Title: Girl Under Water
Author: L.T. Vargus, Tim McBain
Series: Charlotte Winters, #2
Published: December 2020, Bookouture
Format: ARC E-copy, 425 pages
Source: Netgalley via Publisher
Summary:
Her numb fingers
scrabble over upholstery, over metal, over glass, searching for a way
out. Water stings her eyes as she’s dragged downward, clinging to her
last breath as she’s absorbed into the cold dark below…
When
Gloria Carmichael’s body is found broken and bleeding on the sidewalk
just days after knocking on Detective Charlie Winters’ door begging for
help to locate her father’s will, Charlie’s instinct is confirmed: her
latest case is about more than just a simple family feud.
The
Carmichaels are famous in Salem Island for their large family and
charitable work, but, moments before she died, beautiful, trustworthy
eldest daughter Gloria called Charlie to say she had uncovered a
terrible secret that would break the mystery of her father’s death wide
open.
With the voice of her murdered sister ringing in her
ears—pushing her to risk everything to bring justice to the
innocent—Charlie takes matters into her own hands. She won’t let another
family break apart like her own, and she knows the answers she needs
are hidden somewhere inside the Carmichael home.
But as Charlie
races to confront her main suspect—a file containing evidence that will
devastate the Carmichael family on the car seat beside her—she’s rammed
off the road and over the edge of a nearby cliff. Fighting for breath in
a sinking car, Charlie has to survive or other innocent lives will be
taken. Everyone involved is keeping secrets, but only one twisted soul
is prepared to kill to keep theirs…
An addictive crime thriller
with twists at every turn, you won’t know what hit you after you’ve
finished Girl Under Water. A perfect read-in-one-sitting rollercoaster
ride for anyone who adores Angela Marsons, Robert Dugoni and Mary
Burton.
My thoughts: This
is the second book in L.T. Vargus and Tim McBain’s new series and it was as good as, if not better, than the first book! I love crime thriller series and this is definitely going to be a fun, thrilling series to read.
Once again we have a fast-paced, suspense-filled read that kept me flipping the
pages from start to finish. Yes, these books tend to be a bit on the longer side, but once you start reading them, you don’t really notice the length as you become so engaged in what is going on and the twists and turns just keep you completely guessing as to what might come next. My favorite aspect of this series remains to be the voice that Charlie hears in her head. It happened in the first book and it continued to happened throughout
this latest installment. I love this – I find it to be a unique part of the story. It is both humorous at times as well as quite telling in regards to Charlie as a character.
Charlie continues to have a lot on her plate. This time around she is dealing with the case she is working on, issues with her mother and issues with her new assistant. Luckily she has her best-friend Zoe to watch her back. I love Charlie – I find her to be a strong, fierce protagonist but she is also flawed and I love that about her. She makes mistakes and doesn’t always think things through.
I loved that this case had a Clue-like feel to it. The big house, the big family, all the secrets and drama within the family. And then there was the issue of there not being able to locate the will after the father has been killed. And the further Charlie looks into it, the more questions she comes up with. It just pulls you in and you can’t help but get wrapped up into trying to put all the pieces together, yet you know something is missing.
This writing duo is fantastic. They push the envelop, they take chances and they give an all-out gripping, exciting read. I am so excited to see what comes next for Charlie…and I really hope that at some point, we get some closure on her sister’s murder that happened 20 years ago.
Books in this series:
- First Girl Gone
- Girl Under Water
