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

Dark, creepy, mysterious and I loved it.

This book is unlike anything I've read before, its jumpy and brilliantly written. Books with lakes in them always spell danger even more so when the lake holds what this one does.

I devoured this in an afternoon, I'm looking forward to reading more of Elle's books.
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Down by the water by Elle Connel.
I really enjoyed this book. Wow surprising twists full of suspense. Great story and characters. 5*.

Down By the Water is a psychological thriller by Elle Connel, set over the course of a weekend at a hen party in a remote castle in the Scottish Borders. Said to have been partially inspired by a true story, it follows seven friends and is situated near a beautiful sea-loch, it seems like the perfect place to get away from the outside world. But the weekend is terrifyingly derailed when the girls spot the figure of a boy in one of their group photos by the water. They thought they knew each other's darkest moments, but one of them has been hiding a devastating secret.

And amid the drunken revelries of the weekend, she will find the perfect moment to wreak her revenge. This is a compulsive and richly atmospheric contemporary thriller steeped in mystery and with some heart-pounding reveals. Elle Connel uses her secluded and richly described setting to plunge readers into a perfectly chilling environment where danger – both from the natural world, and from the people you thought you could trust – lurks around every corner. Combined with the tight timeframe of one weekend, a dynamic cast of characters, and some heart-stopping and wicked twists, this makes for a truly unputdownable read.

I am sorry to say that I just didn't get into this book. I liked the sound of it, but just didn't connect with either the story or the characters.

I found the first half of the book a little slow and was wondering at times where the story was heading. However, once the storyline started to progress and when the diary was introduced I found the story much more intriguing and it caught my attention a lot more. I found Georgie to be a dislike-able character, and part made me wonder how much of a true friend she was to any of the other characters in the book and it made me feel sorry for some of the other characters. It would have been nice at the end of the book to find out the outcome for Georgie to really wrap the story up but that’s just my opinion, others may not feel the same.

A really great, atmospheric read. Lots of lies and thrills going on in this novel. I devoured this extremely quickly as I could not get enough, and just wanted to know what was happening.

Seven friends, meet for one of their friends wedding, Georgie and they decide (as you do nowadays) to pose for a photo in front of the nearby Loch, which is eerie in itself. They do the photo and when they look back at it, its scary for them as they see a young boy who appears to be in the water. The friends are baffled by this event and decide to look for him but can not locate him. This is the main basis of the novel as lots of scary things start to happen to these unlucky seven. Their planned perfect getaway turns into an absolute horrendous nightmare.

Such a great read, I did get lost with the many characters but quickly picked them up as you get into the novel.

Thanks to NetGalley, Elle Connel and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Sinister and atmospheric, a gripping read!
Seven friends gather at a castle in the Scottish Borders. One last girls' weekend before Georgina'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. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Down by the water was definitely an adventure - a hen weekend I can well imagine with old Uni friends getting together who'd not seen each other in a long time. Trying to reclaim the old days where life was so different from the realities and responsibilities of adulthood.

I enjoyed the premise of this story, the setting and mostly the characters although as some other reviewers have said there were quite a few to keep tabs on which I did find difficult to keep up with. The setting of the remote Scottish castle added a character of it's own, well described and I could imagine myself there with the eerie quite and darkness surrounding the tree lined sea loch and potential for odd goings on.

I really found Georgie annoying but I think that was the authors point, I think we all know someone like her within friendship groups so she was relateably unlikeable. I did feel for Tessa and felt early on there was clearly something going on although perhaps because I unfortunately had to read in short snippets this time I didn't always follow as lucidly as I usually would which I think did hamper my reading.

Down by the water is the kind of book you want to shut yourself away with so that you can fully immerse yourself in the characters and all the backstories so that the climax really packs a punch.

An enjoyable read and I would happily read more from this author. 4 stars really because I struggled with so many key characters.

DOWN BY THE WATER is a mystery thriller by Elle Connel.

Seven women are on in sleeper cabins on a train bound for a castle in Scotland. This was to be a weekend retreat to reconnect where they had all met, before one of the women, Georgina gets married. They had met in university, and now years later some were married with children and others not and now the hen party was underway.

The seven women on the trip included:

Tessa- a Doctor
Harriet-had been a novelist but was now married to Freddie with two children (cool & demanding)
Melissa- a Vet (petite, bright and loyal)
Bea-Married to Mohammed with two identical twin girls (took drugs)
Alice-Married to wife Rachael
Georgie-Getting married and hosting the retreat

Harriet, Melissa and Georgie had stayed in touch since university. Georgie had asked all of her university gang best friends to be her bridesmaids at her approaching wedding.

Seven friends gather at a castle in the Scottish Borders. One last girls' weekend before Georgina'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.

And then later when they look at the pictures, they see a small boy that has drowned in 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 progresses more secrets and lies become known. Their perfect weekend is turning into a perfect nightmare. They're desperate to leave - but someone won't let them.

This well-written novel that shows how friendships over time can change, as each take their own path. Life is made up of Choices…Decisions…Consequences… You make your own path!

Many thanks to the author, Headline Books, The Book Club and NetGalley for my digital copy.

A good book with some great plot lines and some unexpected twists I didn’t see coming. For some reason I just couldn’t seem to get into this book. There are a lot of main characters and it was about a third of the way through the book before I had who’s who clear in my head.

Briefly, a group of women, who all went to university together, meet up to celebrate Georgie’s forthcoming wedding. A hen party in a remote castle in Scotland. Shortly after they arrive they take a walk to the loch and take some selfies. When they look at the photographs there is one with a young boy in the background, who appears to be drowning. Then as more strange things happen, and deep, dark secrets are revealed, they want to leave. But they can’t. What is preventing them?

I really liked this writers style of writing and I will definitely read more but I never really got into this book properly. I found the characters to be unlikable and because there were so many of them I felt I maybe needed to know more and that there were a few loose ends. There are some pretty gory/gruesome parts in the book which some readers may find disturbing, not me! A satisfactory read but I was left needing more. 3.5*.
My thanks to the author, TBC and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I downloaded this book because I'd read the blurb and somehow assumed it was a ghost story (boy appearing from nowhere in a photo, etc) but it's a psychological suspense!

A group of friends arrive at an isolated Scottish castle for a weekend hen party. They haven't seen each other since university and there are still secrets, tensions and old grudges simmering away beneath the surface. Their holiday starts off well but begins to go wrong when they are trapped for an extra few days and the food mysteriously runs out. Strange things happen, they squabble amongst themselves, but then one finds a diary that could explain everything...

I have mixed feelings about this story. The writing is good, the author is great at creating a creepy atmosphere and there is that constant feeling of menace. You just know Bad Things are going to happen. The characters are mostly horrible, particularly Georgie. I was hoping that if this was one of those books where they all got killed off one-by-one (it isn't), then she would be the first to go! While the second part of the story is a cracking read, the first part was a little too slow and I did have trouble working out who-was-who because of all the characters.

I would recommend this story to anyone who loves slow-burn suspense and books like The Hunting Party (Lucy Foley) and In a Dark, Dark Wood (Ruth Ware).



Thank you to Elle Connel and Wildfire (Headline) for my copy of this book which I requested from NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

This is the last girls' weekend before Georgina's wedding. Seven friends, in total will be participating in the wedding. They're staying in a castle near the woods and a loch. After imbibing quite a bot, they decide to take selfie in front of the loch to post on social media.

It's only later when they are looking at the pictures, what they see is impossible ... it's the image of a young boy, emerging from the water.

They search for the boy, but are unable to locate him ... if he really exists. They are miles and miles away from the nearest town.. so where did he come from .. and where did he go?

As the weekend progresses, the ladies' perfect weekend turns into a nightmare. Secrets and lies are exposed .... and they're desperate to leave .. but someone won't let them.

So what secrets do these women have? They were all once so close ... what has happened in the intervening years?

This is a suspenseful mystery, cleverly written, with a cast of solidly defined characters. There are twists and turns that lead to a surprising conclusion. Secondary characters are intriguing and add much to the intricate plot.

Many thanks to the author / Headline Books / Netgalley for the digital copy of this mystery. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

I struggled at the beginning of this book. I found the characters overly pretentious, quibbling about trivial matters and it took me a while to figure out who was who.
However, the unexpected appearance in a photo added a frisson of excitement, and from there the story shifted up a gear.
The author writes well, with some memorable lines:

She clutched her head as if she could pull out the narcotics and separate their influence from reality.

In the morning light, she'd had those foggy hallucinations that come in half-sleep: blurred creatures crawling along the vessels of her brain.

My regrets are the shape of human organs, pulpy and crimson, red and wet and menacing.

All in all, a solid read with a creeping sense of menace that drew me in after a shaky start.

Having got to know the many vastly different characters meeting miles from home for a hen party, I realised they didn’t really all like or enjoy each other’s company. They had a great bond from being at University together, but life changes over a decade later.

Are their ghosts or is someone just adding darkness to the story? This isn’t to say it’s a ghost story, but there are hidden gems about to be discovered.

This is a good read and the writer brings out the best and worst in each of the characters and their temporary local landlord. A tree that fell ( or did it?) makes this a closed location mystery and I believe they didn’t plan their food rations properly.

These ladies drink a lot and this affects their decision making process, but what happened all those years ago to make them who they are now?

While receiving this copy without charge, this hasn’t changed my thoughts or my review. I'll read more from this author. This story kept me interested from the first page to the last lines.

I've read a few novels where a group of people go to a hotel or camping in the woods and then something bad happens...but this is right up there! Spooky settings galore and those woods seemed very real and menacing. The group of girls see a young boy in the woods before he disappears but they have no idea who he was or why he was there. That's not even the spookiest thing that happens as this novel is full of tension , dark shadows and menacing foreshadowing.

This is a good book overall. The plot sticks well and the characters are interesting. The twists are good but some of them are more predictable. It is not one of the best or even one of the most memorable that I’ve read in this genre but it’s a tidy read.

It should have been a relaxing holiday, a group of seven friends getting together before one of them marries. But a stay in a castle on a lake in the wilds of Scotland goes terribly wrong when they get tipsy and apparently miss something awful. Looking back at a group photo set and a timer, the women see a boy emerging from the lake behind them. They never saw the boy enter or leave the water. And where did he go? This is a knuckle biter, a story that kept me reading into the night

#DownByTheWater #NetGalley
An excellent read.
Seven friends gather at a castle in the Scottish Borders. One last girls' weekend before Georgina'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?
Thanks to NetGalley and Headline for giving me an advanced copy.

A group of friends, an isolated castle...a trip to remember. This is an excellent thriller about a group of friends on a vacation that turns out to be not how they planned it. The character seemed real and the plot is intense. I highly recommend it.