March and April have been brilliant months for new releases this year (and there are still a few to come before April is done!). One of my most anticipated books for 20202 - Sarah Epstein's Deep Water was released a week or so ago, and celebrated with an online launch last week. I managed to read it before the event and absolutely ADORED it! I loved Sarah's debut - Small Spaces (my review is here) - and I think this one is just as wonderful.

Henry Weaver is missing.
Three months ago, thirteen-year-old Henry disappeared from The Shallows during a violent storm, leaving behind his muddy mountain bike at the train station.

Mason Weaver is trapped.
While Mason doesn't know who he is or what he's capable of, he knows the one thing binding him to this suffocating small town is his younger brother, Henry.

Chloe Baxter wants answers.
Why would Henry run away without telling her? One of Chloe's friends knows something and she's determined to find out the truth.

As Chloe wades into dangerous waters and Mason's past emerges, a chilling question ripples to the surface: how far would you go to keep a secret?

If you've read my reviews before you'll know I love an authentic friendship, and Deep Water hits that nail on the head. At the heart of this story is a fantastic group friendship, with all kinds of different dynamics happening - crushes and bickering and, of course, Henry's disappearance, are all impacting the friendship and the way is changing feels really natural. I also really enjoyed the setting - the small town vibe comes through clearly without ever feeling caricature-ish.

The story unfolds from two different points of view, and in different directions - Chloe's starts 'now', three months after Henry disappeared, while through Mason we see what happened in the lead up to the event. I think this worked absolutely brilliantly - the voices were different from each other, and it was a really cool way to put details together.

Sarah's Small Spaces remains one of the creepiest YA books I've read, and while this one wasn't exactly creepy, it is dark and there is a really tense atmosphere that builds as the story plays out. I read it in just a few sittings, and with my heart in my throat for most of the book.

Deep Water touches on a lot of different issues throughout, from typical teen worries about crushes and fitting in, to alcoholism and domestic violence - so I would give a content warning for that  (as well as the more obvious theme of a missing teen and the fact that the story largely depends imagining what might have happened to them).

I found this one a completely engaging thriller. It was a really satisfying read that kept me guessing, and made me cry a bit at times too! Officially it's YA - adult readers shouldn't let that stop them from picking it up too! (I just realised I said the same thing about Small Spaces!)

xo Bron

 

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Tash Carmody has been traumatised since childhood, when she witnessed her gruesome imaginary friend Sparrow lure young Mallory Fisher away from a carnival. At the time nobody believed Tash, and she has since come to accept that Sparrow wasn’t real. Now fifteen and mute, Mallory’s never spoken about the week she went missing.

As disturbing memories resurface, Tash starts to see Sparrow again. And she realises Mallory is the key to unlocking the truth about a dark secret connecting them. Does Sparrow exist after all? Or is Tash more dangerous to others than she thinks?

 

 

The 'real' cover is also gorgeous!

This totally lived up to the hype for me - I loved it!

Enough so that I am doubting my ability to talk about it logically and without wild arm movements haha  (I am so the reader not the writer!) so I'm just giving my top 3 reasons why...

Overall, I enjoyed this at least as much as I have any of the other buzzy thrillers I've ready in the last 12-18 months, and because of this I think it would make an excellent 'gateway' book for someone who hasn't tried Oz YA because they "don't read young adult."

Small Spaces is out now - if you want to be creeped out of your mind by a clever YA novel get on it!

 

xo Bron 

The Woman in the Window has been getting so much buzz - being called the thriller of the year for 2018, as well as the next 'Girl on the Train'/'Gone Girl'/whatever other thriller with girl in the title. I'm not going to lie - books with girl/woman in the title and written by white dudes are not the first place I'm inclined to invest my reading time right now, but this did sound kind of cool, and then I won an advanced copy from Dymocks book shop, so I figured I'd check it out - and I was glad I did.

First with the girl stuff (yes, maybe I'm making too much of the "girl/woman" title thing, but hey, if you're putting that title on a thriller the comparisons are going to come!) - I haven't read Gone Girl, but I can tell you I enjoyed this more than Girl on the Train! I thought the twists were twistier, and it did a better job of keeping me guessing. I feel like there are bits and pieces here that you'll pick up on/predict, but you are probably not going to have it all worked out super early.

I liked the set up for the story, and the way that the back story is told - the protagonist is a woman named Anna, who we know from the start is agoraphobic, and lives alone - as the story progresses we are not only seeing the 'incident' unfold into the future, but we also learn little by little how Anna got to where she is, as her history catches up with what's happening now.

I felt like Anna was pretty superbly written. We see from the start that she clearly has some serious issues, and she continues to engage in some really self-destructive behaviours - this combination could make her really frustrating to read, but I actually found her honesty, rawness, and the self awareness she has about her problems quite endearing. I was kind of surprised to find myself so much on her side, and I felt more respect for her than I have in other unreliable narrators I've read.  

As is generally the case with thrillers there were some bits that I predicted ahead, but overall I thought this was a well written, page-turny read. I gave it a solid 4 out of 5 stars.