"Every criminal has friends they grew up with" I say. "They were all once someone's neighbour, work mate or school friend. People do bad things Raf. They make mistakes and take wrong turns all the time".

Firstly - WOW
Secondly - Just like Sarah's first book, don't read this at night!
Thirdly - I was way off! I had no idea what was happening, I would come up with a theory and then have it confirmed and then on the next page have it completely squashed. It wasnt until about half way through that I had a theory that turned out to be the closest, but some of my details were disturbingly way off. I think I forgot I was reading a YA novel and went to far with my thought process, I apologise to some of the characters who in my head i turned into a complete monstrous sociopath trying to figure this out!

Highly recommend :)

3,5/4

Vraiment pas mal comme thriller YA !
On va pas se mentir, j'ai vraiment eu peur du twist p*d*philie mais nope c'est bon, rien à signaler

Took a while to get going, but I couldn’t put it down with the last 150 pages.

A YA thriller. Kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time.

The rural town, The Shallows, is recovering from bushfire and a devastating storm that caused a mudslide overnight - that same night Henry Weaver goes missing. His bike is found at the train station so everyone assumes that the 13-year-old has fled to Sydney - but that does sit right with Chloe Baxter, who has been like a big sister to Henry so why would he not tell her he was leaving. Chloe is not sure where to start but she is going to hunt down the clues, which all lead her back to Henry’s older brother, Mason, and that things were not right at home.

A brilliant YA mystery that slowly teases apart the secrets that keep a small town wantonly ignorant of the harsh realities beneath the surface. The pacing was excellent, with good balance between intrigue, action and shock reveal. I did guess the ‘reveals’ a few pages before they were known, validating my own reading of the clues - but I could not fathom the motive so that kept me hooked.

The novel also explores childhood trauma, mental abuse, alcoholism and gambling addiction within a small town environment - especially how healing offers of sanctuary and help can be to someone in need. A majority of these traumas are expressed in Mason’s chapters, which worked well to combat Chloe’s assumptions of him and leaving the reader to question Chloe’s motives in the accusations.

Overall a brilliant mystery that kept me on tenterhooks until the last page was turned.

Gripping, Australian smalltown YA mystery. Similar vibes to The Dry and Scrublands but I think I preferred it to them.

4.5☆

I eagerly awaited the opportunity to read this book and was nothing but thrilled with it. With her first novel Small Spaces, Epstein demonstrated that she can produce a beautiful and harrowing piece of literature. Deep Water reveals that she has a magic touch; that she is a truly phenomenal writer who is as smart and she is sly with her mystery fiction.

Once again the characters of this novel were not to be trusted (although Small Spaces had me questioning even the protagonist) and were multidimensional and sympathetic. I wanted to give Mason a hug the whole way through. Each twist and turn of the narrative lurched me in each direction by surprise.

I can't wait for another book. Epstein is quickly and easily becoming one of my favourite YA authors of all time.