Mysterious death, lucrative executive club, and an unreliable narrator.

Thoughts:
This murder mystery had some YA undertones largely due to the setting, characters, and dialogue. The characters felt realistic, helping to make the storyline believable. I remained engaged and felt the “clues” were unveiled at a good pace. Overall I enjoyed the book. I think it could use more refining, editing, and reorganizing (but since I read an ARC perhaps that’s coming).

Thank you to Amy Young, Level Best Book, and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. If you enjoy an easy-to-read murder mystery with an amateur sleuth, I would recommend checking this one out.

Set in Lakeview, Ohio, Amy Young’s debut novel The Water Tower is a mystery thriller. Awake early due to her insomnia, Josie Ashbury looks out at the local Water Tower having moved back to her former hometown after a breakdown ended her Hollywood career. Out jogging early, she discovers the body of one of her drama students below the Water Tower. She decides to investigate further when the police quickly close the case. As she battles her insomnia and personal demons, can she unravel the truth? With an increasing set of baffling discoveries and yet another student death, will Josie find out what happened that night? An enjoyable mystery with increasing tension and an unexpected dramatic finale makes for a four stars read rating. With thanks to Level Best Books and the author for an uncorrected proof copy for review purposes. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own and freely given.

I’ve become wary of small town crime fiction stories, mostly because a) I’ve read so many of them and b) there’s an over-saturation of crime fiction in the market. Though some authors will get an automatic read from me due to a love of their previous work, these days I’m finding myself leaning away from from the genre.

When I received an invitation to this one, I thought why not. The premise sounded interesting and I’m always willing to give new authors a go.

Unfortunately it didn’t quite grab me. It’s possibly more to do with my own issues of being crime’d out than any major issues with the book itself, however, this one wasn’t for me.

The writing was solid, I liked the use of third person narrative that followed different characters (instead of just the one - a technique I really don’t like with third person - just use first gah!) and the story moved along at a decent pace.

The dialogue was a little clunky. But as it’s a debut, the author will grow into this aspect of storytelling.

As mentioned above, it wasn’t for me. Still though, while I didn’t love it, I liked it, and give it a solid 3 stars. I’ll be looking out for future works from this author and interested in seeing how they grow as a writer.

Thank you to Amy Young, Level Best Books, Swell Media, and NetGalley for an invitation to read an arc of this book in return for an honest review.

This book has some strengths, but it also has many weaknesses. The weaknesses, unfortunately got in the way of some of the strengths, but I see potential in this author and would certainly give her next book a chance.

First off the strengths:

The main plot of the story was quite good, even when it went off in a direction I wasn’t anticipating. The mystery was well done and had a nice surprise twist.

Josie was a likable character as were most of her friends that she hung out with. I liked that she suffered from insomnia, something I also struggle with, and felt that it was an honest portrayal of what it is like to live with that issue.

The setting was well done, you really feel like you are in a small town and all that that entails. The pacing was also good, just fast enough to keep me interested, but slow enough that I wasn’t overwhelmed.

The issues surrounding opioid addiction was handled sensitively while also stressing the importance of getting help for those who need it.

The weaknesses:

Josie’s motivation for wanting to solve what happened to her students was weak. Just because she liked them, didn’t feel honest enough for me. I wanted a bit more from that, like maybe her missing being a detective on the TV show. Or perhaps something in her past that is driving her to solve the mystery.

The dialogue, especially when a teenager was talking, had me cringing everytime. Teens, just, like, don’t really talk like that , like, you know? But even some of the conversations between adults was a bit stilted and awkward.

Even though I liked the plot, the twist at the end kind of came out of nowhere. There were no hints along the way that pointed to any character that we met having committed the murders and then bam, we have someone admitting to the crimes. The story seemed to be going one way and then went in a totally different direction.

The big reason that Josie was suffering from insomnia and the reason for her breakdown didn’t come up until almost the end of the book. It would have been nice to learn of this a bit earlier as it does account for some of her actions and speaks to the type of person she was.

Overall this wasn’t a bad book, I do see potential in this author’s work. I hope that this review isn’t too negative, and you should maybe give this book a chance as there were some really good things about. Also, some of the issues may be caught before publication and changed.

It is the middle of a chilly October night, and Amber Oldham is up on the water tower near her high school. She is contemplating her life and where it will lead when the next thing that happens, she is on the ground—dead.

That evening Josie Ashbury, unable to sleep again, gets up to make a cup of tea, hoping that will help her insomnia. She looks out her kitchen window and sees what she believes is someone up on the water tower. The water tower is an icon in a small Ohio town. Off limits, there are stories of kids going up there to drink or as a prank, and it’s been a controversy with the townspeople wanting it town down.

After having a meltdown as an actress in a popular TV show, Josie Ashbury is back in her hometown. She had been having an affair with her co-star, James Bleeker, and she believed they had a future together, only to realize it was a farce. Needing time to recoup and put her life back together, she returns to where she feels safe and loved. Though she wants to blend into the background, she is still considered a celebrity.

Josie bought a small house that backs up to Lakeview High School, where she was once a student, and now has a job teaching acting to the student. She loves the convenience so she can walk to work, and she is athletic and manages to run every morning either through the town or at the high school track.

She feels content with her two felines while figuring out what will become the rest of her life. At the same time, she sorts out all her anxieties and why she is having trouble sleeping which causes her to forget things.

So, Josie bushes off her sighting of someone on the tower as a form of insomnia. Still, the following day on her run, she heads home by the tower and discovers the body of one of her students splayed out on the ground by the tower. The student is Amber Oldham, one of her favorites and a kid she’s gotten close to. What happened? Did she jump? Was she pushed? In talks with Amber, Josie didn’t notice anything untoward going on, so it seems improbable she jumped, and if so, who pushed her?

Amber is the only child of Senator Clinton Oldham, a prominent member of society and one of the upper class. Josie calls the authorities, and Officer Sean Sullivan, Josie’s high school crush, shows up at the scene. This is big news, and answers must be found immediately.

Because Josie has found Amber’s body, she feels she needs to help in the investigation, even against Sean’s instructions to let the police handle things.

Meanwhile, the town is in an uproar, and when it is found out Amber had drugs in her system and was also pregnant, thoughts lead to murder. The first suspect is Amber’s boyfriend, Tony Burgess.

As this is happening, Josie starts dating another teacher, a handsome guy named Jake Johnson. They see each other often, and Josie wonders if their relationship could actually be going somewhere. After her fiasco with James, she’s afraid to trust again.

Struggling through insomnia, the fear that there is a killer loose, worries about her future, and trying to calm the demons from her past, Josie has her plate full. Will the truth come out about Amber’s demise? Will Tony be charged? As the plot thickens, more unexpected things come to light, which are shocking and unbelievable. This novel, filled with suspense and terror, is a page-turner, sure to raise the hair on the back of your neck.

DEBUT Thirty-one year old Josie is a successful actress who has just returned to her hometown in Lakeview, Ohio for a teaching job after suffering a mental breakdown. As she appears to be getting her life back together, one of her students dies of mysterious circumstances, which leaves Josie feeling concerned and thrown off. It doesn’t help that Josie suffers from insomnia and keeps having gaps of memory loss and weird flashbacks. As Josie tries to uncover the truth behind her student’s death, she discovers that there are big secrets in Lakeview, big enough to swallow her whole. As a new author, Young is on the right track by creating a wide cast of characters who are somewhat diverse, but the personalities of some supporting characters fall flat. However, the main character does undergo some growth throughout the story. The author uses tactics to create a suspenseful story and draws suspicions in a few directions, but it is still predictable, leaving the reader with some holes to fill. VERDICT Not the cream of the crop but would still be appreciated by fans of conspiracy theories and other mysteries.

Notes: People of color are represented (Asian and African American supporting characters)

An easy quick read that had me turning the pages. The twists had enough breadcrumbs to keep me seeking the trail and still enjoying the reveals when they finally came.

After a public breakdown, famous actress Josie Ashbury returns to her hometown to recover. While out jogging one morning, she finds the body of a high school student, dead from an apparent fall from The Water Tower. Josie, who has a part time teaching job at the school, tries to unravel the mystery of her student’s death, with some help of her childhood friends. This is a breezy read, if you can overcome the choppy dialogue (not to mention the overuse of “um, like” and “m’kay, whatever that means, in almost every scene involving the students), and the all-too-obvious killer. If you’re looking for a few hours to pass the time and a book that won’t hurt your head, then dive right in. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sorry but I just didn't connect with this book .I don't like leaving a bad review and hopefully other readers will enjoy it more

The Water Tower has a fantastic premise, but I think it could have used a little more editing. The attributions to the speakers seemed excessive. Characters rarely said anything. They barked their dialogue or demanded an answer even if it was a common question. Demanding answers is kind of hostile. Sometimes a character
"smiled" their dialogue. How does one smile dialogue. Maybe it's just a pet peeve of mine, but when it comes to attributions, less is more.

Like I said, the premise is a good one. The main character kept telling everyone about her discoveries, her friends, her new boyfriend, absolutely everyone knew about her sleuthing. Some things are better left unsaid, which she found out the hard way. So, the idea of the story was fine, but I wanted to tell the protagonist to be quiet.

Thanks to Netgalley and Level Best Books for allowing me to read and review an eARC of The Water Tower.

Thanks to Netgalley author and publishers for this free eARC.
This is a debut novel from Amy Young.
The story line is very good, Josie the main character, who is an Actress has a breakdown on set, so she goes back to her home town.
A suspected suicide from one of the 15 year old girls, and it’s subsequent early closure has Josie feeling it was not suicide but something else entirely. Josie decides to investigate herself, and looking into it does raise suspicion’s.
Here is where my three stars come from, a lot of repetition in Josie’s health and sleeping disorder. She has a very good circle of friends and family who look out for her, (that’s good). I hade to skip reading the “like” in the teenager's speech. But for a debut novel it was pretty good, just a bit annoying.

Well-written with the best first chapter I have read in a long time. The Water Tower is a twisty thriller with an ending that will leave you wanting more.

This was an enjoyable suspense mystery that kept me interested throughout. I was surprised by the ending and did not guess the villain. The story centers around an acting teacher in an Ohio town plagues by fentanyl. The teacher is a previous TV show actress who became famous before returning to her hometown for peace and quiet. When one of her students overdoses on fentanyl, she does not believe the common assumption, but once to prove that she was murdered. But who did it…or is the teacher just losing her grip on reality?

This is a good book about a Hollywood actress Josie, who moves back to her hometown after a difficult year, only to face more struggles, when one of her students dies suspiciously.

The book kept me interested, with good character development. A really twisty, yet predictable plot, but I wanted to keep reading until the end.

Thank you Net Galley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC for an honest review.

The story told in The Water Tower is not very plausible. I found it hard to suspend belief, but I did finish the story. I have a problem with authors who insist on killing off a gay character.
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

The story is a soft mystery that gives us a bit of everything: suspense, lots of intrigue, moderate action, dabbles with drugs and prostitution, creepy old men with underage girls but most of all it give us a good sleuthing story and a very charismatic protagonist aided by a cast of well-rounded characters but they missed flamboyance.

In “The Water Tower” the protagonist is Josie Ashbury, a success Hollywood actress who had a breakdown and returned back home in Ohio to recover. There she gets mixed up with a possible suicide/murder of a high school student and the subsequent suicide of another student. Knowing both students Josie couldn’t stay away from the investigation and soon she was in the thick of it.

Even though this book started pretty good and managed kept me engaged till the very end I felt the author stretched her narrative a bit too much. The simple style, the short chapters and the steady cadence makes up for the simplistic dialogue that is somewhat annoying. The ending is far-fetched but in whole this mystery gives us a good mystery yarn and a decent although predictable whodunit saga.

If or when a sequel comes out I would have a go at it.

Thank you NetGalley and Level Best Books for the copy of The Water Tower by Amy Young. This is a fun debut! While it’s closer to a cozy mystery than it is a thriller, I enjoyed it. The characters weren’t very well defined and I kept thinking I was reading a book in the middle of a series. If this is the first book in a series I see lots of opportunity for expanding on the characters and their relationships. Josie isn’t a great main character for me. A woman living alone would never forget and leave her doors unlocked, especially if she thinks there might be a murderer on the loose! Giving ‘keys’ to people and not taking them back just didn’t make sense. There were a lot of other little things that didn’t seem plausible, so I was constantly thinking WHAT?
Josie’s hallucinations and inability to sleep was a good element, even though her reasons were (once again) not realistic. Everything added up neatly at the end, but the conclusion was marred by how contrived it all felt because so many things did not make sense.
It wasn’t a bad book, and in fact it started out really great, I just wish it had gotten to the end more elegantly. If you’re more forgiving about everything not being completely believable than I am, you will really enjoy this book. I will certainly give the author a second chance because I like the story and the writing style.

Excellent story that I really enjoyed reading. Lots of intrigue and guessing what would happen. Action too. Great characters brought to life by the author
Looking forward to more from Amy Young
Many thanks to the author and publisher for the ARC and opportunity to enjoy this wonderful book

This was definitely a good read to get me out of slump. Although the plot was slightly predictable and the writing is fairly rudimentary (think Colleen Hoover level), this thriller was fast paced in and kept me engaged. The characters were also not very well flushed out, but the plot was fast moving enough that it didn't really matter. Honestly just a simple, good thriller that will definitely get you out of a slump if you're in one!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

This story has an intriguing premise, and the beginning part of the novel grabbed my interest. Josie's character development, back story, and problems are believably depicted, and the school and the mysterious secret club settings are gripping.
Unfortunately, there wasn't much mystery about who would turn out to be the murderer--there just weren't any other characters who fit the description of an older man involved with Amber who had a lot to lose unless he shut her up. I wish there had been more red herrings, with other credible suspects to increase the suspense. Aside from that, I did enjoy the story and would read further novels by this author.