Christina McDonald simply never disappoints. Her latest thriller, These Still Black Waters, is a dark, intense page-turner, but at the same time is also a brilliant and fascinating introduction to a unique new police detective. Hopefully, readers will get to see much more of Detective Lambert in the future!
Told from multiple points of view as well as multiple timelines, These Still Black Waters tells the story of Neve Maguire, who has returned to the home where she spent her summers throughout her childhood and teenage years. Neve and her teenage daughter are seeking safety and security after a recent violent event that shattered their simple domestic life. Unfortunately for these characters, almost immediately upon arrival they are stunned to find that violence has already destroyed their idea of protection and comfort.
When a body turns up (almost literally) in their own backyard, Neve crosses paths with Detective Jess Lambert. Lambert has recently returned to law enforcement after suffering through her own personal tragedy and is still definitely struggling to keep her head above water—mentally, physically, and emotionally.
Facing one’s own choices and decisions and facing the resulting consequences of one’s actions are major themes throughout the story. McDonald does a masterful job of conveying the pain her characters are suffering with to the reader. The intensity of those emotions reaches a fever-pitch as McDonald deftly pulls and squeezes the heartstrings of the reader. Never in a manipulative or gratuitous way, but in a way that feels earned and genuine as she has laid her characters bare and created fully developed “real” people that her readers can’t help but feel connected to.
Both Neve Maguire and Jess Lambert are strong, well-written female characters with fascinating backstories that have brought each of them individually to the point in their lives where we, the readers, meet them. Fans of the strong female characters, engrossing stories, and gasp-inducing twists in McDonald’s previous thrillers will doubtlessly enjoy what they will find in These Still Black Waters.
These Still Black Waters is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
Two women struggle toward a dark truth as a killer avenges the sins of the past in a twisting novel of suspense by the USA Today bestselling author of Do No Harm, Behind Every Lie, and The Night Olivia Fell.
After a violent home invasion, Neve Maguire returns with her daughter to Black Lake, her childhood summer home, hoping for a fresh start. But when the body of a woman is found floating among the reeds in the lake behind her house, she fears she has made a horrible mistake.
Neve is hiding secrets, though. Detective Jess Lambert can tell. Recently back after her own personal tragedy, Jess knows what it’s like to live with skeletons in your closet, and she’s sure Neve has a few of her own.
When another woman’s body is found, Jess and Neve are forced to confront a horrible truth. Because one thing is clear: the darkness of the past is waiting. And the secrets of Black Lake are only just beginning to surface.
