Something in the Water: Reese's Book Club: A Novel

This is the best book I've read all year. Catherine's prose is drum-tight and evocative. She captures perfectly the dizzying downward slide of "just one more" that sees so many people end up trapped in a web of their own making. Like all gifted writers, Catherine references her themes again and again so that each character's story is an echo of the main plot. Nothing feels disjointed or extraneous in this book. It is a story told by a very, very smart person who spent a fair amount of time asking herself "what if?" I read a lot, and, lately, I've been reading quite a bit more due to some life changes / a major injury. Thrillers are a good way to pass time, and to forget about some of the hell I'm dealing with in my life currently. So, by now, I've nearly had my fill of books where I get frustrated with the main heroine. Why didn't the main character read up on printing shops before she pretended to own one? Why didn't the hero learn how to use his gun before he got into a fight? Why didn't the private eye study cocaine manufacturing before he had to question a witness about his plants? The question I always ask is: Why didn't anybody think through the possibilities before they took the action? Reading Catherine's book, I didn't utter that phrase once. The main character(s) were not competent, but they were intelligent. Her main character knew what she did not know, and therefore took steps to remedy that OR find a way around it. As an example, she decides to bring a gun to a dangerous meeting. She has never fired a gun. So she watches videos on how to clean her model of gun, and practices all afternoon. Cleaning, loading, drawing, etc. Over and over. Then she goes to the woods and practices firing the gun, over and over. Will she be an expert in an afternoon? No, obviously not! But the main character is able to think ahead - like any smart person would - and prepare herself, as best as she can. If you had to do something new to you, how would you prepare? Catherine answers that question, over and over. So many novels in this genre rely on the main characters doing something stupid. It's even a meme in the movies: "Don't go in there!" or "Call the police!" we yell at the screen, as the young actress does the stupidest thing possible. In Catherine's novel, however, the characters continually make significant effort to cover their tracks, to do the smart thing. No, they do not do the moral thing. But they do the smart thing. And that's a wonderful, wonderful breath of fresh air. SPOILER The major twist is one I hoped for from one of the first chapters. It's not right to just say I expected it - I did - but it's more than that. I HOPED for it. Catherine created a character with flashes of real meanness. The gaslighting of the main character was brilliant. Not every reader would pick up on it; many people would just skip over the woman debasing herself in front of her husband. That's the natural order of things, isn't it? The wife goes to try something, it backfires, her husband calls her stupid, and then "forgives" her for being stupid. I caught it every time, and was so, so, so hoping Catherine would take it in the direction she did. Anyone who has been in, or even near, an abusive relationship will find themselves shivering at a few points in this book. There is absolutely no physical abuse, and not even - really - any "bad" emotional abuse. But the groundwork is laid. See how angry Mark gets when Erin doesn't understand him? At one point in the latter half of the book, Erin is terrified - but not of the bad guys. She's terrified Mark will find out what she's doing (she's going off on her own). She promises herself she will "never lie again" after this. That she will "be the perfect wife". That's exactly how the thought process starts. "I made him mad. I was less than perfect. I deserved him yelling at me / hitting me / calling me a whore." Spooky. END SPOILER I honestly don't have enough words to showcase how much I enjoyed this book. I suspect some people may not like this book because of the very obvious immorality of the main character. We don't really have a person to root for, and that's true. People who like their novels to have flawless heroes, or like perfectly-paced steps leading to a conclusion where the good guys win perfectly, will not like this book. Do not buy this book if you aren't interested in moral grays (and even immorality). The main character is not a good person. This book imitates life: it is messy, people are imperfect, and decisions made do not lead to predictable outcomes. If, however, you can handle ambiguity and reality and ugliness, buy this book. Read it. It's great.

The story captured my attention right away and delivered throughout. It gets a little road runnerish toward the end! Some of the actions both the husband and wife are able to accomplish are a bit far fetched. I don’t think average people would have the skills to investigate Russian intel, nor outwit professionals coming after them. It’s a good yarn and an escape from reality though.

Hmm... Things to love AND hate about this novel. First, the writing is choppy. Typically, it's a writing style which annoys me, but I actually felt it worked here. The story is told entirely from Erin's memories, and memories often are choppy as they flitter through our minds. So I wasn't entirely off-put by this. Second, the book starts with a major bang. I give props to Ms. Steadman for effortlessly sucking the reader right into her literary world. However, chapter 2 slows way, way down, and becomes a very slowly evolving story line. The suspense does build, but it takes time. Lots of time. Third, I mentioned above that the suspense builds...and it does. However, the plot twist is fairly apparent early on. One character blatantly stands out, to me at least. So that was a bit of a disappointment. I'd much rather be surprised at the end. Fourth, Something In The Water leaves many unanswered questions. Needless to say, they drove me more than a little crazy. Fifth, through most of the book, I didn't care for Erin. I kept thinking to myself, "How stupid can you be, lady?" Then she thought this: "If you ever need to buy anything suspicious, it helps to buy some Super Plus Tampax at the same time. Cashiers seem to get so flustered by them they rarely pay attention to the rest of your purchases. They’ll want to get that box in a bag for you as fast as possible. Try it." This made me laugh so hard! Overall, I definitely think this is worth reading, I'm just not positive it's deserving of the hype it's received. The concept is great and I really believe this could have been an AMAZING book, but it never reached that level. Side note: The author is apparently the actress who portrayed Mabel Lane Fox on Downton Abbey in the 5th season. I hear she does an incredible job narrating.

This was a very interesting and cleverly written story. Right from the beginning it pulls you in👍🏻🤗

Just finished this one, it was rather slow to start and midway through you figured out The Who dunnit but it wasn’t a bad read. Rather far fetched story line but she brings all the pieces together.

I absolutely LOVED this book - all parts of it - all the bits - were fun. I loved hearing about vacationing on BoraBora (I wanna go!) - I loved the voice of Erin (main protagonist), who tells the story through a slightly quirky first-person point of view. I enjoyed reading about her obvious missteps too (she always ignored me when I hollered: "NO! Don't do THAT!") And usually, I dislike a prologue, but this time it really worked. The characters were all terrific and well rounded. Eddie the jailed mobster was a favorite! This is the story of Erin & Mark, a young couple who met, fell in love, and are planning their wedding, when Mark loses his job. This is upsetting news for the couple, and especially for Mark, who had a very well paying job that would cover the lion's share of their home expenses and post-wedding plans. He is frustrated in his job hunting. The couple's planned wedding extravaganza is scaled down quite a bit, and the honeymooners opt for two weeks in beautiful, tropical BoraBora, instead of three. The writing is so good, it is almost magical! It brings everything to life! Even details of Erin's novice scuba diving were marvelous to read! The couple is clearly in love, and they enjoy the grueling adventures of BoraBora as they honeymoon together--climbing, hiking, swimming -- and boating. And on a return sail from a coral reef back to their accommodations, something bangs against their boat. OK - they find something that changes everything. But I won't go too much farther into the plot, as I don't want to spoil the story and its surprises. But here is where the thrills really start, with a discovery of the object in the water. Hmmmm....... Back home, Erin resumes her job. She is filming a documentary of three jailed convicts who are soon to be released. She wants to interview the three and film them in their new lives, once they have attained freedom. But complications arise when Erin can't control her own surges of curiosity. Meanwhile, jobless Mark is now dashing about, trying to establish his own independent firm. Erin and Mark are almost like ships passing in the night; they find that most of their communication is now via text. Meanwhile, Erin is convinced that she is being followed and watched - by police? - or by something to do with the package in the water? But Erin tries to move forward with her documentary. Her taped & filmed conversations with gangster "Eddie" seem to be getting quite familiar, when he asks her to turn off the camera. Then, he appeals to her - to do him a favor. Erin, true to her nature as already established, says YES, as long as Eddie will do a favor for her in return. Eddie's character is marvelous! The author has painted such grand pictures of the characters that people this story! They are real--!! I can't believe that this was a debut novel--the writing is just so so so good! Also, the author is an actress from the cast of Downton Abbey! How much talent can one person have? This is a marvelous book, and I would recommend it to .... everyone! Read and enjoy!

Something in the Water was a good read—well-written, with strong character development and a gripping beginning that pulls you in quickly. I found the story engaging enough to keep turning the pages, and I appreciated the author’s attention to detail and pacing. That said, I think I went in with my expectations a bit too high based on all the rave reviews. I was hoping for more suspense and unexpected twists. While the plot was interesting, it didn’t quite deliver the level of tension or surprise I was looking for in a thriller. Overall, a solid debut and worth a read, especially if you enjoy character-driven stories—but don’t expect a heart-pounding, edge-of-your-seat experience.

I enjoyed this book. I thought the writing was unique and interesting, and the storyline was entertaining. The main character was easy to relate to and I found myself rooting for her. I felt the ending was a bit rushed and I don’t think it was enough in my opinion (I feel like the main character should have been involved more), so I was a bit disappointed with that. Overall a good read though.