Well written and the mystery will make this a pretty good ride. I thought I knew what was happening then the twists came and I was floored.

I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide a review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

Spooky and atmospheric! This book is a bit of a slow burn “whodunnit’ with a side of romance. Felicity returns home to her small town after finding out that her sister, Holly, died in a tragic drowning accident. As she installs herself as guardian to her young nieces, she does some digging to find out why her sister drowned in a place she never would have gone on her own. Felicity begins to suspect something sinister happened to her sister. This suspicion is not only unsettling but poses a dangerous problem for her; if someone killed Holly because of the secrets she held then Felicity could be next. Thank you Netgalley, Bookouture, and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. Available now

It is gripping and exciting. a perfect psychological thriller to spend your nights awake. The protagonist is investigating her sister's seemingly natural death when before long she realizes that her sister was targeted, and now she must hunt or be hunted to keep their secret. Brilliantly written and guaranteed to keep you on your toes. The start seems slow but it picks up the pace and engagingly so. Definitely recommended to thriller readers.

The tension in this book was tangible; I couldn’t read it fast enough! A well deserved 5 star from me.

Solid story that started off a bit slow. I actually was not a fan of the main character at first. She wasn’t someone you felt connected to. However as the story went on you started to like her more.

This was a fast paced book which I really loved. It kept me on my toes with a great storyline and had me turning the pages. Some parts were predictable but I still highly recommend it.

This was a decent thriller that had lots going on. It did drag a little for me in parts and I couldn't quite get into it.

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read The woman in the water by Kelly Heard. While the premise of this story sounded right up my alley, I found it too slow for me and just wasnt a fan of the style of writing. I put it down several times and finally pushed my way through it to finish. 21/2 stars

This was a slow burn thriller which had more of the romance factor weaved which diluted the tension in the plot. I skim read the romance sections and got straight to the prose that spoke of mystery. A good read

I loved this book. It kept me hooked and had twists and turns that were both unexpected and well written. I barely put it down, just racing to figure out what was happening. I would definitely recommend to a friend.

This is the second book I have read in as many days that has a character “returning home” in search of the truth about what happened to her sister. Interesting how reading sometimes goes in genres and themes like that.
Anyway, this book is a mystery thriller that verges on the spooky at times. It is atmospheric, the writing is evocative and very descriptive, and there are multi-layered incidents and relationships that are unraveled.
Due to a tragedy, Felicity has to return to the home that she left as a teenager. Her reasons for leaving are slowly revealed throughout the story via flashbacks. The chapters were clearly labeled, and I was never confused as to whether the action was occurring in the past or the present.
I thought she was a complex character. She obviously has a chip (or several of them) on her shoulder due to past events. She felt that her family betrayed her just as her friends did, so she has chosen to forge through life pretty much on her own.
But how much of that is reality and how much of that is her perception – or her self-fulfilling prophecy – is what really makes this story so interesting. There were times that it was difficult to feel sorry for her because she was sometimes her own worst enemy when it came to doing the right thing.
Admittedly, she doesn’t have the easiest time of it. She feels guilty for not being able to talk to her sister more (due to past events) and when she arrives home, it soon becomes apparent that somebody (or more than one person) doesn’t want her there.
Is it because of the current events, or does it have something to do with the past that she ran away from several years prior?
Yeah….no. Not going to tell you.
But her realization about the people who have remained in or returned to town is believable and natural. The author does a fantastic job of dropping hints here and there keeping both Felicity and the reader guessing – and very off balance.
I thought the imagery of water and what a big part it plays in the plot was particularly effective. Whether it is murky and used to hide secrets or a violent but cleansing storm, a placid lake or a swamp, it is used to great effect throughout the story.
I highly recommend this taut, atmospheric mystery thriller.

Felicity Wheeler returns to her hometown following the tragic death of her sister Holly. She finds herself the guardian of her sister's children. Amidst her own grief and that of her nieces, Felicity is determined to prove that her sister's death was not an accident. But she has her own past to battle as well...
The Woman in the Water is a gripping psychological thriller about the mystery surrounding a woman's death and the secrets of the past.
Felicity has been on the run from her past for over a decade. She left her hometown in disgrace but now feels compelled to return to her family and hometown to care for her nieces and comfort her mother. She is confronted by the smalltown prejudice which drove her away in the first place but she is stronger emotionally now and fights back.
Felicity is sure that Holly's death was no accident. Her guilt at their estrangement leads her to search for answers which then puts her in danger too. Along the way she reunites with old friends and addresses the past but also unsettles secret enemies who want to quiet her accusations.
The book is written in Felicity's first person narrative of 'before' and 'now'. This allows us to see and understand her responses to events in both the past and present. The 'before' part was not chronological and there was one conversation that I got confused about where it fitted in the order of events. The mystery behind Felicity's past wasn't a surprise but I felt it was little ambiguous.
There is a slightly spooky element to the book as the setting of the abandoned fairground in the swamp. The dark, dangerous and insidious nature of the water is very atmospheric and creates an oppressive vibe which replicates Felicity's emotions in response to being home.
The Woman in the Water was an engaging psychological thriller with a big dose of spookiness as well.

In sunny St. Thomas, Felicity is getting ready for her nursing shift when she receives a phone call from an unknown number. The caller tells Felicity that her sister, Holly, is dead. As Felicity tries to process the death of her sister, she's told that Holly's will gives her custody of Holly's two kids, Tess and Frankie, so Felicity has to return to her hometown immediately or relinquish custody. But Felicity has no desire to go back home. Over ten years ago, Felicity abruptly left her hometown and severed ties with friends and family, including Holly, which is why she has no idea why Holly would give her custody. But she feels like she owes it to her sister to be there for Tess and Frankie even though the two kids don't know who Felicity is or what she looks like. When Felicity gets home, she learns Holly drowned in the ravine and her death was ruled accidental. Felicity knows that Holly would never go to the ravine willingly, so she is convinced someone or something played a role in Holly's death. As people from Felicity's past start to emerge - they want to know why she's back, how much she knows, and how far she plans to go to learn the truth behind her sister's death.


Told between the past and present, The Woman in the Water follows the story of Felicity as she works to process her past, parent two young children, and solve her sister's mysterious death. While the description of the book hooked me, I did not get much out of reading this and felt disappointed from beginning to end. I think my biggest complaint about this book is not the plot or characters, but rather the writing, which I found to be stale and slow-paced. Because the writing style wasn't pulling me in, I didn't feel a lot of excitement to solve the mystery of what happened to Holly and why Felicity left their hometown. Each time the book had a twist, I honestly felt exhausted because that meant I would have to read more, which isn't great for a book that's supposed to be thriller. While I just didn't get into The Woman in the Water, I don't think it was particularly bad - it had an interesting plot, decent characters, and a solid mystery, but it's not a thriller that's going to stick with me. Overall, this book is just okay - I wouldn't recommend reading it but I wouldn't tell someone not to read it either.

This is my first book by Kelly Heard, but I've read rave reviews from her other titles. Unfortunately I think I started with the wrong one. I was wanting to DNF this one long before the middle of it but I pressed on. I struggled with the cheesy and awkward dialog, unrealistic plotlines, and short but tedious chapters.

I won't let this keep me from reading her other books, however, and already have two of them on hold from my local library. This one just wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, publisher and author for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Woman in the Water has so many angled and hidden secrets. Readers will need a road map to keep the journey straight. Two estranged sisters never have the chance to reconcile because of deep seated events that altered their relationship.

Wow, wow, wow! This is one of those mind blowing good books! Unputdownable, fast paced, well written, and intense! Unique, fun, and captivating! Writing style was perfect, with excellent character development, attaching me to the story even more than I thought I could be! Highly, highly recommend! I promise this is one that will shock the heck out of you! Don’t delay, grab today!!

I am blown away by this book, honestly, it was exceptional and I cannot rate it highly enough!

It's really hard to pick a stand out aspect of this book, as the whole thing was just executed perfectly, but I think for me it was the characters. They made this book with their dialogue and their relationships and growth throughout the story. I also loved how they reacted and interacted in the different situations and scenes, nothing was predictable from them at all and it really helped to bring enjoyment to the story.

A personal favourite of mine was the scenes between Dawson and Silas later in the book, they managed to break the tension in the funniest way!

Not only were the characters executed perfectly, so was the atmosphere and intrigue. The entire book managed to keep this sense of fear and foreboding, without ever dropping off or losing track. And because the book was quite a slow burn, it definitely kept your attention, but to be able to continue that need to know what was going on throughout the whole story was just very well done.

The Woman in the Water was brilliantly written, everything was written in the right way or at the right time and whilst it took a while to build up to the main plot of the story, the quality of the writing was enough to keep you reading, without even needing to have a story line.

Although, it did have a story line I would like to add! And what a story it was. It was hands down one of the best books I had read for a while. The main story was woven so well with the supernatural element of the lake (which wasn't overpowering at all) and the childhood/history of Felicity and her sister Holly, everything was layered together like a piece of puff pastry. (Pls excuse my food references haha).

My other favourite thing about this book is how it answered all of our questions in the end, we were left with no questions and everything was rounded off nicely - which I absolutely love!

On the whole, The Woman in the Water was just a thoroughly entertaining book, it was so twisty, I had absolutely no idea what the pages would hold and every time I turned the page I was shocked or had goosebumps (in a good way), you cannot escape the darkness and eerieness of this book.

Wow. From the very first line this story hooked me and I just could not stop reading. A brilliantly plotted stunner of a tale. Loved loved loved.

Kudos to this talented writer for spinning this amazing tale of a sister׳s desire to avenge her sibling’s death and safeguard her orphaned children. A tantalizing tale!