Review: Something in the Water

Genre: Thriller/Suspense/Psychological Thriller

Published: June 2018

Goodreads Rating: 3.58

Plot: Awesome

Setting: Decent

Characters: Meh

SPOILER ALERT

Something in the Water follows the relationship between Mark and Erin from their honeymoon to...the end. The reader is taken to Bora Bora with the questionable couple where they find a bag containing diamonds, cash, a cell phone, and a mysterious USB drive. The items are found floating in the water (hence the title) above a plane wreckage. Although, the couple tries to hand the found items in at their hotel, the bag once more finds its way back into their hotel room. Due to recent events in their life, they choose to keep the treasure. Mark insists the items belong to "bad" people (a little surprising that Mark considers himself "good").

From the beginning of the novel, the character of Mark presented himself as a bit of a problem to me. He is a bit of a gaslighter and Erin seems far too dependent upon him. *Cringe*

Mark loses his high paying job before the wedding and this results in tense arguments between the two. Erin hints that it is the first time they two have really argued, which makes the reader wonder how well the two truly know each other if they have only experienced smooth sailing together. During the arguments, Erin is introduced to a darker side of Mark. Although he is not physically abusive the undertones of mental and emotional abuse are there. Though Erin doesn't seem to realize. She allows his input and opinion to cloud her judgement of situations and puts herself in compromising positions with the belief that they are working together.

Instead of reporting the plane crash, the couple keeps their secret and take their found treasures back to London where they truly begin their life of crime.

This life of crime eventually tears them apart (which I am personally thrilled about). Though the writing is on the wall throughout the novel, Erin is completely oblivious to it. Even when she herself begins to think of how easy it would be to run away with the money and diamonds, she continues to believe she and her husband will make it out of their predicament happy and in love (and alive).

"I don't need to come back to this elevator at all, do I? I don't need to ever come back to this hotel. I could just leave. I could set up this bank account and leave. Leave my life. What if I just disappeared? Just left Mark in a hotel room in Geneva." (171, Steadman).

This brief thought was not the last time Erin would consider abandoning the new partnership with her husband and it is also foreshadowing for the ending of the novel.

Even when Mark goes out of his way to make Erin scared and repeatedly calls her stupid, so she doubts her choices, she still chooses to remain loyal to him and their plan.

Holes begin to appear in their relationship when Erin willingly lies to her husband and continues with her obsession with the money and mystery surrounding the found cell phone and USB. She disregards his concerns and continues trying to rid their home of the stolen property.

The reader has to wonder if the ending would have been different had Erin revealed to her narcissistic husband that she was pregnant or if the final result would have been the same.

Throughout the novel Erin believes she and her husband are working together. Even when the truth is revealed, she refuses to see it at first and then finally she has a moment of clarity:

"He hid the USB from me. He wanted it for himself. He's been covering his own tracks since we left Bora Bora, setting everything up so I've been the front man all along, but he can still access all the money without me...I can't believe how stupid I've been." (313, Steadman).

Overall, I would rate the novel as 4/5 stars. I enjoyed the plot and the character of Eddie, a character with definite mob connections that walks Erin through some of her questionable actions (including burying her husband and then reporting him missing). I do wish Erin had more growth or a chance to confront her husband about his actions. She never truly seems to realize how terrible he was to her. She is presented as very naive and never seems to grow out of this. It is only within the last 30 pages of the story that she realizes Mark has been working against her through almost the entirety of the novel. She never questions him, even when her instincts tell her not to tell him about the pregnancy.

I would absolutely recommend this novel, it is a quick read and keeps you engaged. There are moments where you wonder if they're going to get caught or if they will actually succeed. The writing style is phenomenal despite the static position of the character.

Enjoy!

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