I was fortunate to receive a copy of this ARC from NetGalley and Welbeck Publishing.

I wasn't sure how I felt about reading this in light of Nicola Bulley when I started it. However I think it meant I read this book with new eyes and more understanding of what's involved in dive searches. I do feel a bit sorry for Liv that when she wrote this book there were no high profile current cases, I think the publication date had to be delayed.

Anyway, on to my thoughts. I found it fascinating to read about the diving done by the police divers and the descriptions under the water. The police procedural was interesting too and the past connection between Jen and Claudia.

My favourite quote:
"How do you measure success? Is it being the best at something? Is it by feeling like you have done nothing but your best?"

Silent Waters by LV Matthews is a gripping and thoroughly enjoyable read that will keep you on the edge of your seat. The author's attention to detail is evident in the vivid descriptions of Jen's job as part of the police dive team, which adds a unique and exciting element to the story.
The characters are well-developed, with Jen being a complex and intriguing protagonist. Her relationships with Kerry and her brother Bill are believable and well fleshed out, although some of their actions and reactions may seem a bit over-the-top at times.
The book covers a lot of ground, including police dive team logistics, professional diving, love triangles, abusive relationships, affairs, and murder, deceit, and lies. This can make the story feel a bit overwhelming and unfocused at times.
There are a few minor confusing things at the beginning of the book, and the sleepwalking aspect, while fascinating, can feel like a bit of a detour from the already complex story, as well as some extra added elements that I personally don’t think they were necessary in the story but they just add a new layer to the overall view.
Silent Waters is a thrilling and engaging read that is sure to keep you guessing until the very end.

As a diver and someone who has always been interested in the job of police diver the description of Silent Waters really dragged me in and the story was phenomenal. It was dark and twisty and had me on the edge of my seat throughout. I really could not put it down as I needed to know the outcome.

Thank you to NetGalley and Welbeck Publishing UK for my ARC.

So much packed into this book, it's a great read with a small amount of characters but the intensity of plot makes it feel so much greater.

The characters are well developed and some completely despicable, a great captivating read for thrill seekers. You really don't know who you can trust

‘Silent Waters’ is the new heart-pounding, dramatic and suspenseful thriller read by the talented L.V. Matthews.

I had read other works by this author before this one, so I was extremely eager to read. This work did not let me down. The result of her writing proficiency is a thoroughly enjoyable and well-crafted read. It instantly drew in me by the first few chapters, and my fascination only grew.

Jen serves as an excellent protagonist and the relationship between her and her brother Bill is one of the most captivating dynamics I have read in a while.

The plot moves quickly, and it kept me in anticipation, losing hours in the book's pages.
Despite this not being one of my favourite reads from this author, it is undoubtedly worth pre-ordering.

An outstanding read resulted in an ideal start to the month.

Well its fair to say that there's a lot packed into this. A great missing person storyline with superb twists and turns that you just cant see coming at all.

A small group of characters considering the amount of storyline that happens which makes this feel all the more tense and claustrophobic.

Some interesting characters, some truly despicable characters, its hard to know who to trust.

Clever and razor sharp, You will be kept on your toes,

Oh but this book will drag you in!
I very much enjoyed reading this and finished the book in 1 go. The story is very tense and makes you feel uneasy

4.5 stars

This is so so good!

As someone who absolutely hates water and almost drowned (allegedly, but not according to my parents) in Malta when I was five – I have an absolute fear of the stuff.

Not so our main protaganist Jen, a former Olympic medal hopeful in diving, she's now a police diver and is prone to bouts of sleepwalking, which is where the story starts.

There's SO much I want to tell you about this book but can't for fear of the many potential spoilers.

What I will say is that – for me – it had one of the best plot twists (I won't say when) since Gone Girl.

Yes, that's right, a scene so Gone-girl-esque that my jaw may have literally dropped!

But the twists don't stop there as more mysteries are revealed and the murky waters of Jen and her family's past begin to clear for the reader.

Great writing and a twisty turny story makes for a much recommended read – and the cover quotes are definitely warranted. Add this to your list of must-reads this year when it's released in July.

Silent Waters is one of my favourite reads of the year so far: Firstly, the plot! It’s suspenseful and completely and utterly addictive, to the point I couldn't leave it alone. I just had to know what was happening and why. There was so much going on, lives intertwined, a sleepwalker, a missing person, and many complicated relationships, however, thanks to Liv’s confident and clever plotting, I never felt confused or overwhelmed, which is a testament to how seamlessly Liv can skilfully weave and layer storylines together.

What else struck me was just how well-researched the police diving aspect was; the details and descriptives transported me so vividly I felt that I was right next to Jen as she made her way through the freezing, murky waters. I have never read a book so submersive in this aspect, and it was just completely brilliant writing; I felt almost claustrophobic at certain points. The Olympic diving element was another extremely clever aspect that added uniqueness and tightened the plot as a whole.

The pacing was perfect, there was no lull, and the ending was unexpected and was the perfect conclusion. If you love wordsmiths like Lucy Clarke and Gillian McAllister, you’ll love this. Highly recommended! Five stars.

Very good read ,a great insight into the lives of police divers .keeps the reader involved throughout .

# Silent Waters # NetGalley.
The first couple of pages I read seemed a little weird.. I thought if the book contained in the same vain I would not be able to read it. What a relief it was to find out that Jen had been sleep walking. Personally I always find the first few pages you can tell a lot about the way the story is written. I was not far wrong. With her job as a police diver and Claudia a friend from year’s previously having. Gone missing. After having been seen near the water they and a few other friends used to go swimming as youngsters. It seemed to me that obviously Claudia had something on her mind. In a bad way she felt drawn back to the past. The characters of Jen being a police diver was good I enjoyed her. My only problem with it was the sleepwalking got in the way. Of things. We had a little bit of everything in the boo. From murder, to domestic violence,,sleepwalking. Well you babe it. It was in this book. Which on the whole. Only confused me more. If things had have been simplified a bit. Quite a bit. I do think it would have been a far far better read. Sometimes there in my personal opinion be too much going off in a book. As there can be to little. Having not read anything before by the authors. I just felt with putting so so much into it she was trying too hard. As I was reading I kept thinking. Well that could have been another book. Example with it having a bit of everything you can imagine in pure examples only.Domestic violence. Another book. Suicide, another book. Sleep walking another book. I hope you’ve getting the ide now. To much, to crowded, for me to get exited about. It killed the object of the main storyline for me. I really did not want to be dsi negative. It could have been a book I did not want to put down if there had have been less going on. All the other stuff being tooo much it overshadowed the main character and took away from the storyline that you could see was intended.

A thoroughly enjoyable read with plenty of twists and revelations.

I’ve not read a book by this author before but after reading the synopsis on the back cover I knew it sounded like something I’d enjoy. And I did enjoy it! I particularly loved reading about Jen’s job as part of the police dive team. It was clear that the author had done a lot of research and was very detailed her her account of what it’s like to be in the water searching for evidence and in this case a body.

I loved the complexity of Jen’s character and her relationship with both Kerry and her brother Bill. They were well flashed out and believable - albeit that the circumstances and the way they all react were at times a bit ridiculous.

I can’t help feeling that the author took on too much with this particular book. Police dive team logistics, sleep walking, professional diving, love triangles, abusive relationships, affairs, everything about Mark (!) and of course murder, deceit and lies…. It was a lot and I think if she’d cut half of it and focused more on what was totally relevant this book would been a solid 4.5 stars.

There’s some confusion over the details at the beginning of the book. Jen goes from waking up ‘submerged’ in the water to standing’ ankle deep in the freezing river. And although I found the sleepwalking aspect truly fascinating it was a huge detour from an already complex story.

One of the pivotal moments in the book is when you are given a semi reveal into a historical event that shaped the characters ‘friendships’. For me, this was a bit of an underwhelming moment although I can see how it ties in nicely to the overall narrative.

All in all I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and would definitely pick up another by this writer. But I couldn’t score it higher because I felt it just missed that sparkle that with some harsh editing would make this book a wow read.

Thanks to NetGalley for my advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

After reading The Twins by L.V. Matthews last year I just had to get Silent Water. To be fair, I couldn't get my hands on it quick enough. And what an amazing read it was.

Jen, a diver for the police force, starts sleepwalking again and finds herself somewhat submerged in the river after yet another stroll. Shortly after, a close friend from the past is reported missing and a body has been spotted near the river. And that's when the rollercoaster ride kicks off.

I found it difficult to put the boon down but work kinda made me. Absolutely nail-biting stuff, as expected. A massive well done yet again to L.V Matthews. One of my new go-to authors.

Jen Harper is a police diver, part of a team that searches rivers looking for bodies, but in her youth she was a competitive diver who came close to Olympic success. Her place on the national team was taken by her friend Claudia, but it was a long time ago and Jen now has a career she enjoys and a son she loves. But Claudia has gone missing, last seen by the river where they used to swim as teenagers, and Jen is one of the divers called in to look for her.
The central characters from the present and the past, including Jen, Jen’s brother and her best friend Kerry, Claudia herself and Jen’s former diving coach Mark, are all well drawn, as is the slightly unusual world of diving which they inhabit. What’s good about this thriller is that it is closely plotted. Each scene either deftly moves the story forward or neatly develops character in a direction that is relevant to the story. It is done with skill and without wasting words, so the compulsion to keep on reading is strong, making it an easy and enjoyable read.

A thrilling twist and dark tale that takes you on a journey where nothing is as it seems. It reminds me a little of one of the great Mo Hayders books where the lid of life is lifted and murky depths are revealed.
Definitely up there with one of the best books of 2023!

Silent Waters is a standalone psychological mystery by author, LV Matthews.
The story follows Jen who is a Police diver who becomes entangled in the mystery of Claudia Franklin. Unbeknown to her work colleagues, Claudia and Jen have a complex history full of untold secrets. What this history involves you will have to read until the end to find out. I loved following our amateur detective, Jen and making her a Police diver was interesting and the standout character for me. The story is told in multiple POV and timelines as we uncover the truth about these characters and their pasts. I enjoyed the use of Jen’s sleep walking as an unreliable narrator trope. This meant we we’re never really sure if we can trust her perspective on things, could she have done something and not known?! This was my second read by this author and I am looking forward to seeing what else they write. Thankyou to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an arc of this book.

Is blood thicker than water?

At 5am one summer's morning, police diver Jen Harper wakes to find herself submerged in the silt of a river with no memory of how she got there.

Forty-eight hours later, she's called to dive in the same river in search of a missing woman, Claudia Franklin.

But for Jen, this is no ordinary job. Her and Claudia's families were entangled for decades – there is unresolved resentment between them, unspoken secrets.

Jen hasn't seen Claudia for twelve years now. Or has she?

3.5 stars

In this story we follow Jen Harper a police diver and I can safely say this is one of the more unique police involvement narratives I have read from and you can really tell the author done their research because it gave a very claustrophobic experience.
This story was one I went in to on a whim I have seen this author talk in person and already own of their books (that I have still yet to read but am really excited for now) I was very interested in their work from listening to them. Which makes me so happy to tell you that I really enjoyed this book. It had very earthy feel to it pulling you through the pages in to a land ruled by water and ravaged by secrets.
I do think the pacing could have been a little better as the middle did seem to be filler in the larger context of the story but then again I did read this in 24 hours so the pacing could have been swayed by that. This is one of those books you sit down, turn the pages and before you know it you're coming to the end. It's fast paced with enough reveals to keep you engaged in the story and with characters that keep you routing for them or routing for them to be found out.
Overall this book was a fast read that was twisty and exciting with a charming yet dark world that makes mundane things seem scary in the day light. I will definitely be picking more up from this author and if you looking for something to read without thought and just go along for the wild ride this could be the thriller for you.

Having previously read from this author, I knew I had to read her latest book and dived straight in despite the publication date then being in April and now having moved to July.

I was captivated from the beginning. A unique look at a police diver searching for a missing woman, she may or may not have been the last to see. I thought this was cleverly layered and excellently written, keeping you on your toes.

It is very character driven and set at a slower pace, but I didn't feel that this made the book stilted in any way. The characters are realistically written, all complex with flaws and wrong decision choices. The slower pace was perfect for the book, I thought. The complexity and layers to the story required time to unravel from the web we initially see.

A perfect eerily atmospheric read. The underwater descriptions felt dark and almost claustrophobic but perfect for the tone of the book. I loved this unique and original premise.

Thanks to netgalley I was lucky to be able to receive a free copy of silent waters by LV Matthews is exchange for my honest opinion

In silent waters, Jen is a diver for the police, helping to look for anything criminal or untoward, however, when assigned to a particular case, it is a lot closer to home than first thought

This was a great read. I found the beginning slightly slow, which may just be a personal view, however, around half way through there is a great twist and from there the book just got addictive! I couldn't stop reading and I wanted to find out what was going to happen next!

The story does have twists that are fab and work so well and the ending is great. Not too rushed, a nice conclusion to the whole story with a twist!

This was my first book written by this author and I would absolutely read her work again! I have now added more of her titles to my TBR pile!

Having previously read this authors book I knew I would be reading this one for sure. It has you hooked from the first chapter and has a brilliant level of suspense throughout. It kept my attention and I loved learning about the police divers. My only criticism is that I wish the chapters were dated then and now to avoid confusion for the first part of each chapter