I loved this story! Jess and Neve are real, raw and vulnerable. Both wanting to protect their daughters at all costs.

This book follows Jess, a detective as she tries to solve a recent murder in her small town. At the same time, Neve has recently moved back to her family's summer home with her daughter Ash after a terrifying home invasion.
A definite must read!!

Thank you netgally for the advanced readers copy.

This book has multiple intertwining POVs. The story begins on a bit of a slow burn until BAM, a body is found. It follows with multiple twists and turns throughout this very well written 'whodunit' thriller.

Neve and her daughter Ash return to Neves' childhood summer home while she figures out her love life back in Boston. The next thing they know, their backyard is a crime scene. Detective Jess is on the case and finds that Neve may not be as innocent as she claims. While she is hot on the case, Neve recalls her secret past leading up to mysterious texts and notes left for her and the recently deceased. Are they connected? Is Neve telling Detective Jess the whole story?

This is the second book I’ve gotten from Netgalley that is advertised as a thriller but is in reality a PARANORMAL “thriller.” I am not the target audience for this genre because I find the paranormal aspects a plot device. This is not a police procedural when the police are not actually doing any investigating but are just receiving information through paranormal means. I guessed the “twist” at 53% read and hoped to God I was wrong, but I wasn’t. I guessed the “murderer” at about 40% in. Granted I read a lot of thrillers and murder mysteries so I can see the writing patterns emerge.
I was also not a fan of the pedantic nature of the book and how it constantly switched between 1st person and 2nd person. There were moments in every chapter where the character slips into advice using 2nd person. I found this completely off-putting. The main character was not redeemable or moral or ethical, so why should the reader take life advice from her? I thought maybe I could excuse that if it was a character trait and explained or developed. However, there are three different POVs (Neve, Jess, and the murderer) and all chapters have moments like this.
I liked none of the characters. Even the police officer that is supposed to carry the series. She’s an alcoholic who injured herself while driving under the influence and yet she continues to drive drunk!! As a police officer! And her fellow officers know and don’t stop her!!
I can’t.
So I won’t be reading the rest of the series nor anything else by this author. Like I said, I am not a fan of paranormal. So if this were labeled correctly, I wouldn’t have requested it.

I would like to thank NetGalley, the author, and the publishers for providing this ARC copy to read and review. All the statements above are my true opinions after fully reading the book.

Christine is amazing I love all her books and look forward everytime she has a new one pop up! This one was great! Highly suggest getting it asap!

Overall this was a story full of twists. I didn't personally love the "supernatural" part of the story and it did cause some confusion. The ending was so-so.... it wasn't my favorite Christina McDonald book but it was still a good read.

4.75 ⭐️

I thoroughly enjoyed this one! After seeing the cover & reading the description, I thought it would be a good read! Once I was about 50% through the book, I could not put it down!! I had to find out the truth of what happened. It was definitely a good thriller and I loved the plot-twists and surprises!

This book follows two main characters- Neve (a mother who is running away from her problems after a recent home invasion to help protect her daughter) and Jess (an alcohol detective that is desperate to run away from the grief that consumes her.) Whether the two women know it, they have a little bit in common.

When Neve arrives to Black Lake, she learns quickly that her neighbor was murdered. Is she next? Who did it and why? And how does her neighbor connect to Neve’s past? That’s what Detective Jess Lambert is working hard to find out!

This was a great read and I definitely recommend it. Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was really excited to read this book because I was already a fan of Christina McDonald's writing. This book did not disappoint! It's the story of a mother and daughter, Neve and Ash, who relocate to the mother's childhood summer home in Black Lake after a home invasion. As soon as they arrive, a woman's body is found in the lake behind their house. Jess Lambert is the investigator on the case and she can tell that Neve is hiding secrets from her past in Black Lake. Jess is also recovering after having a personal tragedy of her own and she also has her own secrets. The story alternates between the perspectives of Neve, Jess and the unknown killer. The writing style really kept my interest and I found that I couldn't stop reading. Towards the end of the book, there's a twist that I didn't see coming. This is a book where the reader has to suspend their disbelief which I sometimes have a problem doing but the author really made it work. This book is billed as Book #1 in the Jess Lambert Series and I can't wait to read more with this character and see where her story goes.

Thank you to Netgalley, Thomas Mercer Publishing and Christina McDonald for providing me the opportunity to read this ARC. The publication date for These Still Black Waters is August 8, 2023. I highly recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this early. I have read other books by Ms. McDonald so I started this one anticipating a good thriller with a twist. I am not completely sure what I just read. Jess, the detective main character, sees visions of her daughter and other characters important to the story and they talk to her and give her clues about the murder. It was so confusing and I skimmed at the end just to find out who had done the crime. I did not enjoy this book, as the whole premise is far-fetched, to me. I will not be looking for more featuring this character.

Amazing!!! I am so thankful I got to read this now! It had me from the very beginning and it took twists I never could have thought of or made up!! I can’t wait for more from the series!!!

One word to describe this novel: lyrical. Parallel narratives don't always work for me - too often they attempt to replicate the virality and tone of Gone Girl, struggling to find original voices for their characters. Not this book. I read the entire novel in a little over a day. I wanted to read more, not just because of the story, but because of the quality of the writing itself.

Often modern mysteries center the whodunnit and fail to develop a captivating "why" to wrap up the rest of the story once the mystery has been solved. In These Still Black Waters, the mystery is layered and the seeds planted throughout the book reveal their roots in a satisfying way. I really enjoyed this one.

This book was just ok for me. It was told in three parts by Neve, Jessica, and the killer. I really struggled to maintain interest in Neve and Jessica was just the quintessential alcoholic law enforcement person in a small town that does not follow the rules yet conveniently figures everything out in their stupor. I have seen this trope one too many times now. I think it would have been a little more interesting to reveal the killer in some other way as opposed to the little fragmented sections that were provided. I would have preferred notes, or something else that would tie into the past. The past was definitely a lot once revealed, however basically because it was completely unplausible. I do not think a relationship would have existed between those two girls unless Neve was just the most desperate person ever. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

WOW! I did not see that coming! Christina McDonald's new book "These Still Black Waters", will suck the reader right in. It is suspenseful to the very last page. The reader is introduced to Neve, a mother escaping with her daughter following a home invasion. The place they escape to- Black Lake- does not offer the retreat Neve needs. Just when the reader thinks they might have figured out whodunnit, the next page reveals a different story.

Four stars for the first 80% of this book, barely three stars for the plot twist at the end.
This book really had me engulfed for the majority of the plot, I was hooked. I had several theories throughout the book, none of which ended up being correct. I loved the mystery, the plot, the characters. The two main characters were flawed for sure, both made horrible decisions several times, but that was not nearly as off putting as the plot twist. The plot twist actually made me groan aloud because I was so disappointed the author took that path.
Overall, loved most of this book. I’m glad I read it but I’m sure if I’ll check out any other books in the series. If you’re into thrillers/mysteries, you’ll definitely want to check out this book

Once again Christina McDonald gives us another great story.

Do you believe in ghosts? Jess has to come to terms with what she sees as her biggest mistake. She has to decide if drinking is more important than everything else in her life. But can she change her self destruction or does she not have the power within to do so?
Will she get help from the “ghosts” in her life or just cave to own mental issues?

Starts off a little slow, but then the action picks up and there are lots of twists and turns and characters that are easy to connect with.

I've devoured everything this author has ever written, but she has outdone herself with this one, and I'm ecstatic to see it's the beginning of a series! Two deeply flawed women, both running from something. After a violent home invasion that nearly kills her teenage daughter, Neve Maguire leaves her husband and returns to Black Lake, her childhood summer home. Her peaceful respite is shattered when the body of a woman is found in the lake behind her home.

Detective Jess Lambert knows loss just as keenly as Neve does, and though she's back on the job, she's struggling with her loss. Her character is tough, guarded, and nothing escapes her attention, which is why Neve is instantly on her radar. She recognizes her more as just a fellow victim; she is sure that Neve is keeping some big secrets, and she's determined to find out what they are.

I never in a million years predicted the direction this story would go, and while it may have been unconventional, it was brilliantly executed and exquisitely captured the grief that both women are struggling with. I was highlighting so many beautifully written passages, and when I got to this one, I just burst into tears: 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒚𝒃𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒊𝒔𝒏'𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒊𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒃𝒚 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑩𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉. 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒎𝒚 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆. 𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔𝒏'𝒕 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏 𝒘𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏'𝒕 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕.

This is more than a thriller; this is a deep dive into loss, grief, and the human will to survive. I will never forget how this book made me feel, which is that someone who deeply understood me held my hand and looked directly into my soul. Forever grateful to NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer/Amazon Publishing for this early read. Publishes August 8, 2023.

These Still Black Waters was intriguing, twisty, mysterious and completely not what I was expecting. The writer does such an amazing job with her descriptive writing that I could feel the summer heat around me. She made sure to utilize ALL her characters and in turn left me completely on my toes.

Neve suffers a home invasion which causes her to take her daughter back to her childhood summer vacation spot to process her trauma. But, she has trauma in Black Lake that she never addressed.

Detective Jess is also recovering from her own tragic life event and hopes this case is the one that will turn her life around.

When not one but two bodies are discovered, these two woman will have to work together through their collective traumas to solve this mystery.

This was my first read by Christina McDonald and will most definitely not be my last. A solid 5 ⭐️. I highly recommend you pick up a copy of this book on release day: August 22, 2023.

Thank you NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer, and Christina McDonald for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I kind of figured out the ghost aspect about half way through but did not guess the killer. Highly recommend!

I'm so excited that there will be more Jess Lambert books! While it was made incredibly clear who the killer was about 60% of the way though, I was pleasantly surprised by one twist that I didn't expect. The writing is strong and the story kept me engaged and interested.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Incredible. Christina McDonald does it again. I cannot say enough good things about this one. This book kept me guessing until the very end. The way she weaves the story and characters together is a gift. You really feel like you are a part of their world. I laughed, I cried, I was on the edge of my seat. Being a mom, this one definitely gave me all the feels. Give this one a try. You won't regret it.