These Still Black Waters by Christina McDonald is a somewhat gripping novel. The story centers on Neve Maguire and Detective Jess Lambert. After a violent home invasion, Neve Maguire returns with her daughter to Black Lake, her childhood summer home, hoping for a fresh start. But when a woman's body is found floating among the reeds in the lake behind her house, she fears she has made a horrible mistake. The story revolves around a small town with disturbing secrets.

The book was a bit tedious to read and wade through the information. I usually like this author's writing style (I loved The Night Olivia Fell), but this book left a bit to be desired. I thought the characters were okay, and I liked the detective. Overall, an okay read for me. I would recommend this author's other books before I would recommend this book.

I rate this a 3 out of 5 stars.

#TheseStillBlackWaters #NetGalley @AmazonPub

3 stars

This was a really interesting thriller with many layers. The author explored how trauma can manifest differently for individuals, which was a major strong point of this novel. Both Neve and Jess were well-developed, fully believable characters.

However, the major "twist" of the novel didn't do it for me, personally. Though cliché in some ways, it was still interesting enough that I finished the book without complaint. The plot was compelling and I enjoyed the writing style.

I would recommend this to anyone who loves reading about a shady past, problematic yet conflicted protagonists, and shifting POVs.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for allowing me to read this book early. I really enjoyed it but did guess the plot halfway through unfortunately. It didn't deter me from finishing bc I still had to know what was going to happen next! This was my first from the author, and I can't wait to read another one of her books soon.

thank you to netgalley for allowing me to read this before its official release in exchange for an honest review.
i have major mixed feelings about this book - on one hand, i liked all the twists and the little hints that made total sense at the end and i liked that we got a lot of the characters backstories. on the other hand, i was pretty confused and a bit bored during most of this book. it started off strong and ended strong, but fell flat (in my opinion) in the middle.
the ending did have me sobbing tho!!!!
overall pretty decent, 4/5 stars.

Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Christina McDonald's "These Still Black Waters" is an intensely readable thriller. I breezed through it in the course of a day. Told through multiple perspectives, the novel follows both Neve, a middle-aged veterinarian reeling from tragedy, and Jessica, a disabled cop also coping with her own trauma. McDonald does well to delineate between these voices, often jumping between POV within chapters, as well as giving voice to the killer antagonist. McDonald attempts to come to grips with the symptomology of PTSD, but there are several instances that read almost as textbook rather than real character voice. What I mean here is that while I appreciate the nod to the complexity of PTSD in the two female leads, there are several points in the novel where it feels like you're reading a WebMD article on PTSD and the narrative lapses.

While the writing does feature quite a few cliches, they do not detract from the overall plot. One thing that I wanted McDonald to hash out more was the twist. (Those who read it will know what I'm talking about). I wish that this quality was introduced earlier, rather than relying on the PTSD hallucination storyline.

Overall, it offered a quick, thrilling read with a supernatural twist.

Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer and Christina McDonald for this ARC.

I love this author and the way she writes and loved her earlier book, The Night Olivia Fell so I was super excited to read this. I was immediately drawn in from the first page. The chapters are short which makes reading “just one more chapter” so easy. A woman and her 15-year old daughter return to the place the mom spent every summer as a child after a horrifying home invasion at their house. The next day a body is found in the lake next to her property.

What ensues is a game of cat and mouse told in several voices: the mother, the detective and the killer. What secrets happened all those years ago? What are these flashbacks? What are these visions she keeps seeing? Who are the notes and photos from that keep arriving?

One underlying theme that I liked throughout this book is mothers protecting their children.

The book takes a turn at a certain point and then the book starts to make sense. Kept me reading late into the dark to finish it.

This is the first of what appears to be a series in which the detective is the main character.

I'm so jealous of anyone who gets to read this for the first time! ☺️ This book was fast-paced, had unexpected twists, and was suspenseful just like all of Christina McDonald’s thrillers always are. Her writing style and character analysis in her books draw the reader in, keeping you engaged and connected to her characters and storyline. The first time I ever sat and cried with the ending of a book was honestly with her first debt thriller The Night Olivia Fell. This one was no different. Looking forward to continuing Detective Lambert’s next case in book #2.

Thank you to Netgalley, publishers, and the author for allowing me to read an early readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not even sure what to say about this book. It's was amazing, I picked it up and did not stop reading until the end. Then I just sat there for awhile thinking about all the clues I had missed...I caught a few, but not a lot. When thinking it over they were there, very cleverly disguised. Another awesome job Christina McDonald!! I can not wait for for more.
Thanks to the publisher, netgalley and mostly the author for this ARC.

Neve Maguire has gone from the frying pan to the fire. She and her daughter left their home after a violent home invasion to return to Neve’s childhood summer home on Black Lake, only to discover that a woman has been found dead in the lake behind her house. Detective Jess Lambert is in charge of the case and she has a strong suspicion that Neve knows a lot more than she’s letting on. It’s only after a second woman is killed that Neve and Jess realize they will have to work together to stop a violent predator