After reading this book I really am in two minds about it. Part of me feels I have read a really good book, one that really hooked you in but equally it feels like I have spent time reading a book that actually didn't proceed anywhere despite knowing the fact you did read it. I don't think it helped that the book seemed to be 2 different books before you eventually realised that yes, the stories were linked.

Loved the title and noticed it’s repetition a few times throughout this compelling tale surrounding the lives of a woman living in rural Tennessee in the 60’s and her daughter, as an adult in 2021. I was so moved by Eualla and her sister, Minnie’s plight as children and was dismayed to see how their childhood negatively impacted their lives as adults. Peyton’s story was also compelling. Add to that the unsolved mystery of a young girl, missing for over 20 years. To me, this is family drama at its best.
Marina McCarron’s descriptions and writing made me feel such strong emotions as I read this engaging tale that delves into childhoods that shape us as adults and definitely color the way we parent the next generation. Definitely thought provoking!
I will definitely be looking for more from this author. Many many thanks to Marina McCarron and NetGalley for affording me the pleasure of reading an arc of this soon to be published gem.

I didn’t really get this book. I understand Lydia’s background and wanting to create an entire new persona for,herself but she was so cold and aloof. Peyton was just sort of drifting through life, trying to find a purpose. There are a few peripheral,characters, but their role is marginal.
I also didn’t understand the ending.

A good mystery book. However I was left with quite a few questions that weren't answered by the author at the end of the book. But over all it was a well written book.

Loved it! This was the first book I read by the author and I can't wait to read more. From the first chapter I was hooked and I couldn't wait to see what happened. I enjoyed how the book alternated between Peyton and Eualla. I knew Eualla and Peyton had to be connected somehow, but it wasn't until Eualla declares her college major when I finally put two and two together. Where did Minnie and Eualla's mom go for all those years? Why did she finally return? I hated the relationship Peyton and her mom had with each other. Lydia never had anything nice to say about her daughter. Did she love her? Lydia sure knew how to hold a grudge. Her sister helped her raise Scott and then she just cuts her off. For being a psychologist, she wasn't very good with her children or even herself. She should have talked to someone. There were so many hidden family secrets.

Definitely recommend the book. Loved the characters, story and writing style. I was so glad that the truth was finally revealed about what actually happened to Daisy. Look forward to reading more books by the author. Loved the cover of the book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Head of Zeus through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you, Head of Zeus, and NetGalley for a copy of “The Shimmer on the water” by Marina McCarron.
Set in several timelines, first one is July 4th, 1997, Daisy Wright goes missing to be never seen again. Although there was an investigation, without any evidence it slowly and the hunt for her stops.
We then learn of Eula living in a house with her mother and sister Minnie and her drunk father and brother. Her mother leaves and Eula and her sister Minnie fends for themselves. Without food as her father disappears weeks at a time. Eula does what she can to look after her sister Minnie. The story tells us how she grows up and the determination to get out of poverty
Maine 2021 Peyton comes back to her hometown in Maine and lives with her parents until she decides what she wants to do with her life. While she is at her parents, she decides to investigate the cold case of Daisy wright and found out what happened to her. She thinks it will help her in becoming a journalist.
I was really looking forward to reading this as I read the authors previous novel “The time between us” which I really enjoyed.
This is an interesting thriller, and I was engaged throughout the first part of this book. I enjoyed the story of Eula and her determination to get out of poverty. But I was a bit confused as I thought this story was about a missing girl and there was hardly anything in it story not until near the end.
The second half of this story I found slow and started losing interest that I started skipping pages until the end just to see what happened to Daisy Wright, but I found it disappointing. 3 stars from me.

I absolutely loved this book. Set over decades, it’s the story of Eualla, who takes care of little sister Minnie when their mother leaves them with their drunken father. She plans to escape by studying hard and get a scholarship.
We then meet Peyton, who is drifting and moves back home to her parents. She wonders why her Mother never seems to show affection to her and she relies on her father for any fun. She remembers the disappearance of a little girl when she was young and how it was linked to the ‘stick house’. She is determined to find out what happened as more and more secrets are revealed.
A great read with strong characters and a fabulous story.

The Shimmer on the Water is a totally engaging novel that grabs your attention and does not let go.

It is told in dual time line: 1977 and 2021.

Its 1960 and Eualla Thompson and her sister have been abandoned and Eualla vows to herself never to be poor again or let her children grow up the way she did.

Its 1977 and Daisy Wright disappears on the the 4th of July.

The town of Fort Meadow Beach is never the same.

It is 2021 when Peyton returns home for various reasons and as she tries to figure out life she is also tries to solve the disappearance of Daisy.

Her parents tell her to let sleeping dogs lie.

This book is not just a great mystery but it is also the story of family, loyalty, hardship, perseverance and the mistakes we make along the way.

I got totally lost in the story of The Shimmer on The Water and did not want the book to end.

I look forward to checking out Marina McCarron's books.

Thanks to NetGalley and Head of Zeus , Aria for a intriguing read.

This story of a woman, Peyton, returning back home to her parents after her life implodes was very interesting. There are multiple stories going on. You have the story of Peyton and her failures/losses, you have the story of her mother's harsh, almost tragic beginning and why it has made her so stiff in her dealings with her daughter. You also have the mystery of a little girl who went missing when Peyton was young.

Peyton is researching the disappearance because it appeals to her desire to be a journalist. Her digging into the past upsets her mother, especially when it leads her to question her own early life.

I'll have to admit I liked the writing style and most of the story, but I was left with questions at the end that weren't answered. I felt like the author left me hanging.

Thanks to Head of Zeus and NetGalley for the gifted copy. All thoughts are my own.

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. The Shimmer on the Water is a story told in two time periods focusing on the lives of Peyton and Eualla. Also there is a missing girl Daisy Wright whose story is lightly woven in as well. Honestly, the main stories were just depressing and somewhat slow to build. The characters were not very well rounded, and it was hard to care much for them, even by the end. The whole Daisy story needed more development. Unlike Where the Crawdads Sing, which this book has been compared to, there just isn't a bunch of redemption or resolution. I wanted to like this more, but I just couldn't connect with the characters.

A really intriguing book taking place across multiple timelines. Great characters and the story is brilliantly interwoven. Highly recommended.

This story was riveting, in that it was a mystery of a young girl who vanished, But it was also about a family with so many secrets, and Peyton, who thought her mother was a stranger to her. The book captured my attention and reeled me in until the end. It was amazing and the events, secrets, and getting to know the family, took me down a path with twist, turns, and unbelievable things happening.
I received an ARC from Aria through NetGalley. I highly recommend.

This is a dual timeline novel. In the present day, Peyton Winchester moves back to her Maine hometown after losing her job and being at a crossroads in life. She rekindles an interest in journalism and becomes obsessed with a cold case disappearance of a young girl named Daisy in her hometown 25 years earlier. The second timeline takes place in 1960’s Tennessee and is about Eualla Tompkins, a girl left to fend for herself and her younger sister after her mother dies and her father is next to useless. The story alternates between the stories of Peyton and Eualla until they eventually come together. I enjoyed this story, but I feel like the blurb is a little misleading. The novel wasn’t as focused on the mystery of what happened to little Daisy as a I was expecting. This story was really about Peyton and Eualla and their lives. I’d characterize it as a family drama.

Wow! What a read!
In 1997 Daisy Wright disappears she’s never seen or heard from ever again. It is a long unsolved mystery.
In present day Peyton has broken up with a boyfriend, lost her job, has no direction for her life, is depressed and returns to her childhood home and to her parents, While there she remembers fragments about the day Daisy disappeared.

Meanwhile we also get to travel back in time as we have the story of Eualla , Who is telling her story going forward.
The reader is taking on a journey from the past forward, and from the present backwards… And as you read you begin to see everything click in place.
More secrets, more mysteries, and do we really know the people we live with.

I so enjoyed this book and couldn’t believe how the stories were tied together.

The Shimmer on the Water is an enthralling mystery that takes place during a sequence of timelines by two different point of views.

July 4th 1997 little Daisy Wright goes missing during a town celebration.

Twenty five years later and back visiting home, Peyton begins to investigate this long ago cold case while also discovering some deep hidden secrets within her own family.

Starting in 1965 our second POV is told by Eualla. Eualla’s story is captivating and absolutely heartbreaking. We join Eualla as she grows up from poverty and sets out to make a better life for herself.

Things I liked:
* I absolutely loved Euallas story
* Loved Peytons news piece. It gave me chills!
* Loved that it kept me captivated and guessing what was going to happen

Things I did not like
* That while the readers get closure with Daisy, I’m really sad none of the characters did. I was really hoping Peyton was going to get answers for everyone.

Overall I really enjoyed this story but, because I feel there wasn’t enough closure I am giving this book 3.5 stars (rounding to 4)

1997 and at the 4th of July celebrations a little girl goes missing.
2022 and Peyton Winchester moves home and brings back all sorts of memories including the little girls disappearance.
Peyton has always wanted to be a journalists so starts investigating the disappearance but what secrets will she uncover and whose lives will e turned upside down? it might be closer to home than she thinks

Told in two different timelines The Shimmer on the Water is a historical mystery that is both emotional and totally absorbing. We get chapters from both Peyton and Eualla's point of view, with Eualla's chapters starting in 1966 and Peyton's taking place in 2021. I just loved Eualla's chapters so much and she was my favourite character in the book. She was so young when the book starts and she had so much on her shoulders at the time. She is a whip-smart and feisty young lady who knows what she wants and goes after it. Eventually, the Eualla and Peyton stories merge in a somewhat surprising way and it begins to explain a lot. The mystery of the missing Daisy Wright, from 1997, doesn't really come into play until about halfway through when Peyton starts investigating. This is a multigenerational multi-layered story that kept me glued to the pages Many family secrets are revealed and there is plenty of drama to get wrapped up in. This was such a captivating story and my first by this author. I will have to check out The Time Between Us by Marina McCarron. That is the greatest compliment that this reader can give an author...that I want to enjoy more of their books.

The riveting mostly dual timeline novel The Shimmer on the Water is not your typical domestic thriller; it has that je ne sais quois which elevates it. When done well, dual and multi timelines are such a pleasure to read. This one is magic. Though several characters are not likeable I was absolutely invested and engrossed the entire time as bits of what makes people tick and make the decisions they do were introduced.

In 1997 Maine Daisy Wright's unusual disappearance goes unsolved. In 2022 Peyton returns to her loveless family home after having an unsuccessful go on her own. Discouraged, she becomes intrigued by Daisy's story and starts unraveling the layers. Her cold mother constantly has her on edge but she has nowhere else to go. Her father is kind but often defaults to her mother. Very interesting dynamic...the angst could be sliced with a knife.

Eualla and Minnie grow up in 1960s Tennessee in a terribly abusive home. They are deserted and must fend for themselves. After going their separate ways, their past re-enters their lives. Their stories beautifully intertwine with those of the current day, intelligently and cleverly written. Not only is there a mystery but loads of family tension.

Mystery/Thriller readers seeking originality ought to prioritize this. I felt like gnawing on my arm to get to the end! And what an ending it was. Loved it.

My sincere thank you to Head of Zeus and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this arresting book. Marina McCarron's writing has me absolutely hooked!

“When you're lost sometimes the only way to look forward is to look back.”

Canadian Marina McCarron has written a compelling story that takes readers to a time and place in the past when a little girl went missing. Her dual timelines, set in 1960s Tennessee and 1997/2021 Maine, are rich with both location and era-specific attitudes, events and influences. I was held captive wondering how Eualla Tompkins and Peyton Winchester’s timelines would merge and was in awe of the multi-layers McCarron has added to her brilliant narrative. She explores secrets we keep and how the past influences what we choose to portray to others.

The gorgeous cover attracted me at first, the title intrigued me and the compelling narrative kept my attention from cover to cover. You’ll have to read to find out what answers are held in the shimmer on the water.

If you love a good family drama with a touch of mystery, this tale, involving three women, two generations apart and sharing one secret, is one to put on your summer reading list!

I was gifted this advance copy by Marina McCarron, Head of Zeus, Aria, and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

Wow what a fantastic read. Eualla has a tragic childhood living with her father and abusive brother and taking care of her little sister Minnie, they never have enough to eat due to what little money they have is spent on drink .After losing the only friend she has and being shunned by her so called school friends she decides she is going to have a better life for herself and works hard and with help from one of the teachers gets a scholarship .The story is set in different decades and it marries together beautifully, its its beautifully written with strong characters and a great story which will keep you gripped from the beginning. I really loved it and highly recommend this book