This is a mystery thriller. It is well written with a good cast of characters. It is filled with twists and turns and has a satisfactory ending.

An unravelling story of friendship s and revenge, past to the the present day. A hen night in Scotland a drunk filled night and a discovery of a diary. I loved this book! Thank you you to Netgalley for an advanced copy for an honest review

Dark, twisted and terrifying, Elle Connel’s Down By the Water is an outstanding thriller sure to make even the bravest reader jump out of their skin on multiple occasions.

One last weekend before Georgie’s wedding and seven friends gather at a castle in the Scottish borders. Drinking, partying and laughing are the order of the day and these seven friends plan to have the time of their lives and to have a weekend they will always remember. However, little do they realise that this weekend is going to be unforgettable – but for all the wrong reasons as they find themselves trapped in a terrifying maelstrom of terror, danger and certain death…

Near the castle, through a path in the woods, there is a stunning loch which would make the perfect backdrop for some photos to commemorate the weekend. As the friends make their way to the loch after a couple of drinks, they start larking about and posing for the camera and taking group shot after group shot. With the camera on a self-timer, the friends have plenty of pictures to remember this weekend, but when later they start to see the photographs, they see something that chills them to the bone: a small drenched boy emerging from the water with his eyes open wide…

None of them remembers seeing or hearing the boy. Where did he come from? What was the boy doing in the loch late at night? And more worrying, where did the boy go? As the photo serves as a terrifying catalyst for a whole series of events that turns the perfect weekend into an absolute nightmare, the seven of them find themselves absolutely desperate to leave the castle and head back home. But somebody is watching. Somebody who doesn’t want them to leave who will do anything within their power to keep them locked inside the castle unable to go anywhere…

Guaranteed to send your heart rate soaring through the roof, Elle Connel’s Down By The Water frightened the daylights out of me. Scary, sinister but so compulsively readable I couldn’t bear not to turn the page, Down By The Water is a terrific psychological thriller that deftly explores the simmering tensions bubbling within the most perfect friendship circle, the twisted inner lives of the people we trust most in the world and the lengths we go to to protect ourselves that will have you thinking twice about your nearest and dearest.

Elle Connel’s Down By The Water is a superb psychological crime thriller from a brilliant new writer.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

I struggled with this book , I just couldn’t connect with any of the characters . It was a really slow start that just didn’t hold my attention and the ending was a real anti climax.

This book was everything I look for in a book. It was so exciting. The plot was fantastic. It really had me on the edge of my seat, and my heart racing. It was very well written and flowed well.

Very chilling vibes in this book and as it's mostly set in the same place, it feels quite claustrophobic too. The characters are very real too. The whole thing is gripping and full of tension.

It took me awhile to get into this book but glad so say i did...
I loved the diary being interduced into the book I do like books with diarys and stuff like that so for me made this book even better.....
Some of the characters i didnt like at all and there was a few to keep up with....
Thanks for giving me the chance to read the book i enjoyed it.

This was a chilling mystery novel set in a remote Scottish castle, which had me hooked from the very first page. A group of old friends gather at the castle prior to Georgie's wedding. Whilst down at the loch, which is in the middle of nowhere and miles away from the nearest town, they take a group photo. However, when they look at the photo there is someone else in it, a stranger who they do not recognise, standing behind them. This is the start of a nightmare for the friends and the weekend starts to unravel and terrible secrets are discovered. They are all desperate to leave but they can’t, because someone doesn’t want them to go. This had a sinister and suspenseful air to it all the way through the novel. It’s a very atmospheric and immersive story, with plenty of plot twists which kept me guessing as to who the stranger was. An engaging and entertaining read, if a little tense.

Down by the Water made a promising start, and sounded like a fantastic thriller - it has a spooky Scottish castle, a hen weekend, secrets between the guests! For me though I found it tricky to keep track of all of the characters - there were 7 hens on the weekend, and I forgot sometimes who was who.
There were some great spooky parts of the story - but for me the story was a bit too long as I didn’t find it flowed quite as easily as I hoped it would.

Some wonderful descriptive writing, a great premise and setting but for me there was a general niggle that something (which I can't put my finger on) in the time of events just didn't feel believeable or add up for me.

I wanted to love this book but ended up frustrated by the cast of mostly horrible characters, the focus on food and drugs to such an extent that I kept putting it down and procrastinating before coming back to read. I did finish the book and the second half was much better than the first.

I'd say that I'm in the minority with this one as looking at reviews others have loved it and recommended it highy to those who loved The Hunting Party and Dark Wood.

Many thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read.

This book was tense from the beginning and the group of women involved just kept adding to it. There were quite a few characters and sometimes I struggled to remember who was who apart from the main two characters.
The story flows quite quickly and I soon became immersed in it which led to many extra chapters being consumed when I should have been doing other things. The novel relies on a back story of the women's past relationships and this was really well threaded into the present day. The main character Tess was obviously troubled and I was desperate to know why.
The story basis was one lots of people can relate to; the changing of friendships over time and as lives invariably take differing paths, these may become broken.
This is a really good psychological thriller which I totally recommend.

Dark, intense and addictive...this novel pulls you in and doesn't let go.

Filled with suspense, this brilliantly penned plot encapsulates the depth and breath of the bond between women and their ever evolving lives and the unravelling of secrets that surfaces.

A bone chilling, gripping read.

I do love a good mystery thriller and this novel really hasn’t disappointed. Connel has captivated my attention from chapter 1.

I have loved the unraveling of secrets within the pages of this one. It is an extremely well written plot and is centred around friendships.

This is a novel that has been addictive and unpredictable. I have found that this is cleverly written and filled with twists at every turn of the page.

This is unpredictable and entertaining. I have definitely been converted as a fan of this author.

An absolute gem highly deserving of five shiny stars.

Down By the Water is a psychological thriller by Elle Connel set in a remote castle in the Scottish Borders. Seven friends are at a hen party weekend staying near a picturesque sea-loch. The seven women think they all know each other, but which of them has a devasting secret and who is the mystery person emerging from the water in one of their group self- timed photographs?

I really enjoyed this richly atmospheric mystery tale. The author created a real sense of unease and danger through her sinister descriptions of the chilling locale and the characterisation was also well done. With some wicked twists splashed about, this was a compelling and engrossing read.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Headline/ Wildfire via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

Seven friends gather at a castle in the Scottish Borders. One last weekend before Georgie's wedding. Near the castle, through a path in the woods, is a loch. After a few drinks, they head down to the water to take photos. The loch is wild, lonely, and stunningly beautiful. They set their camera to self-timer and take some group shots. Later, looking back at the pictures, they see something impossible. …

This book drew me right in from the very beginning. It’s an atmospheric and at times eerie read. The characters are all quite horrible, which I do like in a book ! A very good story that you’ll just want to keep reading to get to the bottom of what is going on.

This was such a brilliantly written novel, been so long that I read a proper crazy, darkly chilling psychological thriller. It's all about the vibes really, the plot sounds just like any other, a group of friends go to a secluded place for a vacation and then all the dark secrets start to come out (one of my favorite plot settings!), but there was something dark, mad, and spooky about this story. I couldn't figure out where the story was headed until the very end, and the ending was just as crazy, goosebump stuff, and I loved it! Very much recommended! But do take a look at the TW before heading in.

Thanks to NetGalley, author, and publisher for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

Slow Burn Suspense…
When a group of friends gather for a celebratory weekend at a remote Scottish castle they have only fun in mind but a group photograph at the nearby loch sets in motion a catalogue of bizarre events. Slow burn suspense with some well described elements and nicely atmospheric in places with a sinister feel.

Seven friends gather at a castle in the Scottish Borders. One last weekend before Georgie's wedding. Near the castle, through a path in the woods, is a loch. After a few drinks, they head down to the water to take photos. The loch is wild, lonely, and stunningly beautiful. They set their camera to self-timer and take some group shots. Later, looking back at the pictures, they see something impossible. Behind them, eyes wide, a small, drenched boy emerges from the water. But none of them saw him, and nobody knows where he went. They're miles from the nearest town. How did he get there? Where did he go? As the weekend unravels and terrible secrets come to light, it soon becomes clear that their perfect weekend is turning into a perfect nightmare. They're desperate to leave - but someone won't let them.

This book was a very good read. However, there were times in this book that I got a little bit confused due to the amount of characters. I did find that I had to flick back to the pages before to remember who was you. The characters were also a bit pretentious and I struggled to like any of them, but I think that may have been the authors intention.
The author creates a very atmospheric novel, which pulls you in
The book was attention grabbing, full of twists
I enjoyed the second part of this book a while lot more than the first

Can't decide what to make of this one.

It started off slow and the first few chapters with the constant drinking and drug taking were hard to relate to (as someone who doesn't do either). I suppose for some that might be what a hen party is partly about, but the amount of it going on with the characters in this book was crazy.

None of characters were likeable, aside from Bea and Tessa, who I thought were ok.

I definitely got more into the story when the diary entries started making an appearance. I think I enjoyed them more than the actual story.

There was some beautiful descriptive writing, so credit to the author for that.

The ending left me feeling a underwhelmed.

Thank you to PH, NetGalley and Elle Connel for the chance to read this book.

This was a very good and well written book. I enjoyed the writing and characters alot. I look forward to more books by the author