Features The Big Thrill Recommends: THESE STILL BLACK WATERS by Christina McDonald

The Big Thrill Recommends: THESE STILL BLACK WATERS by Christina McDonald

Recommended by Tracey S. Phillips

Psychological trauma from a recent home invasion runs deep for Neve Maguire. She returns to her family’s lake house with her teenage daughter, and nothing seems normal. When an old friend living next door turns up dead, Neve wonders if it’s somehow related to the attack she just experienced. Neve knows why someone would want to kill her and feels horrible about the things they did. It was another lifetime ago, though, wasn’t it?

Detective Jess Lambert is finally back at work after a horrific car accident. Still broken, she’s barely able to stay sober. Daily alcohol consumption is only a symptom of something deeper going on. Something too terrifying to talk about. Guilt isn’t the only thing haunting her. Her young daughter died in that accident, and at times, she sees her child exactly the way she was on the day she died. It’s as if she’s trying to tell Jess something important.

When Jess and Neve meet, they are drawn together by the murder of Neve’s neighbor and by their intensely heartbreaking experiences. Jess pushes forward in the investigation. The alternative, doing nothing, would kill her. But the closer she gets to answers, and the more she drinks, the more often her daughter emerges from the ether. When another body is found, she’s forced to hear the terrifying things her daughter has to say.

These two female characters lured me in and pulled me deep into the story. Their paranormal experiences carried emotional weight. McDonald does a fabulous job of making it all believable. I highly recommend this book.

The Big Thrill Recommends: THESE STILL BLACK WATERS by Christina McDonald