(Image from Barnes & Noble)

After living together for four years, Erin Locke and Mark Roberts are finally tying the knot.  They're both excited about their upcoming nuptials, but when Mark loses his lucrative banking job and money worries start to creep in, tension seeps in to their comfortable relationship.  Their planned honeymoon in Bora Bora (trimmed down from three weeks to two) seems like just the thing to restore their balance, bring them closer together, and maybe even jump start the family they've always wanted to have.  The R&R seems to be working until the pair finds something shocking in the ocean during a scuba diving excursion.  Should they tell the authorities what they've discovered?  Or keep mum?

Choosing the second option propels the newlyweds on a terrifying, unalterable course that will keep them looking over their shoulders, jumping at every sound, and seeing malevolence in every stranger's glance.  Who can they trust in this deadly game of cat and mouse?  And where will it end?  How far will the couple go to give themselves the life they've always wanted?

Something in the Water, a debut novel by British actress Catherine Steadman (best known for playing Mabel Lane Fox on Downton Abbey), is a tense, taut thriller that kept me mesmerized from Page One.  With an intriguing premise, complex characters, and non-stop suspense, it's the kind of book that you just can't stop reading.  I saw where the story was going from early on, so I wasn't surprised by the ending.  Disappointed, yes, because I had hoped for a dénouement with a little more complexity and freshness.  Overall, though, I enjoyed this engrossing, fast-and-furious read.  I'm very interested to see what this skilled new author does next.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of books by Ruth Ware)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for strong language, violence, blood/gore, and sexual content

To the FTC, with love:  I bought a copy of Something in the Water from Barnes & Noble with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger.