Still Water (Still Series, #2)

by Amy Stuart

[Lianne]

I was approved an ARC of this book by the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This review in its entirety was originally posted at my blog, eclectic tales: http://eclectictales.insanitysandwich.com/blog/2018/08/15/review-still-water/

Once again Amy Stuart has written a book that is just so hard to put down once the ball gets rolling. The mystery was engrossing. Everything is not what it seems from the get-go, the Haines family is clearly dysfunctional with a tragedy deep in their past, not to mention Clare is still dealing with the fallout from the case in the previous book. This case was interesting in that you don’t know amongst this cast of characters who is telling the truth and who is hiding something. It can be pretty creepy in that almost all of these characters seem capable of committing a heinous act, it’s just trying to piece together who had the most to lose and who had the motive to do such a thing.

As I mentioned personal issues surrounding Clare continue to crop up, and in this case threaten to interfere with her investigation. The threat of her ex-husband continues to haunt her psyche, but there’s also the physical threat as she did receive that letter at the end of the last book. Malcolm, the man who hired her, continues to be a mystery, but more revelations–as well as new questions–emerge over the course of the story. I felt for Clare too as new frustrations emerge about her situation (without going into details what these frustrations are) and she’s working through her own past of addiction and trauma and despite trying to do what’s best of her, her situation is still being twisted around by Jason, still being manipulated. You can see why she gets so upset and wants people to just cut the crap, stop lying.

Overall I really enjoyed Still Water, it’s just as fast-paced and intriguing as the first book (that I remember! lol), raising important issues whilst packing a heck of a mystery and dramatis personae. I highly recommend this book if you’re a fan of mysteries and thrillers.