Book review: Woman in the Water by Katerina Diamond
Title: Woman in the Water
Author: Katerina Diamond
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Publisher: Avon
Publication date: 11th November 2019
My rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
Summary:
“I’m alive. But I can’t be saved . . .
When a woman’s body is found submerged in icy water, police are shocked to find she is alive. But she won’t disclose her name, or what happened to her – even when a second body is discovered. And then she disappears from her hospital bed.
Detectives Adrian Miles and Imogen Grey follow their only lead to the home of Reece Corrigan, and when his wife Angela walks in, they immediately recognise her. She’s the woman from the river, with her injuries carefully masked.
The more they dig into the couple, the less they understand about them.
Why have people in their past been hurt, or vanished?
And why doesn’t Angela want to be saved?“
My review:
A woman is found horribly bruised in a river and moments after a man’s body is also discovered close by. The team of experts, comprising of detectives Adrian Miles, Imogen Grey and their teammates, are working against time to solve the puzzle in order to protect the woman and avoid another murder.
The beginning of this book was exceptional. The first few chapters captured my attention and I was glued to the book as I read on, trying to understand why the mystery woman ran away from the hospital during a murder investigation. The plot thickened as the mystery woman was identified as Angela Corrigan and more characters were introduced who were later revealed to be enemies of her powerful and abusive husband, Reece Corrigan. The pace was steady and seemed perfect for this stage of the novel, with just enough details disclosed to pique the reader’s interest.
Around the halfway point the story line shifted from the murder investigation to Adrian’s and Imogen’s relationship and it was at this point that I lost interest. Although I enjoy seeing snippets into the detectives’ lives in a crime series, I felt that the author took it a little too far in this book as at one point the main crime appeared to be completely forgotten. A series of events lead to a tragedy in Adrian’s story line and, although the author handled this with care and sensitivity, it felt too brusque and unnecessarily detailed. The constant interaction between Adrian and Imogen became stale and the reminders of how inappropriate their relationship is in their professional environment were too repetitive. I was completely invested in the Corrigan’s connection to the murder investigation but had no desire to delve into the detectives’ personal lives.
Several sensitive topics were discussed in Woman in the Water and the author handled them with care. I would have preferred a deeper focus on the crime and less of an emphasis on the recurring characters however I understand that this book is part of a series which also features the detectives so it is fair to bring up past character traits and relationships. An unexpected ending and shocking twist helped to assemble the last few lose ends in a fast-paced and exciting conclusion. Overall, Woman in the Water features a series of interesting characters and despite the few issues I had with this book it still remains a solid addition to the series.
Woman in the Water is out to buy next Monday!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing a free advanced reader’s copy in exchange for my honest review.
15 Comments
R A I N
Ohhhh! Alive in ice! SHE DID THE CAPTAIN AMERICA THINGG! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
“at one point the main crime appeared to be completely forgotten.” DAMN THAT HAPPENED?! 😱😱🤣
Seriously though, this one still sounds like a great read! AMAZING REVIEWW Darina!! ❤️❤️❤️😘😘💕💕☔️
Darina
Haha, yes, it actually happened! It was still a good read, just felt not quite right at times. Thanks, Rain! <3
R A I N
😊😊😊😇😍❤️🦋
Lashaan Balasingam @ Bookidote
Oh man, for this to suddenly lose its focus is such a shame considering that the first half sounded so good. Sorry to hear that it went in that direction, Darina. Great review as always! 😀
Darina
Thanks, Lashaan! It did lose its main focus unfortunately but at least the beginning was great.
Emer @alittlehazebookblog
Great honest review Darina!! Loved how you laid out all the good and bad :))))
Darina
Thanks, Emer! 🙂
FictionFan
I must admit I’m not a fan of detectives’ personal lives getting in the way of the main plot. It’s quite a modern feature and just tends to make the books overlong and less focused. I long for the good old days when detectives just did their jobs and didn’t have a personal life! If it’s good enough for Poirot… 😉
Darina
I miss those days too! We really don’t need to hear all about detective’s personal lives and just want to focus on the crime yet it seems like it’s becoming more in fashion nowadays to discuss the detectives too.
Stephen Writes
Fabulous review, Darina! The beginning of this book sounds so good – it’s a shame that it almost lost sight of the case, as I get the feeling it could have been a 5-star read for you.
Darina
Thanks, Stephen! Definitely, I was sure that it would have been 5 stars but ultimately left me disappointed.
Meggy | Chocolate'n'Waffles
Sharing today and coming back when I’ve written my own review, haha! xx
Darina
Haha thanks Meggy! I loved your review of this book!
jennifertarheelreader
While it sounds like it wasn’t perfect, it also sounds like it carried on with the series. Lovely review, Darina!
Darina
Thanks, Jennifer! There’s a long way to go until perfection for this one but it definitely held my attention throughout.