Cara Reinard's Sweet Water presents a suspenseful tale that delves into the depths of a mother's love and the lengths she is willing to go to protect her son. With its intriguing premise and atmospheric setting, the novel offers a mix of negative and positive aspects that keep readers on their toes.

One of the book's strengths lies in its ability to create a palpable sense of tension and mystery. The central question of what Sarah Ellsworth's son did in the woods the previous night is a captivating hook that drives the narrative forward. Reinard effectively builds suspense, layering the story with unsettling events and secrets that gradually unravel, keeping readers engaged and guessing until the end.

The portrayal of Sarah's internal struggle as a mother torn between her love for her son and the desire for truth is commendable. Reinard effectively captures the emotional turmoil and the moral dilemmas Sarah faces as she grapples with the decision to protect her son at any cost. This exploration of a mother's fierce loyalty adds depth to the story and provides a compelling examination of parental instincts.

Furthermore, Reinard creates a chilling atmosphere throughout the novel, particularly within the confines of the old house where Sarah resides. The house itself becomes an enigmatic character, its secrets mirroring the mysteries surrounding the crime. This atmospheric backdrop adds a layer of intrigue and enhances the overall reading experience.

However, Sweet Water is not without its flaws. The pacing of the story feels uneven at times, with certain sections dragging while others rush through important plot points. This inconsistency can disrupt the reader's engagement and hinder the overall flow of the narrative.

Additionally, some characterizations lack depth, particularly among the supporting cast. While Sarah is a well-developed and relatable character, others, including her husband Martin, feel underdeveloped and fail to leave a lasting impression. More nuanced characterizations could have heightened the emotional impact of the story and created a stronger connection between readers and the individuals involved.

Finally, the resolution of the central mystery may leave some readers wanting more. While the unraveling of secrets is intriguing, the ultimate revelation and its execution may feel somewhat predictable and lacking in originality.

In conclusion, Sweet Water by Cara Reinard offers a suspenseful exploration of a mother's devotion and the lengths she will go to protect her son. With its atmospheric setting and gripping premise, the novel keeps readers engaged throughout. However, uneven pacing, underdeveloped characters, and a somewhat predictable resolution prevent it from reaching its full potential. Despite these flaws, Sweet Water provides an intriguing reading experience that will appeal to fans of domestic suspense looking for a captivating and quick read.

OMG I absolutely loved this book! What a twisted ride about a family and the drama within it. Sarah and Martin are awoken to a call from their son in the middle of the night. They race to his location, the middle of the woods, to find his girlfriend dead and Finn drugged and beaten. What the heck happened? Could their son be capable of murder? Oh the drama! I was hear for it all. Even though half way through I was able to guess what was going on I still very much enjoyed the ride it took me on.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book but I thoroughly enjoyed it. A bit of domestic thriller along with women's fiction. It kept me turning the pages!

I enjoyed this book, it was easy to read and held my attention. I will be reading more from this author :)

Sweet Water pulls you in with intrigue into a family we could easily place in our own lives/towns/areas. That picture perfect family who is suddenly plastered on the front page of every newspaper, the highlight of news segments, and interviewed by anyone who has a microphone. How does a seemingly perfect family turn dark?

Honestly, I can't say I really connected to any of the characters, so there was a bit of a disconnect. But as I continued reading, I wanted to know how deep the blood and deceit ran. It was hard to accept that there was any good in this family and town. This is the type of book that makes me need a shower afterwards because of the slimy (and more often than not, appalling) behavior. I wanted to understand what made all of them tick and how it would unfold in the end.

The ending did a good justice for the overall theme of the story, leaving me satisfied with the slow acceleration that built it. 4 Stars!

Fast paced thriller/family drama that fell kind of middle of the road for me. You need to be into the anti-hero trope and not mind a casual dropping of the title (sweet water) every few pages. While I could see how some folks might enjoy this read, I just didn't connect with the characters/writing style.

Sweet water was so good. A story that will stay with me for a while. Many suspenseful moments, some interesting characters and a great story overall.

Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy

Sweet Water centers around Sarah and Martin who have been married for over 20 years and their son Finn. When their son Finn is found unconscious and his girlfriend dead in the woods, what do you do? Call the police or protect your son? When you have a lot of money can you just make things go away? A thriller with many twists that will keep you guessing.

i enjoyed this thriller book, it felt like a unique take on the thriller novel. The characters were engaging and I enjoyed going through this story with them.

Thank you to Netgalley for sending me and ARC in exchange for an honest review. This one had so much promise in the beginning but went downhill pretty fast. It was long and drawn out and sometimes just boring.

What would you do to protect your child? Would you help them cover up a murder? It’s a question every parent has at one point in their life I think and this book helps you explore what it’s really like to be that parent.

A solid 3 star read. The premise was great, I love when 1 percenters get their comeuppance. I also thought the characters were interesting, although more character development for Josh, the sons and the grandparents would have been nice. I likely would have rated it higher if all the ‘twists’ weren’t so incredibly obvious from so early on. I feel like it’s not even accurate to call them twists. Which made this significantly less thrilling than what I generally expect from thrillers and mysteries. The beginning was also a little slow. So, like I said, solid 3 stars. I liked it enough that I’d read another book by this author.

Thank you NetGalley, author and publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Such an original plot! These characters have so many issues. So much drama. I loved the dual timelines. I was gripped from the start and couldn’t put it down! Such a complex mystery and i thoroughly enjoyed it! My only issue was sometimes things didn’t totally add up or align

Sarah is living the dream life - having married her childhood love Martin and having a family with him. But things are not pretty forever- her life goes upside down when they find their son in the forest with a dead body.
The story and the premise are gripping. But I found the characters hard to connect to. I kept wishing through the book to get more insight into them but that seemed to be missing.
It is a good enjoyable story, but not one for me.

Old mansions. Creepy woods. And a murder? What more could you want. I loved this dark mystery, it wasn't really fast paced but it had a very nice slow burn creep factor. I was getting chills staying up late and reading! I loved the main character Sarah, she was very likeable and relatable.

I was instantly drawn by the cover and synopsis. Overall, I really enjoyed the book and found the story to be compelling and interesting. At times I did find it a little challenging to follow or to keep track of what had been answered or left unanswered. Despite this, I did breeze through it and kept my attention going. I could easily see this book turned into a CW book and I would totally binge that.

Beautiful cover, but the book itself is very over the top. It leaves too many unanswered questions without much room for guessing or inspiration and the twist was... Not exactly a twist.
It looks pretty, but the plot is not as spectacular as I had hoped.

I received a free ARC by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

I was really intrigued by the premise of this story. I thought it may be similar to Defending Jacob, but the description is where the similarity ended.

The characters just didn’t hold my attention and I felt like a book that should have been fast paced instead meandered it’s way around to the conclusion that was obvious. Not one of my favorites.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my review.

The synopsis drew me in and I got sucked in deeper the minute I started reading. This was a compelling, half mystery, half thriller. The bond between the characters truly shines though in the writing. Would definitely recommend!

This book has a lot going on and it is so complicated to grasp your brain around for a lot of it. With that being said, this book has a lot of heavy topics coming in to play and each of the characters has to quest their morality. This book focuses on Sarah and Martin who seamingly have the perfect life, money, perfect home, and 2 lovely chidlren. This all comes to a hault when their son Finn is found unconcious laying next to his dead girlfriend. This brings us through so many twists and turns and you did not have any idea what was going to happen. I really enjoyed the ending, but I felt like it dragged on and overall the book could have been like 50 pages shorter.