In the Deep by Loreth Anne White -> Starting June 6th, 2022

[Aly]

I hope you don’t find him. And if you do, I hope he’s dead and that he suffered…

Real-estate mogul Martin Cresswell-Smith is the best thing that has ever happened to Ellie. After her daughter’s devastating death, a divorce, and an emotional breakdown, he’s helped her move as far as possible from the grief, the rage, and the monsters of her past. Ellie imagines her new home with Martin in an Australian coastal town will be like living a fairy tale. But behind closed doors is another story—one that ends in Martin’s brutal murder. And Ellie seems almost relieved…

Naturally, everyone thinks Mrs. Cresswell-Smith is guilty.

Senior Constable Lozza Bianchi has reasonable doubt. She sees evidence of a twisted psychological battle and a couple who seemed to bring out the worst in each other—adultery, abuse, betrayal, and revenge. If anything Ellie says can be believed, that is. As the case takes twist after spiraling twist, Lozza can’t shake the gut instinct that she’s being manipulated. That Ellie is hiding something. That there are secrets yet to surface. Lozza has no idea

[Melanie]

A little behind on this one but I started it tonight. There are no chapter numbers in this book which is odd.

Thru 11%
(view spoiler)[
Ok I'm really liking this back and forth from the murder trial to what happened before. Did Ellie kill Martin? I have no clue yet but I'm dying to find out. Her inner monologue almost makes her seem guilty but we'll see.
(hide spoiler)]

[Melanie]

Thru 42%
(view spoiler)[
You know, Ellie doesn't seem all that stable at times. But Martin seems like he's trying to keep her forgetful. Like if he lets her think clearly that she'll realize he's not who he says he is.

And who is this Watcher? What do they want with Ellie? Or is it Martin they're after?
(hide spoiler)]

[Melanie]

Thru 60%
(view spoiler)[
It almost seems like Martin is drugging Ellie or something. She always seems to be off balance and he's always giving her alcohol. Also, I have to say after the way he just beat and raped Ellie, that I'm not sorry he's dead.

So the main detective stalked Martin. I wonder if she's the person Ellie kept seeing? Or are more than one person following them?
(hide spoiler)]

[Melanie]

Thru 80%
(view spoiler)[
What in the world happened the day Martin went missing? Ellie was all ready to leave him the day before when he returned home early. I think he drugged her and I wonder if it was even her out on that boat? Maybe it was Rabz?

I still really want to know who this Watcher is. Also, how did they get cameras in the house?
(hide spoiler)]

[Melanie]

Finished.
(view spoiler)[
Ok, wow I did not see the twist coming that it wasn't Ellie on trial. The author did a great job keeping that hidden.

I wonder if Lozza is right in her suspicion that Ellie didn't actually try to save Chloe.
(hide spoiler)]

[Celia]

Melanie wrote: "A little behind on this one but I started it tonight."

Lol I just started so you're good

25% (view spoiler)[I'm finding this one a little hard to follow from the start, but it's growing on me (hide spoiler)]

[Celia]

Melanie wrote: Thru 11%

(view spoiler)[Yeah, it's hard to tell. There's definitely a disconnect between Martin of the past and whatever happened between them. I'm also interested to know what it means that she shot Doug... when did this happen? (hide spoiler)]

[Kira]

Going to start this soonish! :)

[Kira]

17% - (view spoiler)[The mystery is intriguing, from their first meeting everything seems as normal as it could be and I wonder what made Martin so toxic and if Ellie really killed him as being hinted on since the start. Would her dead daughter play a part in the mystery as well? (hide spoiler)]

[Kira]

35% - (view spoiler)[Who is this watcher? Ellie is really annoying me atm, why can’t she see how manipulative Martin is ugh, and she had that fight with Dana too, probably the only person who is thinking of her well being, since they did get married, I am assuming Martin’s plan was successful. I can only imagine what he might have put Ellie through once the funding was secure. (hide spoiler)]

[Kira]

51% : (view spoiler)[It seems like Martin is deliberately trying to make Ellie herself and all the others believe that she has a problem with alcohol when really she doesn’t.I don’t believe it’s possible for anyone to not remember how much they had to drink EVERY time. But what’s the motive? Maybe now that he got her money he needs to get rid of her? But then the watcher and him dying himself still doesn’t fit in the story (hide spoiler)]

[Kira]

68% : (view spoiler)[I am getting the feeling that Martin is already married to Rabz and she is the watcher, this was all a sham to take advantage of her unstable mindset and cheat Ellie out of her money..but Willow is looking suspicious to me as well, the way she sneaked up on Ellie and her reaction to finding out about Martin’s tickets to Cape Verde. (hide spoiler)]

[Kira]

85% : (view spoiler)[This was so weird, why would Rabz let Martin date and then marry Ellie if they were already in a relationship? IDC whether Ellie killed Martin or not, I am just glad he’s dead, he was an absolute piece of shit. I am not liking all these Lozza’s chapters though, it seems unnecessary and is taking away the appeal of the book for me (hide spoiler)]

[Kira]

Finished: (view spoiler)[I did not see that twist coming, Ellie was never the one on trial. Although I did start suspecting Willow a while back, I could not piece together the exact story. So I quite enjoyed the book. Also, the last chapter gave me chills and I do believe what Lozza concluded about Ellie made complete sense in retrospect. (hide spoiler)]