4.25 stars

Julia's mom has been gone for years, but her mantra of "never trust a man" is one of the only things she left Julia with. Despite this, young, pregnant & early in her relationship with Jason, Julia knows as soon as she meets his sister Sienna that they were meant to be family, and accepts his pregnancy-driven proposal. She was right, & Julia and Sienna have been best friends, sisters-in-law, & business partners for years. Sienna speaks up when Julia's afraid to, while Julia's thoughtfulness helps keep Sienna mindful. Julia tells Sienna everything--except when she's afraid Sienna will take Jason's side.

Sienna is a very all-or-nothing person. Her & Jason's parents were killed by a drunk driver years ago, & Jason's support of her during the aftermath cemented him as her hero. Just like when her loving boyfriend, Wyatt, cheated on her, he was instantly dead to her. Sienna tells Julia everything--except that she's secretly still seeing Wyatt despite her stance on cheating.

A week after his boss was brutally murdered, Jason is in a car accident & put in a medically-induced coma. While processing the accident scene, the police discover evidence linking Jason to the murder. But with him unable to talk, Sienna & Julia are left trying to piece things together. Julia's worry over his guilt & Sienna's certainty of his innocence forces them to examine things about their relationships with him, each other, & themselves.

I didn't see the resolution of the crime/mystery coming, which was fun, but by far the best part of this story were the relationships between the characters. The nuances of the different types of love & how we impart conditions on that love for others & ourselves was really well-done and relatable (not always in a pleasant way). I wanted to shake the characters a few times, but each time was like "Crap, I've done that, haven't I?" I really loved the complex friendship between Sienna & Julia & how all sides of that were shown, good & bad. I'll definitely read this author's other work!
Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers, & the author for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Julia and sienna larkin are sister in law. sienna thinks her brother is perfect. Julia knows this is not true. They get a call that Jason is in the hospital with serious complications, and Jason's boss is dead with his mouth sewed shut.

What happened? What does Jason know? Is he involved? As the story unfolds you'll be surprised by what actually happened and what went down.

To be honest this wasn't my favorite thriller. It was just okay for me and the pacing wasn't quite there. I also found it a little long and drawn out. The ending wasn't great. I just didn't find it plausible and after I read it I thought that I didn't care. An okay read overall but I would like to try one of her other novels.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for this novel!

A fast paced thriller with a lot of character development and some real thought provoking questions about relationships . Enjoyable thriller

This one didn't live up to my expectations. I've found that Megan's books are hit and miss for me, so it's likely just personal preference. Certainly the quality of writing is high and Megan knows how to craft a plot that engages the readers.

Another 10/10 for Megan Collins! Really enjoyed the atmosphere in this one -- perfect summer read. Great characters, as usual. Collins always nails it.

Sienna and Julia are sisters-in-law, best friends and self proclaimed "soul mates" . When Julia's husband / Sienna's brother has a car accident and is suspected of the gruesome murder of his boss, the two women face situations that challenge their relationship, faith in Jason and all they hold true. Although you might suspect who the real murderer is, stay tuned for all the plot twists.

Thicker Than Water
Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for the eARC! This was a highly anticipated thriller for me this year and it did not disappoint! I loved the sister-in-law relationship and how it was the crux of the story. Several times there were twists and turns I wasn’t expecting and I was engaged with the story. I also listened to the audio and appreciated the decision to use separate narrators for Jules and Siena - it really helped to characterize and personify them and added so much to the experience. What a phenomenal read that succeeded in not only balancing a compelling mystery but two strong female leads who were fully realized and went on independent character journeys. I can’t recommend this enough!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Julia and Sienna are best friends- they're also sister-in-laws. Julia is married to Sienna's brother Jason and they have a son together. When Jason's boss is brutally murdered questions arise and the suspect pool is initially thin. However, a few days later Jason is in a terrible accident putting him in a coma and shortly after the police arrive at the hospital claiming Jason is the prime suspect in his bosses murder. Told in alternating this is truly a story about the bonds that keep us together... or tear us apart. Overall, really loved this book and did not see the ending coming.

This synopsis of this book really pulled me in. Read this if you love family drama, twists, suspenseful mystery. Julia and Sienna are best friends but also sister in laws. Julia is married to Jason. Sienna is Jason’s sister. There is a very close bond between these three characters. Jason is in a car wreck and in a coma. The girls are dealing with this situation and find out the police have found evidence in Jason’s car that tie him to the death of his boss. There’s secrets that Julia and Sienna have kept from one another for years. Julia is also noticing their teenage son is acting strange and he appears to have his own secrets he’s hiding from Julia. The way the story was told kept you engaged and wondering who had committed the murder, what other secrets was everyone keeping from one another, will Jason survive. It was such a quick engaging read for me. Many thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for the digital review copy of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I read this one while traveling and enjoyed it. I nearly missed the call to board my flight home because I was engrossed in the story.

This is the case of “good premise, poor execution” for me. I was absolutely intrigued and excited about the story, which sounded like the perfect thriller. Who doesn’t love domestic suspense? The reality is, the writing was juvenile at best, and there was no “thrill” in this thriller. It was slow-moving and, frankly, kind of boring.

Review: The most outstanding part of this book were the characters, and the closeness between Sienna and Julia. They felt more like sisters than friends and the way they both stuck to their opinions, found evidence that supported that evidence, and both bold women in their own ways. I thought what really happened for the murder was okay, but the rest of the story was tightly plotted. Great interiority and visceral descriptions of setting and atmosphere. I wish it was a little darker, but otherwise it was an enjoyable mystery novel.

Mixed feels about this one!

The book starts off hot and keeps the pace rolling throughout the story, but when I thought about the events closely, there—wasn’t a *lot* that happened in it. I did enjoy seeing the same circumstances through two different eyes, and seeing both of them wrestle through that nuance—and the resolution between the girls at the end was fabulous. But sadly the actual mystery fell flat to me; the killer, their motive, and the circumstances around it were hard for me to buy.

So—this was a bit of a miss for me, but lovers of suspense really might like this one. And I’m very grateful to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

Julia and Sienna are sister-in-laws and have been best friends since they were introduced by Jason, Sienna’s brother. Jason has been working hard for a new promotion and when his boss is murdered everyone is shocked. A few days later Jason is in a horrible accident and in a coma. He also had become suspect number 1 in the murder of his boss. Sienna is convinced of her brother's innocence but as the evidence is stacked against him Julia isn’t so sure.

Collins does it again with this fast paced thriller that will keep you guessing until the end. I loved how Julia and Sienna worked together to try to figure out what happened to Jason’s boss and why he is suspect number one. I thought the story was complex and clever. If you liked her other books then you’ll love this one too.

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted copy.

I really enjoyed the last book by this author so I was excited to get a copy of her new book. It is a pretty standard mystery, and although it wasn't unputdownable, I was invested in the plot and finished in just a couple days.

Julia and Sienna are best friends, and Julia is married to Sienna's brother Jason. One night they get a phone call that Jason was in a terrible accident and is now in a coma. This is right on the heels of the brutal murder of Jason's boss Gavin. Then they find out that Jason is the main suspect in Gavin's murder. But Jason has spent his whole life protecting and saving people - surely he wasn't the one that killed Gavin, right?

I think I would have liked this one a little bit more if there was more time spent on the murder and less time on the friendship between Julia and Sienna. Parts got a bit lengthy and I just wanted more about the investigation. I was very curious about what happened to Gavin and why, and the author did a good job of keeping that under wraps until the end.

3.5 stars rounded up

Thank you, NetGalley and Atria Books for this advance copy of Thicker Than Water in exchange for my honest review.

This was my first read by Megan and I liked it!
I wouldn't really classify it as a thriller though. Maybe a domestic drama with some mystery?
I did struggle at times with Sienna's character but in the end she had some redemption.
I'll for sure be checking out some of Megan's other titles.

I love a good slow burn thriller but this was way too drawn out than what I was used to
reading. This book is dual POV, sometimes I have a hard time with that. Sienna's POV was the worst she drove me absolutely nuts! Julia handled herself well and had more internal
conversations and experience whereas Sienna reacted so we saw more with her. The plot
didn't grab my attention but I wanted to keep reading because I quickly assumed the killer.

Another solid Megan Collins read. This one about two best friends who happen to be sisters-in-law and business partners whose connecting tie (husband/brother) is in a coma following an accident AND is being accused of murdering his boss in a very grotesque way! These two slap on their PI hats and go to work to try to prove his innocence and uncover a lot more about themselves, their relationship and the truth along the way.

Book: Thicker Than Water
Author: Megan Collins
Publisher: Atria Books
Pub Date: July 11, 2023

Meh. I could take or leave this book. I can’t say I liked any of the characters. Julia was married to Jason and was best friends with his sister Sienna. It felt like at times that Julia cared more about her relationship with Sienna than her husband. The book is very repetitive…..very repetitive. Very repetitive. Get it? Sienna worked my last nerve with how blindly she defended her brother. I did appreciate Julia for seeing things as they really were. Sienna was over the top angry and thought her brother hung the moon while Julia repeated over and over never a trust a man. Something she learned from her mother. There were so many loose ends and things that just were never expounded upon. Jason’s car accident was one. What happened? Who knows. Gavin’s shady business dealings. I’m not sure if that was to describe what kind of person Gavin was but the character was never developed and it ended up just not being important. Aiden, the son, knew something but wouldn’t tell. That whole relationship could have been brought out more. The ending was as lack luster as the book. I didn’t feel like anything shocking or surprising happened and when you figured out who the killer was you were basically just waiting for everyone else to catch up.

Thank you Atria Books and NetGalley for this sneak peak! Publication date is July 11, 2023.

An interesting novel that always keeps you guessing. Without spoilers, this is basically a story about a family - husband, wife, teenage son and husband’s sister - keeping secrets from one another and being deceitful. All of this against the background of a murder and an accident victim in an induced coma in the hospital. It is well written, despite the recurring theme throughout that “men are trash” and “never trust a man”. At times, the story can become emotional and it compels the reader to rapidly turn pages. I, for one, will always smile if I ever hear the word motatoes.
I thank NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read and review this book prior to publication.