Emma and Ariella, neighbours in one of Sydney’s most exclusive suburbs, appear to have it all—perfect homes, perfect husbands, perfect lives. But they both know dark secrets lurk beneath the surface and shallow waters can’t hide Ariella’s. Now she has been found murdered.

Her daughter filmed the killing.

Not knowing what she’s filmed, Emma’s daughter Kiki innocently uploads footage of Ariella’s brutal death. Emma fears the worst—the killer will know what she and Kiki have seen. Their safe suburban lives no longer exist.

Her husband knows more than he’s revealing.

Emma’s husband Charles forces the family to leave their perfect life and escape on their yacht. His dangerous plan to flee means Emma is trapped and desperately seeking answers. What are they hiding from? What did Ariella have to confess? And who else knows Emma’s own secret?

This read like a LMN movie and I mean that in the best way possible. The drama, the secrets, the anticipation of what was going to happen next had me hooked from the beginning. Will recommend to others.

I initially requested this book because not only Holly Craig is an Australian debut author but also I’ve seen a lot of hype for this book. Sadly The Shallows wasn’t what I expected and it was rather a disappointment.

The start of the story was great and I loved how both Emma and her neighbour Ariella got along, but as soon as Emma and her family got on the boat the story went downhill.

A lot of it I found was unnecessary and this caused it to be unrealistic along with the amount of energy Emma had despite being heavily pregnant. 🙄 She was more than happy to endanger herself, an unborn baby and her two children. It infuriates me how some mothers can only care about solving a murder but couldn’t care less about their children's well-being. 😡

Thanks Netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK/ Thomas and Mercer for the digital copy of The Shallows for reviewing purposes.

This book was okay for me. The concept, the location and the mystery initially drew me in, but I never felt the book got into a good reading rhythm. Emma is an interesting character, and you definitely feel her panic on the pages so that helps drive the story forward. Unfortunately for me, the book started to drag on and there wasn't much satisfaction at the end. If you like the sort of psychological thriller that has flashbacks and you can start putting things together and making guesses, you may enjoy this book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to provide my honest review.

Another sparkling debut! It's full of suspense as a mother risks it all to escape a seemingly perfect life. My only issue is it felt a bit long. I should have just listened to the audio. I was drawn in by the lovely cover. Available now on Kindle Unlimited.

The shallows by Holly Craig.
Her best friend is dead.
Emma and Ariella, neighbours in one of Sydney’s most exclusive suburbs, appear to have it all—perfect homes, perfect husbands, perfect lives. But they both know dark secrets lurk beneath the surface and shallow waters can’t hide Ariella’s. Now she has been found murdered. Her daughter filmed the killing. Not knowing what she’s filmed, Emma’s daughter Kiki innocently uploads footage of Ariella’s brutal death. Emma fears the worst—the killer will know what she and Kiki have seen. Their safe suburban lives no longer exist. Her husband knows more than he’s revealing.
I really enjoyed this book. I did find it slow especially the boat bits. I did like Emma. Arriella and her husband Mateo i wasn't sure about. Charles I didn't like. Twisty and gripping. I did like the ending. 4*.

Holly Craig is a new author for me. I believe this is her debut novel.

Do not read the book blurb if you want to be surprised. I felt it gave too much away.

Emma and Charles move to a new home and meet neighbors, Ariella and Mateo.

Emma is eager to have a new friend but becomes aware that something strange is going on with their neighbors. Ariella has a body guard (minder). But why does she need one. Mateo and Charles end up doing business together. But what exactly is that business? Lots of questions in this one that I was eager to find answers to.

I liked the characters but did not like either marriage. Good portrayal of controlling men.

Holly Craig has another book coming out next year. I will be on the lookout for it for sure.

Thanks to netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK for the arc.

Well this was fun.
You’ll need to suspend belief just a little bit as some of the plot is a little far fetched but once you’ve come to terms with that this is a great read. Pure escapism.

This was a beautifully written thriller. I was on the edge of my seat from the beginning. There were so many twists and secrets that kept me interested the entire way through. The beginning felt a little chaotic before I got into the story, but that is normal with thriller.

Her best friend is dead: Emma and Ariella, neighbours in one of Sydney's most exclusive suburbs, appear to have it all - perfect homes, perfect husbands, perfect lives. But they both know dark secrets lurk beneath the surface and shallow waters can't hide Ariella's. Now she's been found murdered.

Her daughter filmed the killing: Not knowing what she's filmed, Emma's daughter Kiki innocently uploads footage of Ariella's brutal death. Emma fears the worst - the killer will know what she and Kiki have seen. Their safe suburban lives no longer exist.

Her husband knows more than he's revealing: Emma's husband Charles forces their family to leave their perfect life and escape on their yacht. His dangerous plan to flee means Emma is trapped and desperately seeking answers. What are they hiding from? What did Ariella have to confess? And who else knows Emma's secret?

Emma and Ariella were just about to become good friends and neighbours, then Ariella is dead, and Emma's daughter unknowingly filmed the murder and uploaded it online. Charles forces Emma and their family onto the yacht for safety.

This is one rollercoaster read and the only thing I was sure of, I didn't want to get off. The suspense and tension keep building. We can feel Emma's fear through the pages. The characters are well developed. This is a really good debut novel.

I would like to thank #Netgalley #AmazonPublishingUK #Thomas&Mercer and the author #HollyCraig for my ARC of #TheShallows in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

This story was very up and down as far as the suspense factor. It started out great, with Emma and Arielle becoming best friends and neighbors in an exclusive Sydney suburb. They appeared to have perfect lives until Arielle was brutally murdered. Emma’s daughter, Kiki, filmed it not knowing what was happening at the time and uploaded the footage, causing them a whirlwind of problems. Emma’s husband, Charles, then forced her and Kiki to escape on their yacht, but he wasn’t very forthcoming as far as what his plans were once they reached their unknown destination.

It was at this point that the story lost some of my attention. The time spent fleeing on the yacht seemed to drag on, and so many details were left up in the air once they reached land. While all the goings-on there were definitely shocking, it still wasn’t as suspenseful as I’d hoped. The end kind of fizzled out too, as a lot of the secrets revealed were a bit obvious. Overall, I think the story had a lot of potential, but I was expecting a more intense delivery and suspenseful.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing a copy of this book to review.*

What can I say... this was a debut novel and it had everything, twists and turns of mother who is risking it all to escape. Who to trust, not sure as there are so many secrets.

A well thought out plot with a crazy ending but was an enjoyable read and am looking forward to more of what Holly Craig has to offer.

They are always listening. Don’t ask about my husband. The topic of pregnancy must be our only discussion together. I need your help, Emma. A.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Read if you like:
🛥️ dual timelines
🛥️ short chapters
🛥️ neighbourhood drama

The premise of this one sounded so, so amazing to me! Emma and Ariella were just starting to become friends in addition to neighbours… until Ariella turns up murdered! These women had the perfect lives on the outside, but what are they hiding tucked behind their perfect suburban walls?? What do their husbands know??
This book jumps back and forth between 3 timelines: before vs. after Ariella’s murder, and it does so in such a way that makes it very exciting and suspenseful throughout the entire book. It would be right at the height of the drama and it would switch back to the other timeline; almost like a constant tease. I read this book straight through in one day; I just absolutely could not put it down!
A lot of this book happens on an island, so it was the perfect summery/beachy read (with just a little bit of darkness 😈)
There were constantly things happening in this book that made it a very jumpy, heart-pounding experience. I absolutely loved it!
Emma is pregnant throughout the story, so I can extra relate to the story, being 6 months pregnant myself.
This was a fantastic debut novel from Holly Craig, and I can’t wait to read more by this author in the future!

Two neighbors in Sydney both have secrets. One of them ends up murdered and the other ends up on the run with her family.

I was lacking suspense in this one. I think because the synopsis tells you why Emma and family are on the run it takes away some of that initial suspense. I also think the prologue should’ve been title future or something because the first chapters titled now, it took me a while to figure out those weren’t completely present yet.

Hold on to your hats, this is one wild ride. Holly Craig’s debut novel will keep you on your toes from start to finish. Who is telling the truth? Who can you trust? I wasn’t sure, there were so many secrets and intense situations.

Emma and a Charles live in an affluent suburb of Sydney but the marriage isn’t a happy one. Emma is excited to have new neighbours, Ariella and Mateo. She tries to make friends with Ariella, but she is clearly being controlled by her husband, and then she ends up dead. Before she can get her head around that fact, Charles has the, packed up and on the run, via boat headed for Queensland. Emma has no idea what is going on and the kids are frightened. The further they go, the more confused she gets. Why are they running? Who killed her friend and why?

The ending was out there and completely bonkers but so much fun to read. I look forward to seeing what Holly has in store for us next. Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for my advanced copy to read. Publishes on September 1st.

I really enjoyed the premise of this story, especially the dual timelines. I LOVE thrillers that give you part of the ending of the story and then backtrack with past POVs. The relationship between the MC and neighbor had such good thriller potential. The note passing in secret because the neighbors husband was some sort of mob-type was so fun. I honestly thought that was going to be a bigger part of the story.

The story lost its grip on me after the MC and her kids were essentially forced to flee by ship and bounced around the ocean and a few islands for like 50% of the book. It was a little long for me and didn’t make a lot of sense. The suspense and tension building was still great, but I wasn’t as engaged in the middle of the book. Personally the end felt a bit abrupt.

Overall this was a fun and entertaining domestic thriller and I loved the MCs fortitude and the use of two time period POVs.

Thank you to netgalley, the author, and publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 1.4/5

I hate not finishing a book once I have started it, but this was one of those unfortunate occasions when seeing it through to the end was a struggle. I don't like giving one-star ratings at any time - I have great admiration for anyone who can sit down, put pen to paper and create a novel - but I feel particularly bad when that lowly rating is for an author's first published work. Holly Craig is certainly not without ideas or ability, but I think she needs some help and direction from her support team to translate that into a satisfying end product.

In certain stylistic respects "The Shallows" reminded me of a short story. As a result of the format, a short-story writer is often compelled to drop the reader into the middle of an already ongoing scenario, which they need to pick up and run with. There is also very little opportunity for the writer to form well-rounded characters that the audience has time to form a connection with or at least an understanding of. Neither of those elements are constraints forced upon the author of a full-length novel and yet Holly Craig still takes that approach. The whole novel is a series of snapshots presented in an overly dramatic style. The narrative is chaotic and it seemed to me that there had been an absence of any real structural planning. The author is clearly trying to make everything seem very exciting, all of the time - but without the foundations having been properly laid, or the characters being suitably developed, I found myself simply not caring and getting more than a little bored, very quickly. There is an art to creating tension and suspense - perhaps that is something that Holly Craig will come to master in time - but it didn't work on this occasion.

As ever, I would still like to convey my thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for supplying an ARC in return for an honest review. It is a pity I was not in a position to pass more favourable comment on this occasion.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The premise of the book drew me in but once I started reading it, I just couldn’t get into it at all.
I wish the author, publisher and all those promoting the book much success and connections with the right readers.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this title.

DNF 50%- As much as this looked like a summer confection, I just could not tolerate sticking with it.

The story is about Emma whose daughter inadvertently becomes witness to the murder of the next door neighbor and it would appear Emma’s husband might be involved. While this was a very fast read, I felt myself beginning to skim through the story because Emma was incredibly unlikable and making the most irrational decisions that made her even more unlikable. I figured I would stop and not invest the time to finish it.

“Her best friend is dead. Her daughter filmed the killing. Her husband knows more than he’s revealing. Her secret isn’t safe and neither is she.”

Quick chapters make this easy to devour. Same POV but dual timelines of before and now.

I found the first half to be forced. The constant back and forth each chapter was not well executed and it felt rushed. I wanted more meat in the set up. I didn’t care about the main character in the beginning. However, the 2nd half was intense and I read it all in one sitting! I was anxious and had to find out how the story ended. The main character was unlikable until the 2nd half of the book. Then I was rooting for her. I'm glad I pushed through and kept reading!

This was less about figuring out the murder and more about escaping her situation.

Was this story unrealistic? Yes. Would I recommend it? Also yes. It would be a fantastic domestic thriller for the beach!

This was a very good book! I loved it! It kept me coming back for more. I couldn't wait to see what would happen next.