Anna Romer

There are many mysteries to be solved in this novel with several story lines and the stories coming from several time frames. There are secrets to be uncovered. Abby Bardot has a history that she doesn't talk about, and there are several people who have hidden pasts. There is a man in jail for a murder he says he didn't commit. It all makes for a great tangle.

Underneath it all Abby the journalist wants to write about the secrets of Deep Water, about the girls who've disappeared, those who've died, and those who survived.

This book makes the reader work hard as the author changes the voice of the narrator almost at whim. There is little warning that this is going to happen and the narration can swap from third person to first person between paragraphs. There are at least four main narrators and several minor ones. I guess the intent is to make the reader aware of what particular characters are thinking, but it is not a device that I particularly like. In the earlier parts of the book I found it confusing.

Despite all that, an intriguing story, and one that kept me guessing.… (mere)

Probably a 3.5 star book for me.

I love a good hidden past, secrets revealed, troubled family book, and this ticked all those boxes admirably.

The romance was nicely underdone, not overtaking the mystery, and the characters were realistic and believable. I would have liked it more without the supernatural dream flashbacks, but they did fill in the gaps in the past narrative.

The only thing that annoyed me:

If you know someone has a key to your house, and has already broken in once, why would you just carry on living there??? Audrey had plenty of people she could have stayed with for a night or two while she got the locks changed. I hate people in thrillers who act like idiots so the story can progress.

A solid, gripping thriller.… (mere)