These Still Black Waters by Christina McDonald

 

My thoughts

Christina McDonald is one of my favorite mystery/thriller writers. Her books always hold my attention to the very end. This one was possibly my favorite. It has some things that I would not have thought would be in it. Things that made it an outstanding story.

The story of two women. As different as night and day in many ways and a lot alike in others. One is coping with the loss of her daughter. Blaming herself. Beating herself up at every turn. While she is a functioning alcoholic who is also a detective, she's a desperate mother who is living the worst kind of pain. Jess is a cop. The other is running away from her life. Her and her daughter. Neve took her fifteen year old daughter away after a horrific home invasion. She needed time to think. To figure out what was going on. Why she did some of the things she did. Her daughter Ash wants nothing more than to go home. Go back to her dad and her life.

This book is filled with ghosts. With lots of what ifs and who did its. It's a bit different from the author's usual books but it's so good. It's filled in parts with a lot of darkness to keep you guessing. (I guessed two major things. It didn't spoil it at all.) You get to know these two women intimately. Their ups and downs. Their loves and losses. Their good and bad. You'll find out exactly what happened to Jess that makes her so destructive. You'll also find out what happened with Neve and why. Why she blames herself for so much. She will do anything for her daughter. She would give up everything for her. She's a mother who loves her child more than life itself. As is Jess. 

There is a few things going on in this story. A couple of murders. Trying to figure out who the murderer is and why. Getting to know Neve, Bee and Sandra. Three childhood friends. One is pretty much evil. One is just lovely to everyone. The other is hiding a secret. Actually two of them hid secrets but this is about one of them. It goes back and forth between before and after. Between when the girls were teens and after the horrific murder. This book is an edge of your seat thriller and a gut-wrenching heartbreaker. A story of love, loss, murder, intrigue, friendship, and much more. 

I can't wait for the next book to see what happens with Jess and possibly Isla. Isla is Jess's deceased daughter. While I don't believe in ghosts this gave me a bit of hope that if they do exist maybe they are here to help. This was a fun read. A wonderful read. The next to last chapter made me weep though. It's never easy saying goodbye....

Thank you #NetGalley, #ChristinaMcDonald, #ThomasMercer for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this book.

Five big stars and a very high recommendation. It's good.

Synopsis

Two women struggle toward a dark truth as a killer avenges the sins of the past in a twisting novel of suspense by the USA Today bestselling author of Do No Harm, Behind Every Lie, and The Night Olivia Fell.

After a violent home invasion, Neve Maguire returns with her daughter to Black Lake, her childhood summer home, hoping for a fresh start. But when the body of a woman is found floating among the reeds in the lake behind her house, she fears she has made a horrible mistake.

Neve is hiding secrets, though. Detective Jess Lambert can tell. Recently back after her own personal tragedy, Jess knows what it’s like to live with skeletons in your closet, and she’s sure Neve has a few of her own.

When another woman’s body is found, Jess and Neve are forced to confront a horrible truth. Because one thing is clear: the darkness of the past is waiting. And the secrets of Black Lake are only just beginning to surface.