My first book by author A. J. Grayson and definitely one with a solid premise and an interesting plot but I’m torn to say whether I like it or not. The chapters didn’t really give me time to get to know the characters and the closing sentences were too melodramatic for me, full of world-ending drama and the same with some of the opening sentences, in which I didn’t the promises were delivered. I felt like the writer was writing down and could have made more of their idea.

I just couldn't get into this book. Supposedly a psychological thriller but I was not at all thrilled.
This is about a young woman called Amber, married to David and works in a book shop. One day she hears about the body of a young girl found in the local river, murdered. It is when she hears the dead girl's name, it triggers something in her. She immediately falls apart with crippling headaches as she struggles to remember things. Her relationship with her husband goes to pot as she is convinced he is being dishonest. It was too slow and I had no empathy with the characters. This is A J Grayson's second novel.

I didn’t get too far into The a Girl In The Water, it didn’t grip me at all. It’s so important for a book to have a good start to draw you in but this just fell flat for me.

This is the second novel written by A J Grayson and there is no doubt that the writer has the ability to produce a work full of the elements of suspense, thrills, mystery and ever present tension that is a prerequisite for the ever popular psychological thriller genre. Set in the delightful setting of northern California the story is told from the first person perspectives of Amber and her husband David. Married for a little over two years it appears a happy life what with Amber's job in a local bookstore and their devotion to their dog Sadie, But as can be expected something is not quite right. The couple met by chance when they literally bumped into each other while walking on a coastal cliff path but was it an really an accidental meeting? Also what is the cause of Amber's crippling headaches? When the body of a young women is found murdered in a local river, doubts and suspicions regarding her husband begin to engulf and derail Amber's life.

Like a lot of psychological thriller's there are the inevitable twists. This reader was struggling to discern the basic plot before the first one is revealed about half way through the book. With its short chapters (there are over 70 in all) often ending on a dramatic moment and a pacy narrative that never lingers for long I found myself having difficulty in putting it down and read long into the night. There are some difficult subjects covered and it has a nail biting finale. Certainly the book had me entertained and if you like suspenseful reads then I would certainly suggest that you give this a try.

Amber worked in a bookshop and led a normal life with her husband David, a pharmacist, and dog Sadie. The news of a murdered woman found in water triggered something in her brain, and she remembered the woman's name - Emma Fairfax. This started the entire whirlpool of memories and realities, truth and lies.

Her brain swirled with myriad of information, and some of them she could have never known about. Certain items found at home forced her to take a second look at her husband. Escaping from him, she got to know some hard truths. And then there was the final confrontation.

My first book by author A. J. Grayson, I loved the way the twists occured just when I thought I knew what was happening. I loved Amber, I could identify with her. I could feel the confusion which arose in her. The desperate need to get to the truth brought out my own urgency, as reflected in the almost continuous turn of the pages.

The author had etched Amber with a tinge of vulnerability over the core of cracked steel. She was broken yet she survived. David helped her in many ways, but he too had a damaged outlook. I loved the way layers had been added to the story with Amber's past breaking the barriers in the brain to get to the present.

Psychological thrillers ought to twist the mind, and when the minds of the chacters have been broken by twisted beings, I could do nothing but read with an understanding and empathy of the situation. I couldn't decide if the actions were right or wrong, I could just read the story with a pounding heart.

Midway down the book I knew the direction of the story as the author had left ample evidence. But I could not stop reading it. Took me an hour and half to finish, it felt I had read the book in a single breath.

the Girl in the Water is a good psychological thriller that is well written and has great characters. Good suspense and ending.

The body of a young woman found in the river near Amber’s home threatens her happiness and peace of mind. The former happy go lucky Amber is suddenly filled with dread. She gets debilitating headaches and her relationship with her husband begins to crumble when she suspects he’s keeping something from her. There are blank spaces in Amber’s memory and she believes retrieving those memories is the key to finding out what’s happening to her. Some readers may guess what’s happening, but the suspense in this book is keenly felt