Review: Still Here

Usually I'm a purist when it comes to a series. Sometimes, though, needs must and I jump into a series in the middle. That's what happened with Amy Stuart's novels. I hadn't read Still Mine but I had the chance to review Still Water for Niagara Life and jumped at it (I love featuring female Canadian authors, especially with those magazine reviews). While Stuart's novels do follow the same character, you could go into the latest, Still Here, without reading the rest, but I think you should do yourself a favour and read all three together so you make the most out of this really great thriller series.

Here's the synopsis:

From the bestselling author of Still Mine and Still Water—PI Clare O’Dey is on the hunt for two missing persons. Little does she know she’s the one being hunted.

Malcolm is gone. Disappeared. And no one knows where or why.

His colleague and fellow private investigator, Clare, is certain she can find him, as she holds the key to his past. She arrives in the oceanside city where he last lived and starts digging around. Not only is Malcolm gone without a trace, so is his wife, Zoe. Everyone who knew the perfect couple sees Malcolm as the prime suspect in his wife’s disappearance. Everyone except Clare. She’s certain there’s more at play that has nothing to do with Malcolm, a dark connection to Zoe’s family business and the murder of her father years ago.

As Clare pulls back the layers, she discovers secrets the entire community is trying desperately to leave in the past. As for Malcolm, his past is far more complex—and far more sinister—than Clare could ever have imagined. He may not be innocent at all. As she searches for the man who helped her build her career as a private eye, Clare discovers that many women are in grave danger. And she is among them.

As I said, each book could be read alone but I think you get more out of the linked novels if you read all three. By not reading the first book, I missed out on some of Clare's early motivations as well as learning more about the husband and life she escaped from. I knew enough, though, to be surprised by the twist Stuart threw into the third story. Surprised in a good way. I didn't see it coming but it made total sense and worked well. 

Stuart keeps you guessing with her characters. Each one has had some pretty serious shit mess them up and they've all struggled in various ways with what happened to them. Those pieces of their past also make you wonder how much you can really trust each character. Is everyone who they say they are? Almost certainly everyone is hiding something. But how much? And who is going to get hurt, or even killed, in the end?

Still Here wraps up Clare's story in a way that will satisfy readers without being too tied-up-in-a-bow perfect (though it's close). Amy Stuart gave readers a character who evolved before our eyes - with a few slip ups along the way - as well as three separate thrillers that come together in a pretty epic conclusion. This is definitely a series worth reading.

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, Simon & Schuster Canada, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: Still Water

I had heard of Amy Stuart's novel Still Mine when it was released back in 2016 but never did get around to reading it. (So many books, so little time.) But when I heard Still Water was being published I thought I should give it a try. And am I ever glad I did. I didn't want to put this book down and I'm sure you won't either.

Here's the synopsis:

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 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.

As I hadn't read the first book about Clare, I was especially paying attention to how Stuart would recap (or not) Still Mine. I think she did a great job of giving background information a new reader would need but that I don't think would bore a reader who already knows Clare's history. I definitely think you can dive into Still Water (er, no pun intended) without having read Still Mine but I think you'll have an even richer reading experience if you read both.

I was pretty much addicted to this story. It's really fast paced with all sorts of twists and turns. I found myself thinking of it often when I wasn't reading it and couldn't wait to see how it would all turn out. I really had no idea how Stuart was going to have things end up. I loved that.

There were a lot of secrets in this novel. As I said, I wasn't sure how the story would end because I really wasn't sure who to trust and who was telling even part of a truth. No one was who they seemed which made fitting the puzzle pieces together so difficult. Once I neared the end of the book I realized how easily it all came together which I think is a sign of a great mystery.

Clare was a really interesting character. I had only met her well after she had run away from her husband so I'm not totally sure of what kinds of abuse she really suffered. What I do know is that many people are and were doubting her because of her past history with drugs. It was so frustrating that so many people - including a close friend - had this bias. Almost like they thought that because she did drugs, she deserved what she got.That she wasn't totally lucid and should have been so she could fight back. And then there's the fact that her husband is telling a totally different story. It's terrifying to think that women are in these situations all the time and face so many issues when they try to tell the truth and get help.

But back to Clare. She's a smart woman who has a whole boatload of problems she's never been able to deal with properly. I think in this book she's realizing how she can take control and is sort of facing her demons head on. She still has a lot of work to do so I'm really hoping Stuart is working on another story for Clare. I'm totally invested now.

I'm hoping Still Water is a book we'll see everywhere this summer because it's so good. I was a little bit obsessed with it and Amy Stuart's writing. Pick this one up the next time you're in a bookstore or download it to your e-reader. Seriously. It's a well-told, gripping thriller that I think so many other people will love.

*An Advanced Reader Copy of this novel was sent by the publisher, Simon & Schuster Canada, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*