In the Deep

“In The Deep” by Loreth Anne White is a psychological thriller that tells the story of Ellie Tyler, a troubled heiress who is charged with the murder of her newlywed husband Martin Cresswell-Smith. The novel is set in an Australian coastal town and follows Ellie as she tries to move on from her past tragedies, including the drowning of her young daughter and the collapse of her marriage. However, her new life with Martin is far from a fairy tale as she discovers that he may not be who he claims to be. The story takes many twists and turns as Ellie becomes the prime suspect in Martin’s brutal murder.White’s writing is masterful, keeping readers on edge as she deftly shifts between present-day events and flashbacks of Ellie and Martin’s relationship. The novel is tightly written with a moody sense of place in the small coastal community. The numerous twists will keep readers thoroughly absorbed until the very end.Overall, “In The Deep” is a satisfyingly creepy psychological thriller that explores themes of grief, rage, betrayal, and revenge.

This novel by Loreth Anne White is one of the best I’ve read. Following two time periods, and multiple characters through a story of trickery, affairs, and murder, the author has some trickery of her own when it becomes apparent that the accused is actually not the accused at all. The ending has another mind bending twist that makes you want to read the whole book again as soon as you finish to see the story through a different set of eyes. Excellent book!

The evening with her well-known and wealthy father was a total disaster for Ellie and their verbal argument rang out loud and clear across the restaurant. When Ellie stormed out, she bumped into a handsome stranger who helped her calm down. Martin Cresswell-Smith was a nice guy - good looking, empathetic, a perfect shoulder to cry on for Ellie. Her past still shook her with grief - she needed to move forward. Canada was home, but when Martin suggested Australia to her, she was all for it. Surely it would be the change she needed? Martin loved her and she loved him. Nothing could go wrong, could it?Ellie joined Martin in Sydney, three weeks after he'd left her. In that time he'd bought them a home, and set up her office for her. The resort he was building was on track - everything seemed fine. But Ellie noticed Martin had changed since Canada. And she continually had blank spots in her memory. What was happening? As Senior Constable Lozza Bianchi became involved in Ellie's life, she was left confused. Her gut instinct had never failed her but was it this time? What had happened to this young couple?In the Deep by Loreth Anne White is a masterful psychological thriller which both horrified me and kept me glued to the pages. Ellie was naïve, gullible, while Martin was a shark, keeping all his focus on his prey. I was getting frustrated with Ellie, telling her not to do it! But would she listen? Hell no!! Recommended.

This book grabs your attention from the beginning. I found that sometimes I was rooting for the female character, and sometimes I didn't like her much, but the book kept pulling me. I enjoyed this book very much.

Suspenseful with great plot twists. Just when you think you know...you don't. Excellent flow. Great editing. The story does go back and forth through time, but it is essential to the dynamics. Excellent characters (though I personally got tired of Ellie's continuously poor dealings with her addictions).

In the Deep was my 2nd novel read. Although I found a lot of the premise of this book utterly implausible, I guess if someone has an alcohol and drug addiction as this heroine is supposed to have, you can let it slide. In sum, it was sort of maddening how irresponsible this woman was for her own and other's safety, so you are left at the end wondering whether she deserved it. All in all, a good yarn, but again, guessed who had done what along the way.

Fast read, plot was interesting, kinda slow first few chapters but everything comes together in the end. I recommend it.

I feel like I’ve read this similar plot like one or three other times. I feel like I knew how it was going to end by about 30% in. However it was well written and the ending a different take than others I’d read. Definitely worth reading.

Smart, compelling and flawlessly plotted, with red herrings sprinkled in like little dashes of chilli, In The Deep is seriously entertaining. And that ending! I’m still running it through my mind the next day!We start with a woman’s murder trial after she’s been arrested for the chilling murder of her husband. Flashback to a year ago, Ellie has suffered more grief than anyone should have to. She’s just putting her life back together when she meets property developer Martin Cresswell-Smith. They marry after a whirlwind relationship, and that’s when the sh** hits the fan. He’s abusive. Manipulative. He gaslights her. Ellie quickly spirals back into depression. She’s glad when he dies. Which of course makes her suspect number 1 when Detective Lozza Bianchi shows up. But did she really kill her husband?White deftly explores subjects of domestic violence, trauma and drug addiction against a story in which we don’t know where our allies lay. Everybody is a suspect, and every page reveals something new.With a vivid setting in Australia and peppered with some seriously creepy animals (giant poisonous spiders, flying foxes, jellies the size of volleyballs, mud crabs), In The Deep is atmospheric and tightly plotted with a twist at end that is so flawlessly executed I had NO idea it was even going to happen. Absolute perfection!

I did struggle with the first part of this book, not because of the quality of the writing but because the Ellie character did not come across as a particular nice person. However I kept going and the storyline did pick up as it progressed. I don't want to give the plot away, although there are a few clues in the second half of the book, but there is a quote from Houdini at the start of this book which is quite relevant. I did think that the story would have finished better without the final paragraph, you will have to decide that for yourself.

I was engrossed in this book. I enjoyed the characters, especially Ellie, and loved the descriptions of the Australian setting. There was no ‘padding’ in this story (you know, ‘she boiled the kettle, then she got a cup, then she spooned the coffee in to the cup blah blah blah’). Every word had a purpose.This book has more depth than a lot of other psychological thrillers out there. I genuinely did not see the twist coming (well, the big twist; there were lots of twists and turns throughout). I thought the pacing was just right.I would definitely read more by this author.

As other books I've read from Loreth Anne White this is captivating. You think you but you don't. You get a little bit right and then there's more you didn't guess. She has become my most favourite author

Wow. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Fabulously written with so many twists and turns i couldnt predict the end and the final twist was a shock. Not a romantic suspense for those expecting it, just a suspenseful plot which highlights the many flaws and weaknesses of human nature. I highly recommend this book and look forward to this author's next book.