The only trouble is, after the initial intrigue and suspense is established, the novel frustratingly fails to tap into any of that again for at least 100 pages. It takes an age.” With reader interest well and truly piqued, the novel then invites us to judge whether or not Erin’s a bad person, jumping back to set up a three-month countdown until things go deadly wrong and detailing every move Erin made to get there. “Have you ever wondered how long it takes to dig a grave?” Erin asks us, in the novel’s first line.

The first time we meet Erin she’s busy digging a grave having already done the meticulous research into what’s involved and how best to achieve it. Deciding to keep what they found a secret, the couple soon find themselves in a situation beyond their control and as Erin and Mark head deeper into murky waters, it’s not long before they’re both left unsure of who to trust – and how to keep themselves out of trouble.Īs far as hooks go, Something in the Water offers a promising one, but it’s the book’s actual opening that proves to be the real draw. Everything about their honeymoon is as perfect as they are, until one day after a storm Erin and Mark go scuba diving and stumble upon something in the water that means life as they know it will change forever. Yet if there’s one thing I can say with certainty about the novel it’s this: whatever story you were expecting from the synopsis, Something in the Water will surprise you – just maybe not for all the good reasons.ĭocumentary filmmaker Erin is engaged to handsome and successful investment banker Mark, and together they make the ‘perfect’ couple, about to embark on a dream honeymoon in the paradise of Bora Bora. It’s the kind of storyline that wouldn’t feel out of place on Dynasty – as beautiful people begin to do darker things in pursuit of wealth, security and saving their own skins. Catherine Steadman’s debut novel Something in the Water is pure soapy excess, telling a convoluted tale of greed, immorality and criminal cover-ups against a background of exotic locations and questionable decisions.

Catherine steadman books