Frankie's summer job at eighteen turns out to be a devastating experience that defines her adult life. Her mental health is fragile due to the night terrors that merge dark Corsican folklore and actual tragic events, particularly prevalent on a specific date, which is also her only daughter's birthday. Lola, haunted by her mother's past, uncovers some clues and makes a plan to discover the truth. Lola finds herself alone and in danger, and reaches out to her mother, who must overcome her fear and rescue her daughter from the place of her nightmares. It's a darkly emotional tale brought to life through vivid storytelling and believable characters. Frankie's past experiences on the island contrast with current events, and the reader is unsure what is fact and what is the recollection of an unreliable narrator. I appreciate the emotional impact, the effective use of sensory imagery to build suspense, and the echoes of dark folklore throughout the story.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

This is an atmospheric, intricately woven story with dual timeline and dual POV. It describes the present moment as well as past of a mother and daughter and what happens when we keep secrets buried.

There are quite a lot of main characters involved and I suppose that keeps you guessing. There is an element of Corsican folklore explored which was interesting. Plenty of different strands to this story and it goes back and forth in time as it slowly unfolds.

Honestly a complex and well put together storyline. The twists had me gasping at the end!

However all that said I just didn’t really connect with it. Most likely a me or timing issue but this happens I suppose.

I mainly listened to this one as an audio and to start with I found the mother’s voice really irritating. This might be a reason I couldn’t quite connect with it either.

Sarah Clarke is fast becoming the “literary queen of the destination thriller”, and this is a particularly well-executed one. It taps into the fear of every mother – that the just-turned-adult child who goes off on their first international adventure might disappear. And so it is in this thriller, where young adult Lola rings home to tell her mother Frankie that she is not as planned on a group holiday in Cyprus but in fact in Corsica, the beautiful French island that harbours a traumatic history for Frankie. As the mother sets out to rescue her child, what will the recollection of long-buried memories, and the renewed immersion into the familiar landscape do to the family?

Beautifully and evocatively executed, this is a stellar mystery that deserves a big readership. Thank you to NetGalley and to the publishers for my free digital ARC that enabled me to read this novel ahead of publication date and to write this unbiased book review.

Set across two timelines 2004 and 2025 and two POV’s Frankie and her daughter Lola, this destination thriller is a perfect mix of compelling characters and propulsive thriller.

Frankie hasn’t spent many of Lola’s birthdays either her, choosing instead to lock herself away in a remote location. Needing to know why, Lola takes herself off to Corsica where Frankie spent the summer when she was 18.

When Frankie races after her she places both of them in danger.

I raced to find out Frankie’s story in 2004 and to find out how Frankie and Lola’s story in 2025 unfolded.
Along with the main mystery of the book there is the local legend of the Mazerri which I found fascinating.

The setting was well described and sounds idyllic, I would love to visit.

Really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend.

I really enjoyed this book. I was gripped from the start, and I loved the setting in Corsica. I had never come across the Corsican Mazzeri legend that certainly laid out a dark and mysterious layer to the story. The relationship between Lola and her mother Frankie had complicated bond that was influenced by the past experiences of Frankie years previously on the island. Each character was well-developed and added to the twists and turns. The suspense kept me wanting to turn those pages. I am never a fan of books that flip back and forth in time, but this was perfectly done, and I am really enjoying Sarah Clarkes work. Looking forward to the next book.

Frankie Torre spent the summer she was eighteen working in Corsica as a water ski instructor, but whilst there tragedy struck, she blamed herself for what happened and swore never to return to the island. Twenty years later she is now mum to Lola who is soon to turn eighteen, plagued by the events of that night she takes herself away for two weeks every year leaving Lola with her gran so she's never there for her daughter's birthday which just happens to be the same date the tragic event took place. This year Lola tells her mum she's going to Ayia Napa with her friends, until she calls her to say she's actually in Corsica, where she's alone with no money or passport after being mugged and Frankie knows she has no choice but to go back to the island to fetch her. Once there the memories come flooding back when she sees familiar faces but it appears others are also keeping secrets about the events of that summer.

Someone in the Water is the latest thriller by this author, set against the beautiful backdrop of Corsica. It's a fast paced story told across two timelines with so many intriguing characters that Clarke brings to life in this striking tale of mystery and Mazzeri legend. This is a well crafted, compelling read filled with intrigue, suspense and twists that kept me hooked throughout and eager to uncover the many secrets being held on this stunning island and beyond. I felt for both Frankie and Lola, they had missed out on so much in their relationship due to the demons that have dogged Frankie for the last twenty years and I hoped that returning to Corsica may help her banish them for good. This is another new to me author whose work has impressed me and I look forward to catching up with her earlier books.

I'd like to thank HQ and Netgalley for the auto approval, I will post my review on Amazon and Goodreads.

An all encompassing thriller. The storyline fed new twists throughout which in turn kept me reading. It was fast paced and extremely emotional in the way it was presented. Seeing the lengths families will go to to protect their own.
An excellent read

Another suspenseful book from Sarah Clarke. When Frankie's daughter goes to the island where tragedy happened 18 years earlier she has no choice but to follow. Full of twists and good characters this book is a must for your summer reading. Thanks to HQ Digital and Netgalley for this review copy.

I loved The Ski Trip! So you can guess I was excited to get Someone in the Water by Sarah Clarke.
The twists and turns were suspenseful and the ending was fantastic.
The characters were great, the story was exciting and the style of writing was perfect.
A pacy, suspenseful thriller.

A great thriller twisting folklore and fear together. For years Frankie has not been able to celebrate her daughter’s birthday with her due to tragic events that happened years before, however when she was about to turn 18 her daughter, Lola, went to the island where the tragedy happened and Frankie had no choice but to follow.

A great read but for me the end was a little unsatisfying.

Sarah Clarke has done it again.!! This book gave me all the chills. I absolutely loved the myth/ history slant on this. If you are looking for a page turner for your beach holiday then this is definitely it. Enjoy and thank me later!!

This book is a twisty, emotionally charged story about guilt, memory, and the lies we tell to protect the people we love.

Fantastic destination thriller over a dual timeline! Perfect summer read! Will be reading this authors work in future for sure! Thank you for the opportunity to read this proper to review

A decent thriller with a great setting. I enjoyed the dual timelines. It brought the story together bit by bit and kept me reading.

I’d like to thank H.Q. and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Someone In The Water’ written by Sarah Clarke in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

On the 31st July each year Frankie shuts herself away as that was the date she had a traumatic experience in Corsica when eighteen years old. Her daughter Lola tells her she’s in Cyprus with friends to celebrate her birthday but decides instead to go to Corsica and discover the reasons behind her mother’s fears, but when Lola rings Frankie in distress she has no choice but to visit the place of her nightmares and bring her daughter back home.

‘Someone In The Water’ is a dark psychological thriller telling of a mother’s horror as she needs to return to the place where she had a traumatic experience. The plot is well thought-out and although I’m not a great fan of destination novels I’ve enjoyed getting a feel for the locations. It’s clear that Frankie and Lola have a fairly close relationship but thought it sad that Lola has never had her mother around for any of her birthdays. This is a dark and mysterious novel and although not my favourite by this author is well worth reading.

Someone In The water was a really good read that I enjoyed from start to finish.
Frankie spent her summer working in Corsica and it has left her traumatised around the 31st July. So much so that she has missed her daughter’s birthday for many years as she has to go away and shut herself away from the outside world. Her daughter Lola is going to Cyprus with her friends to celebrate her eighteenth birthday but rings her mum to say she’s really in Corsica alone and has been mugged, no phone, no passport but she’s been given a room where her mum used to work. Can Frankie get on a plane and save her daughter and be back in her isolated holiday home for the 31st July or not. Lola is hoping to break this curse. Who will win?
This was a really good read from start to finish, the characters were all different and not too many of them, a really good destination read. There was a lot of mystery surrounding Frankie but the ending tied everything up neatly with no unanswered questions. A cleverly written book that had me not knowing who to trust and hoping Frankie could do what was needed from her.
I would like to thank NetGalley and HQ Digital for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

Firstly I absolutely love a destination thriller. I was hooked from the very beginning. I loved being transported to Corsica as a reader. I enjoyed learning about the mazzeri legend and the importance it played in the storyline. I especially loved the dual timeline and the POV between Lola and Frankie. I enjoyed seeing their relationship develop as the storyline went on. The different characters kept me constantly guessing and I didn’t know who the trust until the very end! Thank you to NetGalley and HQ stories for my digital advanced copy. I can’t wait to read more books my Sarah!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Someone In The Water - Sarah Clarke

This has to be Sarah’s best work to date - having previously enjoyed her other books.

A destination thriller spanning 2 decades - and with just the right amount of characters to keep me guessing right to the very end.

I had the rug pulled from under me several times through the book - let’s just say it’s a good job I’m not a detective investigating things!!

Like all of Sarah’s books - she is able to make all of her characters seem very real - and I can imagine that this book will go down very well on beaches across the world for Summer 2025……Corsica included!

Here’s the next one Sarah

if someone is comparing a book love for T M Logan then you dont even have to ask whether im there or not. I.AM.THERE.
and this book didn't disappoint.
Frankie has lived with certain darkness in her life since she was younger. memories that haunt her at a particular time each year. it becomes so bad that each year she even has to take herself out of her own life, even hiding from her daughter.
but this year will be different. that darkness comes home. because her daughter cant keep doing this and she wants, no needs to know what happened to her mum in order to help or at least understand. its pushed her mum, its pushed them apart for too long.
but then Lola needs help. and she has to call her mum to Corsica, the place where it all began. and Frankie know her love for her daughter will take her back in an instant. where she has to face all that happened and all the people and faces from that past.
but years down the line do things look the same, do questions need to be asked anew, and do perspectives need to be changed on just what did happen all those years ago?
this book had me guessing who was the guilty party and who was hiding what. it had me feeling unease and tension throughout. i too became tense and needed to know what had happened and how it would all play out.
i enjoyed every single moment of this book and could wait to come back to it to find out more sped through it.
this is definitely an author to get stuck in to and this book too.

The blurb:
My only child Lola is turning eighteen soon, but I won’t be with her. For two weeks every year, I hide myself away while I endure the nightmares that haunt me around her birthday.

Because she can never know the truth – that I am plagued by terrible visions from the summer I spent in Corsica when I was eighteen. It ended in tragedy, and I have never forgiven myself for the part I played.

But my world is about to fall apart all over again.

Lola calls to tell me she’s not with her friends in Cyprus, but alone in Corsica. I have no choice. I have to go back to the island and bring her home.

But as I revisit the memories, see the same faces again, I start to wonder if there was more to the events of that summer than I realised. Are there others keeping secrets just like me? Ones that are even more deadly…

My thoughts:
This book has me gripped from the start. It was mysterious, suspenseful and twisty.

I felt for Frankie- her mental state was not great, and she had punished herself for years, only to have to relive the nightmares by returning to Corsica…

This was so cleverly written! I wasn’t sure who to trust as the story unfolded. I enjoyed the multiple pov and the chapters going back in time to share with us Frankie’s Corsican history, as well as the present day.

Another great twisty thriller from this author. Thank you so much to HQ stories and Netgalley for the advance digital copy of this book. Opinions expressed here are my own.