This has to be one of the best starts to a new series I’ve read for a while
Utilising two of the situations unique to America, a beautiful isolated community within modern society, and the caste system of the haves and have nots
The rich business people with their privileged kids living with the unfortunates that weren’t born into money.
The grey area of drugs and prostitution that the fringes of both societies live in
When one woman is she assaulted and killed why does the local sherif insist it was an accidental overdose.
His girlfriend is recently returned to the island after a career in the Military Police and she is astounded by his assumptions, but if she can’t trust the man she wakes up with, who can she trust.
A cracking read

This book is the first instalment in the Georgia Fell series written by Maegan Beaumont, set in Michigan. It was a compelling read and I was soon wholly absorbed in the storyline. Georgia has returned to her homeland, Angel Bay Island ten years after leaving her foster parents house. Coming back because of an unexpected inheritance, she is due to meet her sister, Rachel one night, but it never happens...

Georgia has plenty of issues and has an interesting background; I'm keen to discover more about her. The pacing is swift and the tale is chockablock with betrayals. With a number of evil beings and shady shenanigans, The Darkwater Girls is well worth a look and I can't wait for book two!

I received a complimentary copy of this novel from Bookouture via NetGalley at my request and this review is my own unbiased opinion.

The Darkwater Girls is an action packed ride that does not disappoint.

Georgia Fell is the main character. She was abandoned at birth and became known as the Angel Bay Baby. Put in the foster system, she lives with the McNamara's. But left when she discovered the boy she loved has gotten another girl pregnant. She has returned to the island after inheriting the Fell estate, where she now lives. George is is sent a code from Jenna to meet but discovers Rachel, her friend and foster sister has been killed, and nothing is going to stop her from finding out the truth. Angry, George does her best to try to solve what happened to her friend.

I was immediately caught up in the story line. I loved the characters Georgia, Savanna, and Julie. They are well written and strong characters. Lincoln and Alex are both in love with Georgia but who she ends up with is yet to be determined since there are many truths to be revealed. This book will hold your attention until the final page and leave you wanting more. Looking forward to the next book of this series.

Favorite Quotes:

I’m nine— eavesdropping is the only way I ever learn anything useful.

“He’s not island.” I can’t keep it out of my tone, the immediate distrust I feel. It’s ridiculous. Makes me feel like one of the old biddies that sit on their porches in their house dresses, drinking their morning coffee and writing down the license plates of cars that they don’t recognize that have the nerve to drive down their street.

I’m going to put a BOLO out on you… When they find you, I’ll have you detained until the paramedics come strap you to a gurney and take you to the hospital where Evie will be waiting with a horse syringe full of Thorazine.

Linen suit. No socks. Preppy haircut. Crazy white teeth. Flashy watch. Looked like Miami Vice and Tom Cruise had a baby.

I slap the magazine home and rack one into the chamber, making sure the barrel of the gun is pointed away from my houseguests… I look up to find both of them staring at me like I’m juggling chainsaws.


My Review:

This gripping story kept me on edge and kept an itch going in my curiosity from beginning to end. The tale was an uncomfortably prickly and gritty page-turner with a pervasive sense of peril, widespread corruption, and impending doom while something horribly tragic and vile was occurring right around the corner, but just what exactly that something was seemed just out of focus. I had my theories and was apprehensive about having it pegged correctly; I mostly had and have mixed feelings about being on target, as I didn’t want to be in this case.

The premise was dark and original, the plotting was brilliant and dastardly, and the pace was relentlessly electric. This author was such a crafty tease with dribbling and slipping sly little hints but giving nothing away. I adore her, am in awe of her skills, and have added her entire listing to my TBR as I covet all her clever arrangements of words. I hope I’m paying attention when the subsequent volumes are released.

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'The Darkwater Girls' by Maegan Beaumont.

Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Maegan Beaumont, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous

Publication date 4th November 2021.

This is the first book I have read by this author. It is also the first book in the 'Georgia Fell' series.

I was originally drawn to this book by its stunning eye catching cover and intriguing sounding synopsis and title. The synopsis stated that 'Readers who adore Tami Hoag, Mary Burton and J.D. Robb will be hooked on this jaw-dropping new crime series.' I am a huge fan of Mary Burton so am looking forward to seeing if this lives up to this statement. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).

This novel consists of a prologue and 65 chapters. The chapters are short to medium in length so possible to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

This book is based in Michigan, USA 🇺🇸.

This book is written in first person perspective and the main protagonists are Georgia Fell and Lincoln. The benefits of books written in first person perspective are as long as they are well written it makes you feel that you are being spoken to by the protagonist and it can create more of a bond between yourselves and them. If there are several protagonists you also get to see more of what is going on.

'The Darkwater Girls' discusses some topics that may trigger some readers or may not be suitable for others. I like to point this out ahead of time in my reviews so you can judge if this book is for you or not. In this book Maegan discusses/includes child abuse.

OMG!!! JUST ABSOLUTELY WOW!!! THIS IS AM ABSOLUTE MUST READ!!!

This book is fantastically written with extremely vivid descriptions which leaves you with the salty taste in your mouth from the sea and your heart absolutely pounding!!! The cover, description and title suit the book perfectly.

This book is extremely fast paced with so much going on it completely sucks you in. If you are going to start reading this lady and gents then clear your schedule because you will not be able to put it down!!! It is absolutely rammed with secrets, romance, lies, murder, gangs, twists, suspense, turns and absolutely everything you can ask for in a page turning thriller!!! There are tears, shocks, twists, love and so much more. I loved the atmosphere which is perfect for the storyline. It is an absolutely explosive start to what promises to be an epic series!!! I always write honest reviews and I will say I cannot say I was shocked with the 2 twists and I did work it out quite early. However I will say two things about this. Firstly I have read hundreds of crime thrillers so what didn't shock me doesn't necessarily mean it won't shock you. Secondly, I normally cannot justify rating a book higher than a 4 if I work out the twists. However I loved this book so much I'm going to break my own rule and give it a 5/5. I cannot wait until the next one!!! It kept me on my toes throughout as even though I had a feeling I knew who did what there is so much suspense and tension in between it left my heart pounding and me flipping the pages absolutely hooked!! I think it ended perfectly and it definitely left me wanting more.

It is always worrying when starting a new series as you have no idea who the characters are. It is very important for me to bond with not only the lead protagonists but those who surround them too.

I had absolutely nothing to worry about as I fell in love with Georgias character. She is one of those characters who has been through alot but has an absolutely amazing personality and instead of being dragged down by it she uses what she has learned to her benefits. She is an absolute kick @## woman which I love being a woman myself especially as she's so strong. I also absolutely love her sarcastic attitude. She made me laugh so many times which is nice as although this is a crime thriller it's good to have some light hearted parts. I became completely invested in her and cannot wait to see more of her. I need to be careful with what I say about the other characters as I don't want to give anything away. However I will say I was suspicious of one quite early and had a feeling about the other too and was proven right. Damn!!! Went to say something about one of them but I think it will give too much away so I will mention it when I read the next book in this series instead. I really liked several of the other characters too and although I can't go through them all, again as it may give too much away, I will say that Georgia has a very good friend in Evie and I'm looking forward to meeting her, Georgia and several of the other characters again.

Congratulations Maegan on one hell of a page turner!!! I would love to see this on the big screen and I'd like to welcome you to my favourite crime author club!!! Looking forward to reading more in this explosive series and here's to your next success 🥂!!!

Overall an absolutely addictive heart racing explosive page turning start to what promises to be an addictive new series!!!


Genres covered in this book include Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Suspense. and Psychological Fiction amongst others.


I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of Tami Hoag, Mary Burton, J.D. Robb, Angela Marsons, Carol Wyer and ANYONE looking for an explosive new series to start!!



402 pages.

This book is just 99p to purchase on kindle via Amazon or free on kindle unlimited which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!

Rated 5 /5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.

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In a small town, sometimes it’s hard to know who to trust. When you are the Angel Bay Baby, maybe the only person you can trust is yourself. Criminal activity is rampant in this fast-paced, nonstop novel by Maegan Beaumont.

From page one you are drawn into this psychological thriller, captivated by the characters and consumed by the scenery. In Angel Bay, Michigan, the west vs. the east and the haves vs. the have-nots all while the town’s Sheriff tries to keep everything under control. When an unruly biker gang begins to take over, all bets are off when a Case Manager for Foster children is found dead.

Georgia Fell has returned to the island ten years after running away – a previous foster child herself, abandoned at birth, now back after inheriting Fell Manor – Georgia knows just enough to be dangerous as a past Military Police who has worked crimes and sexual assault cases. When Georgia finds her previous foster sister dead, she is convinced she has been murdered but her boyfriend Alex – the Sheriff – is adamant it’s an overdose and Georgia is imagining things.

Has everything Georgia knew about growing up as a foster child on Angel Bay a lie? Will she believe her boyfriend or Lincoln McNamara – the boy she fell in love with at 18 whom inadvertently caused her to flee the island in the first place?

This book brought a different meaning to my understanding of the term “double-dutch,” now making me think of loyalties, back up plans and outsmarting the person who plans to double-cross you. Baumont sure knows how to weave a story, allowing the reader to be tricked by her writing into thinking that you have it all figured out several chapters in. I found myself frustrated at Georgia for not seeing what was right in front of her face . . . and mad that I was able to “know” the ending that soon into the book – only to be surprised by not knowing the totality of the circumstances. (“Oh what a tangled web we weave / When first we practice to deceive” by Sit Walther Scott should be the underlying theme of this book for the characters and the readers!!!)

It’s amazing to me how the majority of the novel takes place over the span of only a couple days, but I warn that some of the crimes and topics may be a lot for the faint of heart. Having multiple close families to me that are Foster Parents (and doing Family law cases where parents are either fighting for – or losing their parental rights), at times you have to remind yourself that this is just fiction.

The Dark Water Girls was great start to a new series, and I will definitely be reading the Georgia Fell Book #2 when it comes out. I was fully drawn to the characters in the book – told in the voices of Lincoln and Georgia, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

This is not the kind of book you read if you want a heartwarming and relaxing story because it's gritty, twisty and heartbreaking at time.
It's not one of those book you read before sleeping because it will let you wired after you read till late in the night.
It's atmospheric, claustrophobic and adrenaline fuelled.
That said I loved this first in a new series, it kept me on the edge till the end and reading.
Georgia and Lincoln are the two main POVs. Lincoln the boy that grew into privilege, Georgia, the child adopted by an entire island who run away and came back.
There's a lot going on with these characters, they're both hurt and they have to restart from the moment we read at the beginning of the book.
Georgia is hard nail but there's a strange naivety and sweetness in her. She stands for the children and the women who are being killed.
It's a story of privilege, corruption but also of solidarity and hope.
The author did an excellent job in developing fleshed out characters and the closed world of Bay Angel, the island and a character at the same time.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

A great start to a new series. I was a little aprehensive at starting The Darkwater girls, with it being a new series it generally takes time to establish characters. This is where Maegan has done really well. It has left me wanting more. It will be interesting to see where we go from here.

I won't lie this book took a little bit for me to get fully invested, but once i was hooked I couldn't put it down. Some of the twists were a little predictable, but I really enjoyed the story telling and found myself getting invested in the characters individual journeys. Overall I would recommend this story and plan on continuing the series as more books are released.

Holy cow, what a rollercoaster ride this was!!! From the first page to the last, I was holding my (metaphorical) breath the entire time.

Georgia is a strong woman, but she has an interesting past - a past she shares with the first murder victim that turns up. Her sister. Something just doesn't add up with the case though; what she sees and what she is told are two different things. And then there is Lincoln. Her foster brother back in the day, who broke her heart when she was 17 and whom she just doesn't really understand anymore. He has a story to tell as well, and finding out the whole story of what happened to him, is one of the major components of this book.

I loved the character of Georgia. I can't even imagine what it is like for kids in the foster system, especially when there are foster parents who are fostering with their own agendas in mind.

There are foster kids, bikies, ex-military types, fine upstanding citizens and complete ratbags in the mix and it all really works.

I can't wait until the next book comes out!

5 stars from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture.

In The Darkwater Girls we get to meet quite a few people in a pretty messed up small town. Maegan Beaumont does a good job of introducing characters in a way that makes them easy to differentiate and keep track of but also makes them interesting enough that I want to see more of many of them in the future. Since this book is also subtitled "Georgia Fell Book 1" I am looking forward to the many stories still to be told.

Georgia grew up in the foster system. Even as a famous baby in her small town and the preferential treatment that got her, it sucked. She overhears a conversation that breaks her heart and she leaves that night. Decades later, she returns to claim a strange estate that is left to her (she thinks by happenstance but I think we will eventually find out there is more to it) and comes back to give it a go. You can't leave your past behind. Not completely. It's part of you. And Georgia is pulled back in by her former foster sisters.

The plot has some interesting points (I don't want to say twists. Twists are overused and these things were the logical next events and happenings in the story.) Nothing comes out of nowhere and everything flows pretty nicely. These are people who are flawed but still likable and relatable. I want to see them again. So, I guess I have to say it-Another new series! Yay!

This is a new series and I always love starting new series because you can watch the characters and the story grow from the start.

From the start it was fast paced and action packed.

The setting and the characters are well fleshed out really well.

Hope to read more from her in the future.

For some reason I dreaded starting another crime novel and I am so very glad this was for a blog tour and I needed to read it now, because I really enjoyed it.

Georgie grew up on Angel Bay and left when the guy she was in love with got another girl pregnant. Now she is back and finds her foster sister dead.

This book has a great cast of characters. There are some that I really liked, like Georgie and Lincoln. I was invested in them, their tension over their past relationship and their potential. There were characters I didn’t really like but still wanted to know more about them along with the ones I couldn’t decide and wanted to discover more and make a decision. I liked how the characters interacted with each other, always hinting at what was to come without giving too much away. And I was sure I knew exactly where the story was headed and fell for a few red herrings.

Once I was a couple of chapters in, I couldn’t put this one down. And then knowing this is the first in a series, I wanted to put it down and draw it out since I know I wouldn’t have any patience to wait for the next installment. But I have no willpower and powered through it.

This is a great start to a new series. It has a story you want to solve along with characters that draw you in. And there was enough left hanging to get you excited about the rest of the series. I highly recommend this for those that love crime series with great characters.

#blogtour

I’ve been put off by crime thrillers for a while because several of them had become too predictable. I have favorites (just like most people) but others I have stopped reading. I am always eager to find a new author, though, and always give the first book in a series a shot.
I am so glad I did that with this one because it is one of the best crime thrillers I have read in a long time.
Everything from the characters to the background to the setting is fresh. In some ways, that makes it an even more exciting read.
It’s easy to do a “by the book” review because this one does have the hallmarks of a great crime thriller, but that would be giving it short shrift.
It is just better than that.
I like Georgia. She’s normal – even though we find out that she really isn’t. In fact, I like how everyone in this book is an “everyperson.” There are no caricatures no rote character studies.
Everyone is real. Actually, it also adds to the interest level because it made me feel like I was plopped down in the middle of a real town – kind of like Georgia.
The author does a great job of keeping the reader off-balance, just as Georgia is. Even at the climax (and OMG, what a freakin amazing few chapters THAT is) I still wasn’t sure of where the greatest menace was coming from.
Honestly, I don’t want to give anything away about the plot, but I will say that if you think you have it figured out, you probably don’t,
Even though my guess at one major aspect was accurate, I still didn’t get how widespread the entire enterprise was.
And something else – the author is smart in hinting about a few things regarding Georgia’s background. They are not revealed in this story, which is a guarantee to get readers like me to read future books in the series.
I would be doing that anyway because I am now invested in Georgia and Linc’s story – it is far from over. And I do hope that certain characters from this book make a return. Some of them deserve whatever may be coming to them.
This is a fantastic start to a new series. It has great characters, an intricate yet easy-to-follow storyline, and enough detail to make it feel like I was watching a movie at times.
I highly recommend getting in on the ground floor of this series, because I can already tell it is going to be a good one!

You HAVE to read this book! This is my favorite kind of thriller - fast paced, likeable characters who made mistakes, chaos and a strong kickass woman.
Georgie reluctantly returns home after years of in the armed services. She ended her career as a warrant officer for the sexual harassment and assault office. Immediate respect.
Georgia left her foster home when she overhears the young man she loves talking to her foster sister. About her pregnancy.
Now as an adult and the beneficiary of a monumental estate, Georgia is forced to face the truth of that night, the crime rampant in her community and face the monsters.

As a teenager, Georgia fell in love... until another girl showed up claiming he was the father of her unborn baby. The woman was Georgia's foster sister. Feeling betrayed, she packed her bags and left.

Years later, she returns... she's been left a lot of money and property to go with it.

Without giving any spoilers, Georgia re-meets many of the people she knew from before .. including the ex-boyfriend, his wife and their daughter. Another of her foster sisters is murdered .... but that's not the only body that falls.

There are many characters ... most of whom are lying or covering up. No one can be trusted .. not even the cops. There are crimes and heinous crimes. A lot more is at play than at first thought.

The protagonist is a woman with issues. She spent some years in the military. there's a whisper about something that happened to her during that time. As this is the first of a series, I expect this will expanded on in a later book. Another interesting part of her background .... she never knew her parents. When born, she was left in a mall and abandoned. The entire town kind of adopted her. Because of an error on her birth certificate she was given the last name of Fell .. the name of the richest woman in the area... the woman who left her fortune to Georgia.

It's a fast-paced, complex plot filled with curves and frequent changes of direction. The story line is intriguing and filled with solidly drawn characters intertwined in a terrific story. The ending was unexpected and explosive.

For fans of the author's earlier series, Sabrina Vaughn, it's been a long waiting time for another book. I guarantee you won't be disappointed, and it will be worth the wait. I look forward to the next book in this series.

Many thanks to the author / Bookouture / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

This is a brilliant start to a new series.
It took me a while to get into the story but once it was explained how Georgia fits in with a few of the other characters, I was hooked.
Georgia was fostered but left home suddenly after overhearing a conversation.
She’s now back where she grew up and people she was once close to are being murdered.
There’s clearly criminal activities being carried out in the small town but Georgia is only scratching the surface with her initial suspicions.
With her boyfriend being the Sheriff, Georgia expects him to keep her updated but when an attempt his made to kill her, she wonders who she can trust.
This is a gripping read and I can’t wait to see what happens next for Georgia and Lincoln.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Georgia Fell’s plans for her future fell apart. She had been abandoned at birth, placed in foster care, and the man she hoped would be hers, would never be. She left Angel Bay Island and enlisted in the Military Police Corps of the Army and became a warrant officer with their criminal investigation division. Now, ten years later she returns to the island after inheriting the estate of Elizabeth Fell, no relation even though she has the same last name. When she receives a text from a friend who needs help, she instead finds the dead body of another friend. She knows this friend had been murdered, but the police are calling her death an overdose with no foul play involved. Something is terribly wrong on the island and she is determined to get justice for her friend. An interesting mystery although it took a while for me to get in to the story. I did enjoy Georgia’s character, her no-nonsense attitude and her willingness to stand up for the foster girls. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)

One thing I like about reading ARC is I get to start on a series. This is the first book of Georgia Fell series.

Plot:- Fresh out the Military Police, Georgia Fell returns back to her small island near Michigan after being away for more than a decade. She came back to meet her little sister but instead found Rachel dead. Though the police rule out murder, Georgia believes that Rachel was murdered and set about to find the truth about Rachel's death. Meanwhile, she reconnects with her former childhood lover, Lincoln who is actually an ex con. Is Lincoln innocent as he seems or something sinister?

Writing:- The story is told from the perspectives of Georgia and Lincoln that you have a chance of getting to know their characters. There were some twists and turns but it started a bit slow and soon it got fast paced. I was on the edge of the seat while reading this book and then couldn't wait to see who the killer was! The author does a trick of tricking you to believe that particular person is the killer but the ending completely threw me off the radar. So anyway, this book actually was a complete surprise to me. The writing was really good and the author did a good job of drawing the reader to the story, making the reader feel like they are a part of the story.

Characters:- Since the story is told from the perspectives of Georgia and Lincoln, you get to know both their characters. I didn't like Jenna's character and I like how the relationship between Georgia and Lincoln soon developed towards the end.

Overall:- This was a great book, quite unputdownable with twists and turns along the way--worth four stars

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

Great start to a new series with compelling characters. Georgia is complex and I look forward to more of her past being revealed. I also really enjoyed the side characters as well. Especially Savanah.
I guessed things pretty early on but it didn't take away from the story. There's a lot of tension and suspense with fast pacing that keeps you glued to the pages. I'm looking forward to more in the series. I really hope things keep heading in the direction the ending was leading.