane crash and then a bag. The contents of the bag are what starts the couple down a dark, unknown path.

This book was so fun to read. I don’t know how the author managed to do it, but the entire time I was reading I felt like something ominous was lurking just outside of my reach. As a reader, you spend a lot of time in Erin’s head and sometimes you can see things that she isn’t quite catching, but at the same time you don’t know for sure what it means either. You know something is going to happen, and things feel dark, but it’s all overlaid by this lovely marriage and Erin’s job as a documentary film maker.

I couldn’t put this book down and spent an entire busy weekend reading in the quiet moments, sneaking a few paragraphs in where ever I could because I just wanted to know what happens!

But that is where a star is lost for me. Slight spoiler ahead!

I didn’t feel like I got as many answers as I would have liked. I was still left wondering at the end why it all started, what was the initial thing that set this all in motion and where did it all go wrong? Maybe it’s better that we don’t know since it doesn’t necessarily fit into the story, but I just felt like I needed a few more answers.

Thank you so much to Random House Publishing – Ballantine & NetGalley for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review!

One of those thrillers where you want to ask the protagonists: Why did you do that? You want to say: If you had only made a different decision. You want to tell them: You brought it on yourself. But you can't, so you read compulsively to the end, just to end the suspense. Loved this chilling thriller.

Ugh. I couldn't bring myself to finish this mess of a story. I was enjoying it until I got to the grossly cliché mysterious black bag filled with smuggled diamonds, a ton of money, and a burner phone. Seriously. Come on. Reese Witherspoon gave this novel the nod; I will no longer listen to her literary suggestions!