DNF at 25%

I read most of this 25% in one sitting but unfortunately it wasn't for me – the story, while intriguing especially as the mother's diary is dipped into – didn't have me desperate to read "just another chapter"

A visceral, eerie and compelling book. From the very beginning I knew that this was something special.

An unusual setting in the Shetland Islands, the landscape is portrayed in a haunting form, evoking foreboding from the ground to the sky. The main character working in a fish processing factory adds a chilling and grotesque element.

The story is about a woman who is content with her life despite living under a cloud of past trauma. The distress and anxiety is reignited when something is found in a flooded quarry. This is all revealed gradually as she reads her mother's diaries that tell of her meeting her father, getting married, having children and moving to the Shetland Islands as well as other disturbing issues. Told from only these two perspectives, it is an intimate and challenging account.

Expertly and beautifully written, the reader sits under a chill until the end. Feeling exposed and raw from this journey, I'm waiting for the next book from this new writer. Recommended for those who like courageous and resolute novels.

This is a beautifully written, powerfully executed dual narrative book which touches on some incredibly difficult and emotional subjects with a lightness of touch that makes it highly readable and yet sensitive to the issues. Just gorgeous!

Book covers keep getting better and better don’t they? This one is stunning in its simplicity and gives an evocative insight into the haunting story this debut novel tells. Pert won the First Novel Award at Cheltenham Literary Festival for the book.

Jane has returned to Unst in the Shetland Islands where she spent her early childhood years. She has a steady job in a fish factory and a loving boyfriend in fisherman Mike, but she is haunted by her past. When she is notified by police that her mother’s prosthetic arm has been found in a quarry in Devon, Jane begins to read her mother’s diaries, creating a dual narrative timeline of 1979 for the reader and the present day and opening up the secrets and lies of the past.

Still Water is a hard book to categorise. It deals with some very heavy topics (cw: post partum depression, post partum psychosis, intrusive thoughts, abortion, grief, suicide) but it’s somehow not a heavy read. Pert has written the book with a huge amount of empathy and gentleness.

The trope of the diaries was a little clichéd and there were some details in the book that didn’t quite ring true. Having said that, it was a compelling, immersive read and for anyone who has ever had a baby and felt completely at sea, there will be a lot to relate to in here.

The pieces in the book on intrusive thoughts were particularly well done - I experienced these after having our children (manifesting themselves as worries about what might happen to them) but I wasn’t aware of what they were until my third child. Thankfully, I never experienced anything more severe but this story serves as a reminder of how closely we need to mind new mothers 💔.

An atmospheric read that I can see being a word of mouth success and a popular one with book clubs, I really enjoyed it. 4/5 ⭐️

*Still Water by Rebecca Pert was published on 23 June and is widely available. Many thanks to the publisher @boroughpress and @netgalley for a digital copy of the book. As always, this is an honest review.*

This was a really slow burn for the first half or so. It took me a bit of time to get into it but once I was in I was hooked! The dual perspective narrative works really well as it really demonstrates Jane’s thoughts and the diaries from her mother makes you consider her actions from a different angle. We are able to compare and contrast both Jane and her mother’s life as we move through the story which adds to the dark and twisty nature.
There’s a lot of difficult content to manage in this novel but it’s handled with a beautiful writing style. The look at how trauma, grief as well as medication and post-natal depression has affected Jane’s life. It’s a difficult read at many times yet I finished it feeling empowered and satisfied.

Set on the Shetlands this atmospheric novel gradually builds the tension from the first page. I loved Janes mum diary entries and the present day told through Janes eyes. A great read.

Still Water is a dark and atmospheric novel with a dual timeline, mainly based in the Shetland Isles. We learn the story of Jane in the present timeline as she’s reading her mother’s 1970s diaries. Something awful happened to Jane and her mother, but exactly what it was is only gradually revealed over the course of the novel.

An engaging read with a powerful and unforgettable ending.

I thought Still Water was an incredible book. I cried so much reading this. I loved the way the book moves from past to present gradually revealing how the past tragedy is affecting Jane’s life now. I love non-linear narratives. I also loved the way suspense is built. You don’t find out the truth about Sylvia (Jane’s mother) and that tragic day until almost at the end of the book which makes you keep turning pages until all the threads connect. I also loved the setting and the way the author brings Shetland to life. I can’t recommend this enough.

Jane Douglas returns to the Shetland Islands, convinced she has left the darkness of her past. Her life is simple, mundane even. Just how she likes it Then a fragment of her past enters her present. The body of her long-missing mother is thought to be in the flooded quarry. The news brings back suppressed memories and details of events that Jane has tried her best to forget.

I’d describe this book as realistic fiction. The author has done an amazing job at creating imaginary characters and situations that depict the world and society. The characters focus on themes of growing, self-discovery and confronting personal and social problems. This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

3.5/5.

A dark story, twisty and fascinating. A dual timeline, women who suffered loss and trauma, the fascinating setting of the Shetland.
It's poignant and sometimes disturbing story, I found it a bit depressing at times.
The author is a talented storyteller, the descriptions of the Shetland are fascinating, and the characters well developed.
It's recommended.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I really wanted to read this book as it was set in Shetland but I fell in love with it because of its beautiful enigmatic and sometimes ethereal writing. It is quite something that this is a debut novel. It is a very accomplished novel and it feels very self fulfilled. The author clearly knew the story she wanted to tell and achieved it perfectly. This story is about two women struggling to make their way in the World, dealing with grief and mental health issues. I think this book deals with these issues sensitively whilst creating an atmospheric and compelling read helped by the beautiful backdrop that is the Shetland Islands.

Loved this! There's something haunting about the cover which immediately drew me in and I'm happy that's happened cos I would have potentially otherwise missed this beautifully written tale of family trauma, grief, mental illness and the challenges of motherhood. Superbly told and so intense an unflinching but with a vein of empathy and compassion that runs all the way throughout the story.

I find it hard to believe this is Rebecca Pert's debut - what a talent! I'll definitely keep a close eye on her future works.

A beautifully written atmospheric story of trauma, grief and redemption, Still Water is a beautiful yet brutal debut from Rebecca Pert.

In all honesty, it was the cover of this Cheltenham Literary Festival First Novel Award winner that caught my attention when I was idly browsing NetGalley. I wasn't sure that the blurb appealed enough that if I picked the book up in-store, I’d make the purchase, but I took a punt and requested the opportunity to review. Oh, am I glad I did, finishing the book in around 5 hours of solid reading; I simply could not put my kindle down.

When Jane Douglas returns to Scotland, she wants only to forget about the terrible events of her childhood. Yet she lives in a tiny community where everyone knows everyone else's business, and her history is well known to all over a certain age.

She lives a simple life, initially as a punitive event and then out of it becoming her norm, then she finds love with Mike, and life looks like it's on the up. Until that is, she receives news that her mother's body has been found in a quarry, years after she disappeared without a trace.

Through two concurrent storylines - Janes's current life and Janes's reading of her mother's diaries we discover the whole sad tale while being able to compare and contrast their lives.

Pert's novel explores issues around pregnancy, post-partum depression, the challenges of motherhood, homesickness and the complexities of ‘belonging’. Pert tackles these issues head-on but with appropriate sensitivity in this richly descriptive piece; her portrayal of both the characters and local landscapes are evocative.

Saying that, I did find her approach a little too conventional in places; I felt like I was stepping into a particularly complex episode of Shetland (a UK television drama).

Can Jane ever escape her demons and lay to rest those tragic memories? After all, still water runs deep, or so they say.

I really liked this book. When Jane Douglas returns to Shetland she only wants to forget about the terrible events of her childhood. She lives a simple life and has found love with her partner, Mike. But then she receives news that her mother's body has been found in a quarry, years after she disappeared without trace. Through her mother's diaries we discover the whole sad tale. Can Jane ever escape her demons and lay to rest those tragic memories? I recommend this book whole heartedly. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

The initial version of this debut novel from Rebecca Pert - who also lectures in creative writing - won the Cheltenham Literary Festival First Novel Award. It's essentially a mystery which centres on the circumstances behind the severed relationship between a mother and a daughter and their shared legacy of unresolved trauma. The main character Jane’s returned to her childhood home in Shetland where she works in a dead-end job in a fish-processing factory. She lives in a caravan and has few friends. Then, not long after she begins dating local man Mike, the past she’d hoped was buried comes back to haunt her. The police have identified a body as her mother, someone who’s been missing for several years. She disappeared after an incident which led to a rupture between her and Jane, and from which Jane has never fully recovered. Pert's novel explores issues around pregnancy, post-partum depression and the challenges of motherhood. It’s a richly descriptive piece, the portrayal of the local landscapes are particularly evocative and convincing but as a novel it just didn’t work for me, I found the approach a little too conventional and the treatment of the material sometimes heavy-handed. Having said that it's received a fair number of other, more positive reviews and I think fans of this kind of literary, psychological crime may well enjoy this far more than I did.

Firmly rooted in the Shetland islands this book should be used as an advert for the beauty and wildness of the land .I lived the way the land was compared to the softer more bucolic countryside of the West Country
I liked the way the story is told from point of view of both mother and daughter ,I was always clear who I was reading about .Flash backs using the mother character allowed the story to extend over 2 lifetimes comparing and contrasting their lives nicely
The sections dealing with mental illness particularly post partum mental illness were very well written and felt completely real as did the sections on pregnancy and birth
I enjoyed this book and was quickly invested in discovering more about the family .I would recommend to those who like relationship novels or literary novels
I read an early copy on NetGalley Uk the book is published in June 2022

Jane Douglas is a quiet person besieged by the demons of her family’s past. Living in a caravan on Unst in the Shetlands, she overlooks the derelict croft she shared with her father, mother and baby brother. Working in the local salmon cannery is unpleasant, mind numbing work. She is charged with being aloof and unsociable by some of her work colleagues, and finds it difficult to mix. Apart from Mike, her boyfriend of a few months, and Maggie, a friend and neighbour, there is no one else important in her life.

This plot follows two stories, Jane’s mother Sylvia as a young girl in Devon, and Jane herself, a woman in her 30’s.

The story is dark and deep, dealing with some very sensitive issues.

The author has hit the ground running with this atmospheric and intense story and her descriptive narrative is very compelling. The only downside was rather a rushed ending, which seemed to pull the book up short.

I look forward to reading more from Rebecca Pert.

Thank you NetGalley.

This poignant novel is primarily set on one of the Shetland Islands and centers around Jane, a woman haunted by family demons. There is a second story in a previous timeframe, that surrounds her mother's diaries. Very readable, albeit some dark character development and difficult topics such as mental illness, murder, grief and trauma. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

Rebecca Pert is a huge talent. Her writing is playful, lyrical and atmospheric and the emotion she conveys on the page has the ability to touch your heart. Still Water is a tragic portrayal of grief and loss. I am not a mother but the writing felt so raw and vivid that I found myself empathising with the depiction of post-natal depression. Also it is set on the Shetland Islands - I should have led with that. I've always wanted to read/write a book set in that haunting, isolated place and Pert has done it justice (and some).

This was such an evocatove read. It was well written with well developed characters and a tragically poignant and descriptively beautoful plotline. I was completely captivated by this book, I couldn't put it down and it is going to be with me for a while. I really enjoyed it,