Psychological Thriller Archives

Book Review:: Something in the Water | Catherine Steadman

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?

Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman Book Cover

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

Book Review:: The Unraveling of Julia | Lisa Scottoline

Julia, still grieving the loss of her older adoptive parents, finds out she is the recipient of an old Italian villa from a woman she’s never heard of. At first she is convinced it is a misunderstanding, but once she arrives in Italy it becomes clear that there’s been no mistake, and that perhaps Emilia Rossi knew something Julia didn’t.

The Unraveling of Julia by Lisa Scottoline Book Cover

There are many mysteries to uncover in the old Italian villa, about the proprietress and the family that once lived there. Julia begins almost immediately having vivid visions once she arrives that has her convinced there is a tether somewhere there of Julia’s biological family.

Like any good psychological thriller, the lines of reality get a little bit blurry, and almost everything we think we know is constantly in doubt. Who is this woman who left Julia this decrepit property? Did she really have ties to an ancient Italian duchess with a scandalous history? Are either or both of them of any relation to Julia? And why is she feeling so much pressure to sell and leave the past to be buried with the old crone who left it to her?

This book explores something I don’t often encounter in books: a spiritual intuition. Astrology, horoscopes, intuition, and even communicating beyond the veil as a medium. I tend to believe there is a spiritual realm of some sort of which we normally do not have access to. I love the idea that sometimes, under the right circumstances, or with the right people, we can connect over that bridge. If you are fully anti-‘woo-woo’, you will probably not enjoy this book.

While I did really enjoy this story, it didn’t really grab me fully under its spell. Theoretically I really enjoy the idea of this book, but I just wasn’t able to fully sink in the way I like. It might have been a timing issue, or something about trying to juggle so many theories without knowing up from down for so much of the novel. Was it a good book? Absolutely. Will I continue to read every Lisa Scottoline book I can get my hands on? Also yes. If you’re a fan of the ol’ psychological thriller, I think you’ll find a lot to enjoy about The Unraveling of Julia.

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Details

Title:: The Unraveling of Julia
Author:: Lisa Scottoline
Genre:: Psychological Thriller
Publisher:: Grand Central Publishing
Length:: 400 pages
Audio Length:: 12h
Audiobook Narrator:: TBA
Published:: July 15th, 2025
The Litertarian Rating:: 3-Stars

If you liked this book, check out…

The Truth About the Devlins | Lisa Scottoline
The Midnight Feast | Lucy Foley
Famous Last Words | Gillian McAllister

Book Review:: The Ghostwriter | Julie Clark

Once upon a time, two children were murdered in their home. Siblings. Leaving one brother, not home at the time, alive. No one was ever convicted. This tragedy is the foundation Olivia’s life is built upon.

The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark Book Cover

The surviving sibling is Olivia’s father, Vincent. He’s become a global sensation for his horror novels, but before that, he was sensational for being the lead suspect in his siblings’ murders. Olivia and her father had a falling out years ago, and she separated herself from him as much as she could. She even married a man she didn’t love in order to change her last name. Blood runs thick though, and she ended up in the same industry as her father, ghostwriting books for other famous authors. Now, on the edge of financial ruin after a big scandal, the only job available is from Vincent Taylor, and he said she’s the only one he’ll work with. It’s the first time returning home for Olivia, and she wants to get back out as soon as possible, but when she gets there, she realizes she might be able to finally learn the truth. Is her father a killer? Or was he always telling the truth about that night?

What a compelling psychological thriller! The backstory of this novel is so rich and murky at the same time. Enough details to create that dark misty tone for the past, but not enough to give away the store.

I always love the devices authors use to add doubt to the information the reader receives, so we don’t know what’s real and what may be a lie. In this case, Olivia’s father has a disease that affects his mind, and we all know human memory is fallible anyway. I love that feeling when reading a book like this that you never really know what the reality is, and what is fabricated. It leaves a lot of room in your mind to sort through evidence and form new theories up until the very end.

In this story there are quite a few scenarios that seem likely as Olivia learns more about her family history. It’s the story of one family’s darkest hour, and it has been shrouded in mystery and doubt all these years.

The characters are believable and well formed, the writing is clear and atmospheric, the plot is complex and interesting, and just look at that stunning cover!

I’m very happy to have received this book for early review via the publisher through netgalley, and I’m excited to have another author’s backlist to add to my TBR!

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Details

Title:: The Ghostwriter
Author:: Julie Clark
Genre:: Mystery Suspense
Publisher:: SOURCEBOOKS Landmark
Length:: 368 pages
Audio Length:: TBA
Audiobook Narrator:: TBA
Published:: June 3rd, 2025
The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars

If you liked this book, check out…

Famous Last Words | Gillian McAllister
The Truth About the Devlins | Lisa Scottoline
The Heiress | Rachel Hawkins

Book Review:: The House in the Pines | Ana Reyes

One summer can alter the course of everything. One new friend. One lost story. One betrayal. One house in the pines.

The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes Book Cover

Maya is convinced the strange boy keeping her company over her last summer before college killed her best friend Aubrey during a disagreement. The only problem is, he never touched her. Maya knows this because she watched it happen. He and Aubrey were talking, then she fell over. Dead.

Seven years later, she sees a viral video online of the same boy in the very same scenario. Another girl, dead. Not a finger laid upon her.

It can’t be a coincidence.

But ever since that summer, with her insistent conviction of his guilt, she’s been repeatedly told she is mentally ill. Delusional. Crazy. She’s even been medicated. And now, having quit her medication cold turkey, she travels back to find out the truth and get justice for Aubrey and all the other women he might have hurt.

I was surprised to see the Goodreads rating so low on this book. At the time, it was 3.10, which is one of the lowest I’ve seen on a book I’ve actually read. There were no major dealbreaker type flaws in my view. In fact, I was quite captivated.

This checked all the boxes of a psychological thriller. The possibly untrustworthy narrator, a strange and compelling mystery to solve, a setting that toes the incredibly thin line of being either idyllic or incredibly creepy, a suspect that could as easily be a murderer or completely innocent and misunderstood…

The narrative is sprinkled with flashbacks from that pivotal past summer where everything ended up so wrong. I thought the flashbacks were handled very well and felt as compelling as the current events. It is in the past that we get to know our suspect, after all.

It all just felt very well crafted to me. The details kept me doubting my own theories, and while there were plenty of clues to the truth that was ultimately revealed, I was never sure until quite late into the story.

I wasn’t as interested in the part of the story that didn’t have to do with the mystery – her current boyfriend and the conflict she felt with spending time with his parents – but it didn’t take up much time and ultimately didn’t bother me.

Overall, I really enjoyed it. If you’re looking for a compelling psychological thriller to add an extra chill to your dark winter evenings, consider this one!

Details

Title:: The House in the Pines
Author:: Ana Reyes
Genre:: Mystery/Thriller
Publisher:: Dutton
Length:: 321 pages
Audio Length:: 8h 34m
Audiobook Narrator:: Marisol Ramirez
Audiobook Publisher:: Penguin Audio
Published:: January 3rd, 2023
The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars