Interesting, if slightly bizarre, concept for this thriller. I loved the setting in the far Highlands if Scotland and Inverness. I enjoyed the police team characters and how they interacted and worked together.

I’ve never read something quite like it and would suggest that anyone who loves something new gives this a try

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for this ARC.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author and it’s the second in a series. It can be read on it’s own, although I will now read the first book to catch up. I really enjoyed this book, and liked the main character and her team as they investigate two murders. There are quite a few twists in the story, it was very descriptive and I could picture the area, scenery in my mind. I thought this was a very well written and researched book which, for me, made it a compelling read. Quite dark in parts and had some not very nice characters who I instantly took a dislike to. Would recommend this book if you like crime, murder, police procedurals that are just a little bit different. 4 stars

This is the second book I've read by G. R. Halliday and it's managed to leave me even more unnerved and creeped out than the last. This book is brutal. I was hooked from about 30 pages in and struggled to put it down again until I'd come to the gritty conclusion. G. R. Halliday books certainly have an element of horror to them and this leaves me feeling unnerved long after I've finished reading. I wouldn't say this was for the faint of heart. My only criticism is that the pace slightly slowed towards the end and this made it feel like it dragged on slightly and was longer than necessary, however it was still enjoyable and quick to finish since it was only the last 20 pages or so. Overall a great second installment and I'll certainly be keeping an eye out for further books from this author.

This book features detective Monica Kennedy and is set in the Scottish Highlands. It picks up a few months after the first book, From The Shadows, and it is dark and atmospheric. Annabelle, the kidnap victim, was an interesting character and the plot was more of a horror theme than a crime thriller. The characters were realistic and I would recommend reading the first book for background. It's a good read. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

This is book 2 in the Monica Kennedy series and I found it very well written and atmospheric.

I didn't read the first one but that didn't seem to matter much because I still understood and followed the story easy enough. 

If you like dark and thrilling reads then give this book a read

A true thriller with just the right touch of horror, and horror it is, drawn into the mind of the main characters in a twisted tormented way without doubt a true thriller of a novel well worth a read. The main detective is as troubled as the victim she is trying to save, the story is an interwoven narrative from both main characters which adds to the confused state of mind

This is the second book about Detective Monica Kennedy. There was an earlier book, the first, which I've not read, but it had another case. A horrific and shocking case that changed everything for Detective Monica Kennedy and her team. I don't know what that case was or what happened, but I do know something happened and it was big. Okay, I'm being a bit sarcastic because in truth I didn't actually need to know anything about the previous book, but I did get a bit tired of the constant mentions of this unspeakable case of which I, as a new reader, knew nothing about. And had I read the first book I would've known and probably not needed to be told about it either. Yes, it's a minor gripe really but it did hinder my ability to get drawn into this book early on, and I suspect that in turn stopped me feeling truly engaged with a story I suspect I could've enjoyed much more. Don't get me wrong, it was a decent enough read. It's just that it never quite hit the spot for me.

The main characters have a realism that I enjoy - they're capable without needing random superhuman abilities. They're even a little rough around the edges to make them nicely imperfect. They're three dimensional, if not super deep - there's just enough to them to make them relatable, and not so much that the story gets lost in unimportant details.

And the story is basically interesting and quite clever - mutilated bodies washing up in the Highlands are undoubtedly a good place to start, and the creepy legends of the mountain folk add a nice hook. It ticks a number of boxes and it's well constructed, slowly slotting the pieces together to show the full picture. I just never sank into it the way I'd hoped. The basic ingredients scream a dark and brooding noir novel; something that swallows my imagination and eats away at me. In truth, it never quite delivered that. At times it felt more horror than it did mystery, which made me feel I missed out on the book I was expecting.

All of which is probably more about my expectations rather than the book itself. I can see a lot of good aspects. The disappointment for me is that I wanted different. I came away feeling that this book could've given me more. "Darks Waters" just wasn't dark enough for me. For all the remoteness I never felt it in anything more than references to phone signal dropping out. I never felt on edge. I never felt engulfed.

Ultimately, I like the characters and I'd read the earlier book, and probably a few that may follow, but only with a shift in my expectations. It's a decent police story - nothing too taxing, and actually quite rewarding once you embrace that.

Annabelle escapes to the Scottish Highlands but crashes and wakes up in a dark room. Scott camps alone in the highlands and hears a scream... he is never seen again. DI Monica Kennedy hunts for a killer but her own dark past follows her. A dark, thrilling story full of gruesome killings that makes you want to keep reading until you finish it.

Dark Water has a lot of promise if possibly re-edited a tad. The story is intriguing and as a reader you feel involved and like all the characters but there’s something missing I can’t quite put my finger on, I think a re-edit would sort that out and then you’d have a hit on your hands! Definitely worth a read!!!

This is a story of mass murder set in the Scottish highlands,a background which works well for the slightly mystical elements in the tale. There are many characters in it and it can be difficult to keep count of the bodies and those kidnapped. The detectives involved in solving the case have the dysfunctional personal and professional lives which seems to be a must in stories of this kind. The details of the kidnapping of Annabelle take many pages and are not all needed to support the story. The idea of a clan of muderers hidden under a water complex is hard to believe. The book will appeal to readers who want a story that challenges their comfort zone.

Visceral. Dark. Murderous. DI Monika Kennedy has to deal with a really nasty killer whose methods are rather too gory for me at times. Well written though and certainly, as with the first of the author's stories, evocative of the Highlands especially on dark, grey, dreich days. Can't give it five stars partly because of the gore and partly because of the thought of doing 100mph on a estate road, even in a fancy BMW or Audi - 30mph in a Land Rover and your teeth, let alone fillings, would be falling out on a typical estate road. There were also, I felt, problems with formatting with the narrative's point of view changing from that of Monika to that of Annabelle from one sentence to the next. This might be due to my reading a pre-publication version but at least a paragraph return would help smooth progress. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Vintage Publishing for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC in return for an unbiased review.
As someone that stayed in Inverness for eleven years I was familiar with most of the places referred to in this book. Decent story with an apparent number of different threads that come together.
Thought this was a first novel by this author but turns out it is in fact the second in a series.
Not problem in reading this as a stand alone though.
Yet another welcome addition to the increasing number of Scottish crime writers/

Pretty scary and gruesome story. Makes you wonder about humanity....
Although the story is engaging and you want to find out what happens I was kind of happy to finish it.

A body of a man with severed limbs is found in a river. Soon another one is found and the race to find the killer starts, but not even the detectives are prepared for what the investigation will uncover.

It was a good read. I found the story captivating and intriguing.
I didn't realise it was the second book in a series, and although it read fine as a stand-alone novel, it kept me wondering what had happened before. This would normally be a good thing if it didn't interfere with me getting into the story at hand.
I liked the fact that it was set in the Scottish Highlands, although it might have put me off visiting the area!
I certainly wasn't expecting what turn the story will take, and that's a big plus.
The story follows Monica Kennedy, the detective inspector, and is interspersed with the first-person narrative of Anabelle, a girl who after a car crash finds herself held hostage by someone whose intentions get more and more sinister as the story evolves.
It is a dark and atmospheric story, but I didn't find myself as gripped as I'd expect to be. The investigative part felt a little slow, and I didn't feel the tension was building fast enough. Either way, it was a good, entertaining read, and if you're into dark and sinister novels then this one is definitely for you. 3 stars.

4-5 stars
I have to admit the author had my immediate attention not only with an intriguing and exciting start but also with the setting in the Inverness area where I have stayed several times. Annabelle is driving fast along a private road that connects Inverness with the west coast when a child suddenly appears in front of her car. In order to avoid her she has no option other than to swerve and hits a tree. When she regains consciousnesses she finds she is being ‘looked’ after by Marcus who makes reference to the mysterious Doctor. She cannot move, she’s terrified and believes she is underground but has no idea where. In the same area a dismembered body is found near the hydroelectric dam near Beauly. Are these two events connected in any way, if so, how? DI Monica Kennedy has taken a step back from MIT following the effect of a terrible case the previous year but is asked to investigate the death along with DC Conor Crawford and DC Ben Fisher. The investigation leads the team into dark and dangerous territory in this nightmarish tale. The story is principally told from the perspective of Monica and Annabelle but there are flashbacks to years prior to this.

The highland area is used to great effect in this atmospheric story. There’s a sense of claustrophobia provided by the forests, a semi deserted village which is very oppressive, and the labyrinthine tunnels for the dams where Annabelle is held, which resemble the gateway to hell. The plotting is good, it’s well written and gritty though perhaps not the the faint hearted! The storyline in places is gruesome, it’s eerie, at times it’s quite spooky and creepy with occasional elements of horror and the supernatural. We have some characters that are so scary and evil you almost want to take cover! I really like Monica and the team and Monica’s daughter Lucy is adorable. Lucy sleepwalks for a time and has ghostly dreams especially about her grandfather which provides an intriguing element to the story. The book build well and I like the two alternate storylines and their feelings are strongly expressed. The ending is a really exciting race against time and is powerful.

Overall, a really good read which keeps you intrigued from start to finish.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Vintage Publishing for the ARC.

A really dark story about a family living remotely in the highlands of Scotland and attacking travellers! I found it quite compelling, reading on to find out who is the murderer but it also contains really horrible details. The author must have a scary imagination.
If you like murder mystery and are prepared to read through the dreadful details of these crimes, then the book is recommended. It is described as a murder but it is not far from horror - in my view!

Dark Waters, what a thriller! The brooding menace in the Scottish forests got me thinking of the film Deliverance and I was quite expecting a couple of pipers to break out in to Dueling Bagpipes. Then it got even more sinister with the Doc in the caves. For some strange reason an old gag came to mind, ‘A towny leans on a farm gate looking at a pig in a field. He says to the farmer, “That pig has only three legs”, to which the farmer replied, “Well, you wouldn’t want to eat it all at once!” ‘
I do have a couple of issues with the plot and it relates largely to do with the abandoned garage and the quarry scrap heap. Firstly, the grisly discovery in the garage seemed very at odds with where the victim ended up. I would have expected all ‘procedures’ to have been carried out away from prying eyes and ears. Secondly, if the garage was abandoned where did the lifting tackle come from to stack the scrap cars in the quarry?
Niggles aside, a fantastic thriller, one which will be hard to beat.

This was a gory surprise! Set in the stunning Scottish Highlands close to Inverness, the horror seems all the more deadly. A girl is involved in a car accident tin a forest and kidnapped. We follow her story as she tries to get out of the box someone puts her in.

Meanwhile Monica returns to the murder squad after time with the traffic division. Bet she wishes she'd stayed there to be honest. The novel then takes on a rather horror and gory tone. There are some BLEAK parts here and the switch betweeen the two women (the one who is captured and Monica) made the reading choppy which added to the overall feeling of sickness I had reading it.

This wasn't just a crime novel but it was a serial killer search, a horror and a supernatural twist appeared as well. Interesting characters which brought the novel back to me, but the gore and the horror didn't make me love it.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Random House UK, Vintage Publishing for an advance copy of Dark Waters, the second novel to feature Inverness based DI Monica Kennedy.

After their last case Monica has been on a transfer to the traffic division but the discovery of a mutilated body sees her back on a murder investigation.A second body is found days later and the team realise that they are hunting a depraved killer.

I enjoyed Dark Waters which has a, strong, engrossing plot and some likeable characters. I was not, however, as enthusiastic about the format which I found confusing at times and extremely choppy. The narrative mostly switches between Monica and Annabelle, a young woman held captive in mysterious circumstances. Both have compelling tales to tell, especially Annabelle whose story is scary, tense and horrifying, but some of it gets lost in the ever changing point of view, because the author constantly switches, even within chapters and from paragraph to paragraph. It is confusing suddenly having to switch perspective and recalibrate. I think the novel loses something with all this jumping about.

The plot has something of a horror novel about it. I’m not going to expand on that as it would reveal too much, but suffice to say it is not for the faint hearted or squeamish. There is also a hint of the supernatural with Monica’s daughter Lucy knowing things she shouldn’t. There are rational explanations for most of it but the idea hangs around. It’s not my bag and seems a touch contrived but who am I to comment?

I like Monica Kennedy. She struggles to parent her four year old and hold down a full time job with irregular hours which gives her an everyday appeal as most of us can understand it. I like her relationship with her mother whom she loves but finds annoying, something I can empathise with! I think she’s a bit untethered, still trying to find the right balance in her life, and my heart goes out to her. All in all she’s a normal woman doing a difficult job.

Dark Waters is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

Exciting book to read. Creepy characters to give that edge. Keeps you on the edge of your seat. Good read with plenty going on