From The Globe and Mail bestselling author of Still Mine comes a new thriller featuring Clare and Malcolm, this time on the hunt for a missing mother and son in a town that is drowning in deception—Clare may be in her gravest danger yet.HOW DO YOU FIND THE TRUTH IN A TOWN FULL OF SECRETS? Clare has to find them. Sally Proulx and her young boy have mysteriously disappeared in the stormy town of … young boy have mysteriously disappeared in the stormy town of High River. Clare is hired to track them down, hoping against all odds to find them alive. But High River isn’t your typical town. It’s a place where women run to—women who want to escape their past. They run to Helen Haines, a matriarch who offers them safe haven and anonymity. Pretending to be Sally’s long-lost friend, Clare turns up and starts asking questions, but nothing prepares her for the swirl of deception and the depth of the lies.
Did Sally drown? Did her son? Was it an accident, or is their disappearance part of something bigger?
In a town where secrets are crucial to survival, everyone is hiding something. Detectives Somers and Rourke clearly have an ulterior motive beyond solving the case. Malcolm Boon, who hired Clare, knows more about her than he reveals. And Helen is concealing a tragic family history of her own. As the truth surges through High River, Clare must face the very thing she has so desperately been running from, even if it comes at a devastating cost. Compulsively gripping and twisty, Still Water is a deep dive of a thriller that will leave you breathless.
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This is the second installment in the Still series. I want as engaged in this novel as I was with the first novel. The ending hints of a 3rd novel, which is being released later this year (2020).
I listened to this on CD, and I didn’t care for the narrator, which may have led to my 3 of 5 stars rating. I also didn’t think there was enough action in the book.
Claire is on her second assignment for Malcolm. She is searching for Sally and Sally’s soon, William. They have disappeared. Claire poses as a friend, and Helen takes Claire in at her home, which is a refuge for women. There, Claire meets Ginny, Helen’s daughter, and Raylene, another woman trying to hide. Helen’s brother and his wife live across the river with their daughter and another brother lives in town.
Claire gets a bad feeling from one of the cops assigned to Sally’s case. As Claire works to solve the case she has to confront her past and uncover ugly secrets of this town.
#StillWater AmyStuart
Amy Stuart has a winner in Still Water, a mystery novel set in a shelter populated by women who’ve suffered unthinkable trauma and abuse. It’s Stuart’s incisive portraits of her characters’ psychological and emotional states and their resulting actions that make the book so unique. It’s a revelatory window into the minds of people shaped by tragic events. A psychiatrist friend affirmed he’s seen patients with similar thought patterns in coping with trauma. Still Water is a tour de force wrapped in uncertainties that leave the reader guessing all the way to the end. Bravo Amy!
The book was just meh. I didn’t connect with any of the characters, including Clare. Everyone is hiding something, but Clare never seems to figure much out – people just end up confessing or revealing each other’s secrets. When the final reveal came, I was unimpressed. Maybe I would have liked it better if I read the first book…
A dark thriller that holds your attention from page 1! This is an excellent read that explores the issues of domestic abuse in a non-preachy way. It’s a darker thriller with psychological suspense elements. Loved it!
Still Waters run deep, and apparently so do the rushing currents of the river in the town of High River. I did not read Amy Stuart’s first book in her Still series, however, I had no problem jumping into this second installment.
The books starts with an alarming jolt as the main character, Clare, awakes disoriented in a strange room. The stark, jarring hook set the mood for the entire story. Ms. Stuart’s intense story telling had me glued to my seat; I read the book in one sitting! Perfectly paced, the story reveals and eventually unravels the myriad lies and secrets of many of the residents of High River. The tension and distrust between all the characters is palpable.
The story is told in a third person narrative primarily from Clare’s experience. As some of her past is revealed, her reliability wanes. However, none of the characters are more mysterious than Malcom Boon, Clare’s “boss”. I liked and disliked both these main characters. The dislike comes from the sense that they cannot be trusted, and their likability stems from their inherent vulnerabilities. Clare’s lack of experience as a P.I. is evident as she mostly stumbles over findings in rather haphazard ways.
Still water is filled with twists and turns. The big city police who are assigned the case, Rourke and Somers, are fantastic secondary characters. Some characters might seem like throwaways, but they allow the author to make a statement about gender inequities in relationships and society. While her point is made clear, Ms. Stuart doesn’t cram it down her reader’s throats. Still Water remains an entertaining escape rather than a political soapbox.
Riveting from the first page to the last, Still Water is an engaging book. I look forward to reading more of Ms. Stuart’s series!
Still Water is the second book in the series Still.
I enjoyed this book very much, more than the first in the series though that was good too.
In Still Water you learn more about Claire and Malcolm . You realize although Claire has not made the best decisions , how strong of a person she really is.
Claire and Malcolm have come to town, well everyone knows Claire is in town to investigate the disappearance of Sally and her son.
There are a lot of secrets in this town. Can Clare make her way through them
I am hoping for a third book in the series so I know what happens to Clare and Malcolm.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.
Twists and turns you dont see coming!! Put this on your to read list.