Chance is a funny thing. Everyone knows they are not technically promised tomorrow. “You could be hit by a bus,” is such a common phrase I think people have become numb to what it implies. But the spirit of it isn’t only applicable to longevity. Anything could happen to us at any time that has the potential to change the trajectory of our lives. Something lost. Something gained. And on another level, is passion or love enough to sustain your strongest relationships through any radical change?
This is one of the more complex and thrilling suspense novels I’ve read. The kind that consumes your thoughts during times you have to put it down, and for a long time after you’ve turned the last page. I would say it ranks low on a spectrum of how sinister it might have been – most of the tension is psychological. It keeps your brain engaged and interested as you turn over all the implications and possibilities over and over, looking for the truth.
Erin and Mark are passionate about one another. That is the best word to describe it. Yes, they love one another, but it’s a devouring sort of love, as in, it devours every other emotion and every other thought when they’re together. The world gets simplified into overwhelming love when they’re together. When Mark loses his high-profile job just before their wedding, they decide to go all out for their honeymoon before getting back to “real-life” where Erin is in the middle of shooting a crime documentary. They book a trip to Bora Bora that will change their lives when they find something in the water.
I like Erin, who we experience this story through. She’s a smart, strong, rational woman, and braver than me by multitudes. I can tell you with certainty if I were ever in her situation, I would never entertain the ideas she has about how to deal with their problems. But, this is a novel, and she is not me. The only thing I didn’t quite understand about her is this drive to continue down the same path she continually vows she’ll veer off of. There is a deeper part of her that is willing to consider darker possibilities that I think has been nurtured by her work in documentary film making and the research for her current project. Her work adds a lot of intrigue and depth to the story.
We never seem to get a complete grasp on her husband, Mark. He seems like a great guy – maybe even a perfect guy, on the surface. He’s compassionate and tender with Erin, usually. But he’s under the most stress of his life right now, having lost his job (they have a mortgage!), and there are glimpses of a person Erin doesn’t recognize a few times as the narrative unfolds, which leaves her wondering if she knows her new husband quite as well as she thought.
This is the kind of book you wish you could read again for the first time. So savor it! I will console myself with the fact that Cathine Steadman has other books I can add to my TBR in hopes they will reach the same level in the stratosphere as this one did for me.
As always, if you can think of a comparable book to this one you loved, please leave it in the comments! I live for book recs, as all readers do!
Details
Title:: Something in the Water
Author:: Catherine Steadman
Genre:: Mystery Thriller
Publisher:: Ballantine
Length:: 342 pages
Audio Length:: 11h 41m
Audiobook Narrator:: Catherine Steadman (the author)
Published:: June 5th, 2018
The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars
If you liked this book, check out…
The Unraveling of Julia | Lisa Scottoline
The Truth About the Devlins | Lisa Scottoline
These Summer Storms | Sarah MacLean
The Last Thing He Told Me | Laura Dave
