The Water Tower sounded like it could be a good read. However, I thought the writing was subpar. This book was trying to be a murder mystery, but it had too many other strange variables that made it completely unbelievable. A famous actress with a mysterious past returns to her hometown after a relationship goes south. She takes up teaching acting classes at the local high school, and when a student dies, she begins investigating the death. The way in which she completely disregards the police investigation and begins her own weird investigation is just not believable. Who in their right mind is going to just let some random woman question them about things the way she does. Like I said not believable at all.

An enjoyable mystery set in a small town after the death (accident, suicide, murder?) of a high-school girl. Because of all the teenage characters, it read more like a YA mystery.
I liked the premise, though, and the characters, while they could stand to be fleshed out more, were interesting. Unfortunately, the murderer was pretty easy to pick out of the crowd!

The Water Tower was very descriptive. Characters were developed well, but I still felt a nigling feeling that something was off while reading. The main character Josie had a career as an actress, yet moved back to the small town she was raised in. She has major trouble sleeping and has issues developing due to this lack of sleep. Teaching acting at the local school. On her morning jog she comes across the body of a student and then proceeds to play detective.

When you’re a famous Hollywood actress in a volatile relationship with your leading man and it implodes in a public meltdown, what’s left to do but go home again, back where it all started? Back in Ohio and teaching high school kids how to be creative, Josie Ashbury is far away from the pressures and stresses of Hollywood and able to piece her life back together. Or start to anyway.

Of course, that’s before she found the body. One of the high school students is found at the base of the water tower. It’s not been in use in years but is a popular hangout for the kids, particularly if a dare is involved. Without any evidence to the contrary, the police quickly close the case as an accident — but was it?

Josie’s always had insomnia and bouts of sleepwalking. After finding the body, those problems are magnified to the point she begins to confuse what she knows and what she dreams, or at least hopes is a dream.

The only way to know for sure what’s real and what’s not is to find out what really happened that night on the water tower, but will it ease her mind or put her in danger?

I like that Josie wasn’t a diva once she returned home and works to find her way back from the final scene with her co-star boyfriend. Her friendship with Nikki, an investigative reporter, adds to the story. This is a debut novel, and I’m looking forward to the next offering.

The premise of "The Water Tower" by Amy Young is compelling, weaving together a Hollywood actress's journey of recovery, a mysterious student's death, and Josie's own struggles. As Josie investigates the student's death while grappling with personal challenges like insomnia and memory gaps, the story promises a mix of suspense and self-discovery. The revelation that the truth is intimately linked to her hometown adds an intriguing layer to the narrative, keeping readers engaged in unraveling the secrets.

A curious story. I figured out the who, what, and why of the mystery very early on, but I had to continue to know if I was correct.

This story was fast paced and interesting. I was able to devour it in one sitting.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for the eARC of this riveting release! It is the debut novel of Amy Young-- who definitely impresses with a flowing narrative style both as calming as a lazy river in parts but fantastically heart-racing as a spot of unexpected rapids. She has written a very likable protagonist in Josie, and delivers a mystery that will keep you up at night. There's action, intrigue, and shady characters galore. You never know where it's going to go next.

We meet Josie, a retired young actress who has moved back to her hometown to teach drama, as she discovers the body of one of her students that presumably fell from the small town's water tower. Though suicide is of course the gut reaction-- Josie begins to get suspicious when another teen death strikes the usually quiet burgh. She winds up taking it on herself to investigate these tragedies as the local law enforcement seem to be too busy or too apathetic to put the pieces together. This journey coincides with a struggle through insomnia; bouts of sleeplessness hinder her mental faculties as a whole and because of this, she becomes a somewhat unreliable narrator, which I absolutely love.

This book does well to marry aspects of YA drama with the mystery of adult whodunnits, and I found myself drawn to the way the story ebbed and flowed. I'm also very intrigued by the hint of a sequel from the last chapter-- I would love to see how Amy grows in her writing from here. She did a wonderful job of weaving the X-Files motto throughout: 'Trust no one". From Josie to the seedy underbelly of an otherwise pristine seeming settlement, readers will wonder what is hiding in their own lives that they can't be certain of. You know it's a good book when the impression lasts beyond the pages!

I liked this book but I couldnt say I loved it. For me it was more suited to YA and I dont tend to read those books.

-hooked from the beginning- clear descriptions of scenery, characters, what is happening, and lots of clues throughout storyline
-plot thickens as the story progresses
-a little predictable, but kept me guessing until end
-Ends on a cliffhanger; sets up for next book in series
-I'm looking forward to reading next book
-themes: mental health & opioid epidemic

Thank you to NetGalley and Level Best Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

After a devastating breakdown, Josie Ashbury has left LA and her very promising career to head to her small home town in Ohio to recover. Teaching an acting class in the local high school, Josie is slowly piecing her life back together, but she still cannot sleep. Each day she is drained and fatigued. On an early morning run she discovers the body of one of her students at the bottom of the towns water tower. The case is quickly closed and the death is considered a cut and dried suicide. Josie starts to have memories of that night, but are they real? She doesn’t believe that it was a suicide and starts her own investigation, one that might put her own life in danger. I was on board for most of this book, although I would say it reads more like a YA novel, the ending was a bit on over the top, and I knew the perp from the moment of introduction. Young did do a nice job of setting up for a sequel and I would have no problems reading the next one in the series to continue on with the story. Thank you to Level Best Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

The Water Tower is a good thriller and summer read.

Josie is a famous actress who is taking some time to heal after the death of her parents. She moves back home to Ohio, a suburb outside of Cleveland, and works as a high school drama teacher. She spends time with her three best friends, her cats, and her new boyfriend, Jake, who also is a teacher at the high school.

When one of her students, Amber, falls off the water tower, and Josie is the one to find her, Josie can't let it go. She hasn't slept well in months, and sleepwalks. She also has hallucinations. But she feels like maybe she saw something that night when Amber died, and she doesn't know if it was a hallucination or real. She doesn't know how Amber's jacket ended up in her closet. And she notices that things aren't where she left them in her home - is she moving things at night, and not remembering, or is someone coming into her house?

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy of this book.

A wonderful debut novel.
When Hollywood actress Josie returns to her small home town in Ohio after suffering from a mental breakdown she takes on a role in the local high school , teaching acting lessons.
She believes that the slower pace of life will help her recover and with her three best friends from high school there to support her she feels so much better. The only downside is her consistent insomnia which has plagued her for years.
After another night of not being able to sleep she decides to go for a pre dawn run to help clear her head.
Nearing the end of her run she stumbles upon a student of hers and it looks like Amber had taken her own life by jumping from the historicall water tower.
When things about Amber's death suddenly take a dramatic turn and not for the better. Especially when the police shut the investigation down.
Can Josie and her friends find out the truth to what really happened to Amber without putting her own life at risk?

The. Water Tower is a readable story: interesting concept and pretty well-plotted. It ended leaving the door wide open for a sequel, a sequel I will most likely read. However, there is room for improvement and I hope the author ups her game a bit next time out. The main character felt a little Nancy Drew-ish, interpersonal relationships weren’t developed enough, and clues were dropped a little clumsily. Plus more information about Josie’s mental illness throughout the book would have helped flush out her character and. explained some others. I look forward to the next book. 3.5 stars

Wow! This book caught me offguard. It hooked me from the first page and had me reading slowly to savour the story. I really enjoyed that this story read like you were solving a puzzle. The pieces coming together a bit at a time. I loved that the premise was a famous actor coming back to her home town to teach an acting class. I thought the author did an excellent job handling the sensitive topics (mental health, addiction, overdoses). I loved the writing style that included short chapters and almost conversational writing. I always like a story where I can't quite put it all together and this story did just that! I hope to see more from this author soon!

Amy Young does a good job of creating a picture of what life is like in small towns in Ohio, especially those near big towns such as Cleveland, in her novel The Water Tower sent in Lakeview, Ohio. Young introduces Josie Ashbury, who left Lakeview for Hollywood and success as an actress. A nervous breakdown has brought her home to recover. To occupy her time, she convinces the high school principal to let her teach acting classes to the students. Problems start as she gets close to one student who dies after falling off the water tower that titles the piece and Josie discovers the body. Josie is convinced that something significant is going on, though the girl‘s father uses his wealth and power to put an end to the official police investigation. Josie, however, continues her investigation, which leads her to the O Club, a night club associated with an elite establishment in Cleveland. While the reason for the student’s death is finally revealed in a surprising twist that seems a bit forced, the story ends with Josie moving forward on her investigation of the events at the O Club.

While Ms Young creates some interesting, though at times juvenile characters (Josie is described several times as sticking her tongue out at someone in a childish retort for a grown woman), she needs help from a good editor to help her keep her facts straight. For example, in Chapter 40, Franklin Mather sets Josie’s dinner reservation for Thursday, though he calls her on. Friday, and she asks to visit “tomorrow” (p, 175). Later, in Chapter 54, Young mixes up John’s daughters Emma and Victoria when describing one as laying her head back on her father’s chest. Since this was an Advanced Reader’s copy, readers can hope these kinds of errors were caught befor the final version was published. Now we can look forward to the next book’s arrival to learn what is really going on at the O Club.

I found The Water Tower to be an easy, enjoyable read. It had twists and turns, some of which were a little predictable but enjoyable anyway.

Thank you to NetGalley and Level Best Books for my ARC.

Actress Josie Ashbury is taking a sabbatical in her Ohio hometown after an on-set breakdown. She's teaching acting classes at a local high school and dating another fellow teacher, but she's still struggling with insomnia.

That's the least of her troubles in Amy Young's novel The Water Tower.

Josie is the one who discovers the dead body of one of her students. The girl, Amber, fell off a water tower after overdosing on fentanyl. Because Amber was the daughter of a local politician, the case is quickly closed and ruled as an accident.

But Josie doesn't believe that Amber would kill herself. So much like the character she used to play on a crime TV show, Josie plays detective.

The story was pretty interesting, but I do have some critiques.

While Josie's mental health offered a strange twist toward the end of the story, it was a little predictable in terms of "whodunit". I couldn't figure out the specifics, but there were enough cues to point me in the direction of the bad guy.

Speaking of guys, I did want to see more development in Josie's relationship with her boyfriend Jack. There also wasn't much evidence of Josie and Amber being close. It's just something that Josie says - "Oh, I'd become close with her."

I also wish there had been more connection between Josie's real-life sleuthing and the acting she did on her crime show. Someone should have called her out for not being a real detective; only playing one on TV. Felt like a missed opportunity.

The Water Tower is published by Level Next Books and will be available to purchase tomorrow, June 20, 2023. I received a free e-ARC.

This was really good so could not stop reading as wanted to know who did it, a surprise in store and really well written as the suspense takes you all through. The main character was nice so it all worked well together.

A mystery thriller set in a small town in Ohio, where an iconic water tower servies as no other purpose except a historical landmark, and a climbing pursuit for the youth. When something goes wrong: Josie, a teacher at the local high school, was out jogging and comes upon one of her female students, Amber, dead at the bottom of the water tower. Amber is the daughter of the Congressman Oldham.

Josie is dealing with her own demons; insomnia causing a mental breakdown in her acting career, so she is back at home teaching until she can heal.

The plot is simple, but this edge of your seat mystery will find love, clues to solve and a content storyline! Great job to the author for this debut!

Or main character,Josie, a successful actress, returns to her hometown in Ohio after seeing a breakdown and works as a drama teacher at the local high school. Josie, dissatisfied with the police response to one of her students stidents suicide, takes it upon herself to investigate the deaths.
An interesting twist is of Josie battling with insomnia, which affects her daily life and memory. The ending parts , after the explanation of the cause of her breakdown, could've been better treated, in my opinion.
Overall a pleasant read and hope to see more from the author.
Overall rating of 3.5 stars.
Thank you Netgalley for providing me a copy of the book for my unbiased review.