These Silent Black Waters is told from multiple perspectives in multiple timelines. But it made sense. Neve is a young mom who has suffered a terrible home invasion with her family. She is suffering from PTSD. She returns home to her mothers house while her mother is in a home suffering with dementia. This is supposed to be her and her daughter's fresh start. Jess, a local policewoman who has been dealing with her own tragedies, she is an alcoholic and has lost her daughter. Both women are facing the consequences of their actions! We even hear from the killer's prospective, which I love! It adds an extra touch to the book! Soon after Neve returns home, the body of a young woman is found. As they catapult into the investigation, it brings up the past. Loved this book! If you are looking for a twisty fast paced thriller, grab this book!
Wow! I was taken by complete surprise reading this book.

There were elements that I was not aware of and don't typically read. The book was captivating from start to finish! I loved that both Neve and Jess were so realistic and had both good and bad qualities. Their character development from start to finish was a welcome transformation. I can't wait to read more Jess Lambert books!

Thank you to @christinamac79, @thomasmerceruk, @netgalley and @thrillerbookloverspromotions for the chance to read this book. My opinions are my own.

This is a story of revenge and a story of ghosts. A poor decision has haunted Neve since the summer she was 17. And now someone is extracting vengeance based on that poor decision.

I figured out the premise about halfway into the book and that ruined some of the suspense for me. I am a big fan of Christina McDonald but this one was not her best.

This was my first book by Christina McDonald and it was disappointing. It took me a week to get through a 320-page book which usually takes me two to three days, so this one was much too easy for me to put down. Detective Jess Lambert is back at work after the tragic accident that killed her young daughter and left her severely injured. The body of a woman is found floating in Black Lake, just behind the childhood summer home of Neve Maguire. Neve has just arrived with her daughter after a violent home invasion. I can’t really go into detail about what bothered me about this book without including major spoilers, so I’ll just say that the story was way too far-fetched for me. I don’t recommend this one. Thanks to #netgalley and #thomas&mercer for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Neve Maguire and her daughter, Ash, make a hasty retreat to her childhood summer home after a violent home invasion. The morning after their arrival, their neighbor’s house is swarming with police after a body is found in the lake. This sets off a series of events that are questionable. Things just not what they seem. Jess Lambert is the Detective in charge of this case. She is dealing with her own pain and uses alcohol to deaden the pain. This really makes to reader question everything!

Part thriller, part paranormal mystery. This book is not at all what I expected, but so much more. Love this author for her storyline twists and this one did not disappoint. Story told in 3 voices (Neve, Jess and the killer) which adds to the suspense. A little slow moving in some parts but the last 25% takes off. I love when I can pick up a book and it’s over before I know it. First in a series and I’m already looking forward to Book 2 and more of Jess’ story. This books gives you a lot to think about. Two women with secrets, guilt and nothing but love for their children. While I enjoyed Neve’s story, Jess was so easy to connect with. The ending was emotional.

If the author's name didn’t already sell me on the book, the eerily beautiful cover would. I’m a sucker for a great cover and this one isn’t disappoint. The beauty that is seen on the outside isn’t the same as the pain hiding underneath.

Thanks to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for this ARC. This is my honest opinion.

If you tell yourself a lie for long enough, it becomes polished with the sheen of truth.


Don't you just love it when you pick a random book and it totally compels you?
Compelled. This is exactly how I felt when I read the first couple of chapters of These Still Black Waters by Christina McDonald.

After a series of life events, Neve Maguire moves back to the place where she spent her summer days as a young teen. Although many years have passed, there still are some things that Black Lake
keeps as a secret, buried deep inside.

It's sure that "if you tell yourself a lie for long enough, it becomes polished with the sheen of truth." But no secret stays hidden forever, and no matter how many times we repeat something to make it sound true, there is always the possibility that the actual truth will float to the surface and break the silence once and for all.

Detective Jess Lambert has one job: to find out the truth. No matter what, no matter how the case must be solved. She also has some struggles of her own, but that doesn't matter when she feels she's on the right track to reveal something that will permanently change the big picture.

Both women get intertwined with each other, and each piece of the puzzle slowly finds its way.

I love how the author pleats a tapestry of behaviors, life situations, tragedies, endings, and beginnings. The writing flows easily, and the pages turn on their own. There is no urge in you to rush just finish the book, but to go through it and absorb all the feelings the characters experience. It was such a good story, and although I don't prefer series at all, I will definitely stick with this one just to see how it will progress.

Many thanks to the publisher, who provided the digital ARC via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

LOVED LOVED LOVED this book! Not only is Christina just a genuinely nice and caring person, but an amazingly talented author as well! I was captivated by this book from the beginning, and loved seeing view points from multiple characters (those kinds of books are my favorite to read). This book was eerie, thrilling, and yet a little sad all around when you read about what characters have been through and what happened to others. But I guarantee that you'll never have a dull moment with this read and it will keep you guessing, with such a big twist at the end that even a thriller lover like me never saw coming! I truly hope everyone picks this book up and gives it as much of a raving review as I did because this book deserves it!

Christina McDonald, I see you girl...

McDonald and I started our "book-ship" way back when The Night Olivia Fell, hit the shelves. I swooned over this book and had to recommend it to literally every person I knew. Next came Behind Every Lie, and I was completely hooked. Behind Every Lie was one of my favorite books. That is until These Still Black Waters landed in my lap.

Holy Moly!!

My head spun right on off my neck! What did I just read?

Literary gold, that's what!!!

McDonald has done it again (I mean, did we expect anything less)

This book right here will grab your attention chapter one and suck you right down the rabbit hole filled with mystery, suspense and MURDER!

I could not get enough. Every time I thought I had it all figured out, I was dead wrong. The twists kept coming and the pace was perfect! I was never bored or looking to take a break. Don't believe me? Check out this teaser:

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 the body of a woman is found floating among the reeds in the lake behind her house, she fears she has made a horrible mistake.

Neve is hiding secrets, though. Detective Jess Lambert can tell. Recently back after her own personal tragedy, Jess knows what it’s like to live with skeletons in your closet, and she’s sure Neve has a few of her own.

When another woman’s body is found, Jess and Neve are forced to confront a horrible truth. Because one thing is clear: the darkness of the past is waiting. And the secrets of Black Lake are only just beginning to surface.

This book was so good! I really enjoyed both main characters and their emotional journeys. Although I knew who the killer was - I did not guess the way the story unfolded! I can’t wait for book 2.

Christina McDonald is a fantastic storyteller. She has been one of my favorite go to authors ever since I read her novel The Night Olivia Fell. All of her books have resonated with me, because she brilliantly captures the humaneness and reality in her characters, the true essence and fragility of the mother/daughter (child) relationship so well including in her new novel These Still Black Waters (Book 1 of the Jess Lambert series). A huge thank you to Thomas & Mercer Publishing, the author and NetGalley for the advanced electronic copy of the book.

These Still Black Waters is an emotionally charged, highly engaging, suspenseful mystery with a bit of the supernatural. The story is told from multiple perspectives and deals with the mother/daughter relationship, loss, alcoholism feelings of guilt, bullying, post-traumatic stress, murder, choices and consequences.

When the book opens Neve Maguire, a veterinarian and her teenage daughter Ashley Rose are moving to Black Lake and into Dullahan House, after experiencing a violent home invasion at their home in Boston. It’s a large Victorian home in the small quaint town where Neve spent her summers. The house was once owned by her grandmother and then her mother, who now has Alzheimer’s and is in a care facility. But unfortunately the fresh start and sense of security that Neve and Ash long for is completely destroyed when a woman is found murdered in the lake right behind their house. Now Neve is questioning her decision about coming back here with her daughter. A place that holds so many memories and secrets.

Homicide detective Jess Lambert has been off the job for a while after suffering her own personal tragedy, but now she’s back and needing to prove she can handle everything. Starting this new murder investigation she just might be able to focus on her job and take her mind off of her personal problems. However, once Detective Lambert meets Neve she can sense that something isn’t quite right. Neve is harboring some secrets and Jess knows exactly what that’s like. She been grappling with her own secrets and feelings of guilt, too. But secrets always have a way of resurfacing. And when another woman turns up dead both of these woman will have to come face to face with the darkness of the past.

These Still Black Waters is a beautifully written, atmospheric, deeply compelling book. It grab my attention from the very beginning and had me up turning pages late into the night with all the twists and turns. I cannot wait to read book two of this series. This is definitely a book that is not to be missed, one to add your reading list. A perfect book to kick off the start of the fall/spooky reading season! Bravo Christina!

4.5 stars rounding down to 4 stars on Goodreads.

This was such an intriguing read and I could not get enough of it. If life didn’t got in the way, I could see me reading this in a day. The main plot twist that revealed the murderer was so surprising and my head was spinning leading up to that reveal as I was trying to figure it out. This book gave me feels of I Know What You Did Last Summer. Definitely add this to your TBR! I can’t wait to check out the backlist of McDonald because her writing is spectacular!

***** Many thanks to Christina McDonald and @thrillerbookloverspromotions for providing me a copy in turn for an honest review.

When two women running from their traumatic pasts find the present is not safe either.....you have THESE STILL BLACK WATERS. The story bridges several genre without being over-the-top unbelievable. Told from the perspective of these two damaged women and the killer they are both looking for, the story takes some dramatic twists that will turn the plot on a u-turn. Fast paced story with well developed characters and an eerie community, this was an easy 5 star read.

I'm usually a big fan of this author but this one missed the mark for me. The characters are interesting. The mystery was a good premise. However, by a third of the way through I had figured out the major "shocker" and eneded up skipping about 18 chapters to get to the ending.

I have been a fan of Christina McDonald’s books ever since The Night Olivia Fell, and she has outdone herself with her newest, THESE STILL BLACK WATERS. I am beyond excited this is the first in a series because I was not ready for this to be over. I loved the character of Jess Lambert and all she was struggling with, I empathized with her from the very beginning. The setting was fantastically eerie, and I really loved the paranormal element woven in here. There were some crazy twists that I did not see coming and I also should warn you, this one will get you emotionally as well. It was such a well written story, I was completely sucked in from the beginning and just blown away when I finished.

I cannot recommend this one enough, it is now my favorite of hers by far. This one is out today, please make sure it is on your list! Thank you to Thriller Booklovers Promotions and Thomas & Mercer for the advanced digital copy to review.

🎉 Happy Pub Day🎉

These Still Black Waters
By: Christina McDonald
4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is book #1 in the Jess Lambert Series. This was my third book by this author and I always look forward to her books.

Neve takes her daughter back to her home town of Black Lake looking for a fresh start. Neve has her secrets, but we know sometimes secrets cannot stay in the past.Sadly a woman’s body is found in the lake behind her house. What is her connection to the woman or is this a random death? Will there be more deaths?

Detect Jess Lambert is on the case and senses Neve knows this woman! Jess is also hiding secrets. Could hear woman have something in common?

Twists and multiple POVs kept my attention throughout this novel!

Happy Pub day Christina McDonald!

#thesestillblackwaters, #christonamcdonalkd, #thomasandmercer, #Happypubday, #bookstagram, #booksconnectus, #bookreview, #stamperlady50

Told in alternating points of view, this novel is an excellent example of twisty mystery wrapped around thoughts of grief, guilt, and familial love. When Neve and her daughter Ash are victims of an unsolved home invasion, they travel to Neve's mother's home where she spent her childhood summers and where unanswered questions and hidden secrets lie. Her next door neighbor is immediately found murdered and leads to the meeting of Neve and Detective Jess Lambert. Jess is dealing with the aftermath of her own tragedy, and this enables the events to unfold.

I found the alternating chapters and spooky atmosphere to be so well written. Each time I thought I guessed what was happening, I was only approaching the surface of the story, just as in the titular black waters of the lake. (And this cover is so beautifully done as well!)

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my eARC.

Emotionally complex, two mothers (detective and victim) struggle with past trauma and dark secrets while a mysterious killer is out for revenge in a race against time in this enthralling twisty whodunit new series with a sympathetic, highly relatable main character you will root for.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this e-arc.*

I have enjoyed everything that Christina McDonald has written so far and this one fits right in with the others. You know it’s going to be good when you get a creepy vibe right off the bat about the house and location. I felt for Jess’s character right off the bat with not only her physical struggles, but her grief and mental struggles as well. The burn is slow, but consistent throughout. And the twists definitely fooled me.

Thank you to Netgalley, Thomas & Mercer, and Christina McDonald for this e-arc!

I've typically really enjoyed Christina McDonald's books, and I did like this one and I'm interested to see where it can go as a series. However, this isn't my new favorite by the author, and without spoilers, I'll just say that I did find every "twist" in the story predictable, and I think there could have been less telegraphing of what was going to happen. Jess Lambert is an interesting detective character, and following her will be an interesting journey.

One thing I know is you can't run from your past. Dead bodies are floating in the lake, a detective is on the case, and Neve thought she'd left the violence behind her. Sounds like a pretty typical thriller set up, doesn't it? I appreciated the depth of the characters even if the basic plot line has been told before. I think the characters are what bring a plot down a different path than previous thrillers. That and the twists. I didn't feel particularly thrilled by this book, but I was entertained.

Wow that was a very suspenseful book. I thought it was a slow beginning but it sure was an edge of the seat book until the end.

Loved it. Awesome read. You out did yourself this time Christina. Great job. You had me fooled!