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.

This is a fast-paced fun thriller that kept me engaged until the surprising end! Josie left stardom for a teaching job and is now dating fellow teacher, Jake. But she is also plagued with insomnia, nightmares, and hallucinations that leave her breathless and frightened in the morning. So when one of her students is found dead at the bottom of the water tower close to her home, she is shocked as she feels there are clues that she's somehow missing. And yes, there are clues, mysterious happenings, a creepy members-only club, and diabolical plans afoot! I was riveted!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

The Water Tower is an interesting mystery - much more mystery than thriller. The opening with the teacher finding the body of her student, an apparent suicide, draws the reader into the story. But then the story kind of hangs there with little tension for at least half of the book. I had to push myself to keep reading. I did get annoyed at the portrayal of teens and how they couldn't speak a sentence without the word "like."

The second half of the book did pick up and generate more interest in finding out the culprit. For my, mysteries are a bit slower and I prefer thrillers or suspense for the action. If you like mysteries with the unrolling of whodunit, then you might enjoy The Water Tower. The characters are interesting as is the setting.

I received an ARC of The Water Tower from the publisher and NetGalley. Thank you for the early read. All opinions are my own. #TheWaterTower #NetGalley

This talented and gifted author has written a cannot put down novel. The characters come alive on the pages. The story moves quickly. The main character, with her friends and family, is a movie star who takes a break to teach. Drugs enter the scene. Chas ensues. Love and romance, along with a mystery. Are the basis for this book. That being said, the real problem is a murder, or was it an accident? Discerning the ending was not easy. Red herrings kept me guessing. There were hints but…I really liked this book, and I did not want to stop reading until I was finished. Read along with Josie and her friends. Enjoy the journey to finding the truth. This book was sent to me electronically by Netgalley for review. Thanks to the author and the publisher.

3.0. Very average read. Story of a suspicious death of a young college student after a fall from a water tower. Deceased is child of. prominent political family that wants to declare the case closed before the police investigation is completed. A teacher in the deceased school Josie, a former actress, refuses to cease investigating informally. Lots of twists and turns involving pregnancy, secrets, friendships, additional deaths, drugs, and red herrings. Even as a novice mystery reader, I could predict the ending. Quick read - good for a longish car ride.

This started off pretty good and I loved that the chapters were short. There was some very slow parts and I skimmed a bit in the middle. It got very good again near the end and I really liked the ending of this. I'm just not usually a fan when normal people start investigating things that police should be doing. When Josie started interrogating Amber's mother a few days after her daughter just died was pretty strange to me. Whether it was a suicide or murder, give the mom a break. Josie was hostile and combative. I wish we knew the reason why Josie was the way she was earlier instead of putting that revelation near the end. Also whenever the teens spoke the overuse of "like" and "um" was distracting. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy.

After the initial pages, I found myself not connecting with the story or characters, so I decided to pass on this book. Did not finish

Actress Josie Ashbury has come back to her hometown to teach after having a breakdown in LA. She thinks she witnesses a murder of one of her students, but with her insomnia, she can't be relied upon.

With cracks in Josie's memories and theories but not proof, her attempts at finding out what happened are diminished.

I figured out who the villain was, but that's not a bad thing, just a win for me. There were a few people to suspect. I found the story entertaining and loved that Josie was an unreliable narrator with a plausiblereasonfor being that way. There were some long descriptions that I skimmed over, but this was a solid mystery story with a thrilling ending.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC.

This was a tough review for me. I rarely do half stars, but this one for me is dead in between a 3 and a 4 star rating. I enjoyed the actual premise of the book and I had my suspicions about some of the characters I thought were going to end up being bad and this helped to keep me invested and on my toes. I think the author did a great job of leaving small clues throughout as the reader tried to figure out what was happening. That being said there were a few things that bothered me while reading - the first being the way the writer had the teenage girls speak, using "like" for every other word, really just made me want to skip the entire scene, it was too overdone for me. I also found Josie's character not likeable at times, this could be the writing, but it could be this is exactly who the character was supposed to be. In the middle of an investigation, Josie, an actress turned high school teacher believes she has the right to question people involved in a murder investigation AND get answers from them, takes a lot of gall. Then there was a matter of her being late to almost all of her events/outings but specifically saying how she hated to be late to anything. These two things just drove me crazy as I was reading. I think maybe she lacked depth for me.

The Water Tower is available June 20, 2023!

The hardest books to review are the average ones. Unfortunately this book was about as average as they come. The plot was not uninspired. The idea that people would just divulge this information to a random teacher is unbelievable. The killer’s identity (which I dismissed as being too obvious) wasn’t my choice for the assailant- so hence the three stars. It was an easy enough read. The prose was fine and it is a page-turner, but more to spend time and get over with as opposed to connecting with any of the characters. They can’t all be perfect. But better average than bad, which this is not. I may try something else from the author someday just not someday soon.

The writing and the storytelling are good, but the plot isn't very original, and the sleep issues make no sense. Smart people deal with their problems.

The story had an interesting premise and I hoped it would be a good crime thriller. Did not quite work out like that.

Josephine (Josie) Ashbury leaves a good Hollywood career as an actress after a breakdown, and comes to her hometown – Lakeview. She has cats for company and is trying to get on with life, though she still struggles with moods and hardly sleeps at night. She teaches acting at the local school, and is dating Jake who also teaches at the school.

Josie finds Amber Oldham, a senior girl at school dead near the water tower. Josie had got to know Amber well in school. Her dad is Congressman Clinton Oldham. While the water tower does not serve any functional purpose now, it has been retained as a historical landmark and some youngsters still take pleasure in climbing to the top. It is possible Amber fell, though it is not clear why she would go there in the night. An autopsy reveals drugs (fentanyl) in her blood and she is pregnant. Did any troubles prompt her to jump / was it an accident or was she murdered? Josie speaks to her friends Morgan, Lexi, Charlotte and Tony. Sean, at one time Josie’s boyfriend, many years back, is now in the police, and his dad Mike Sullivan is the police chief. After a brief investigation, the police close the case as an accident, presumably under pressure. Josie also confides in her friends Nikki, Alex & Heather, other than her boyfriend Jake, and they try their best to support her. Josie is convinced Amber did not fall, and there is a story behind all this.

The story is very predictable and I formed my suspicions very early in the book. Lot of the sleuthing engaged in by Josie with help from her friends is simplistic. Josie is a likeable character but lot of what she is going through is partly explained very late in the story. None of the other characters are well developed. Overall, Ok as a light read.

Amy Young's debut mystery, The Water Tower is a fast paced page turner.
Josie has recently returned to her hometown to take a break from her Hollywood acting career in a Bond type series. Out on an early morning run, Josie discovers a body at the foot of the water tower. Did this girl from a prominent family jump or was it a homicide? What would have caused her to do it? Who would have wanted her dead and why? Why does the family close down the official investgation? Josie feels there is more to the story and she is compelled to discover the truth.
Filled with unexpected twists, The Water Tower, keeps you guessing throughout.

I appreciated receiving an ARC for my honest review.

This was a pretty good read, I didn't anticipate the ending which is always a good sign for a thriller. It was a bit jumbled with the narrative - had some rough transitions. But overall a good read.

Thank you NetGalley and Level Best Books for my ARC of this. It was a quick read with a couple of decent twists. The ending was spectacular. It nudged it from 3 stars to a four star for me.

The Water Tower had me hooked from page one. The story starts off with a murder and the pace doesn't slow down. I absolutely loved Josephine's character. She made the story flow and had me glued to the book.

I can not believe this is a debut novel. Young had us hanging on to every word and had well developed characters. The plot was solid, and plenty of twists and turns, this is a definite must-read murder mystery. May be a possibility of a sequal? I really hope so.

Thank you NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.