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Catherine Steadman

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7 min read

Age & reading levelAdult
Reader rating
4.0 · 30,763 Amazon ratings
reader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score
$9.03 on AmazonAudiobook
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Front cover of Something in the Water: Reese's Book Club: A Novel

Our review

Something in the Water

Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman Review: A Gripping Debut Thriller That Delivers

by Catherine Steadman

Catherine Steadman's debut novel Something in the Water is the #1 New York Times bestseller and Reese's Book Club pick that launched her career, following newlyweds Erin and Mark whose dream honeymoon in Bora Bora is shattered by a dangerous underwater discovery — and the devastating choice it forces them to make. An ITW Thriller Award finalist named one of the best books of the year by both Glamour and Newsweek, it sold more than one million copies and was acquired by Fox 2000 Pictures for adaptation, marking it as one of the standout psychological thrillers of its era.

$9.03 on Amazon
Adultcriminal entanglement and moral jeopardy · depictions of a marriage under extreme stress

LuvemBooks Verdict

Best for

Readers who love fast-paced domestic psychological thrillers — particularly fans of Ruth Ware, Paula Hawkins, or Gillian Flynn — and anyone looking for a morally charged book club pick with a genuinely debatable "what would you do?" premise at its centre.

Worth it if

You want a propulsive, expertly paced debut thriller with a sharp moral hook, a lush setting, and the kind of escalating bad decisions that make it nearly impossible to put down.

Skip if

You're fatigued by the luxurious-vacation-gone-wrong template and crave deep psychological interiority or literary complexity over plot-driven momentum.

Kirkus Reviews awarded a starred review, calling it "a darkly glittering gem of a thriller from a new writer to watch" and crediting Steadman's acting background for its "unreliable characters, wry voices, exquisite pacing, and a twisting plot." The novel went on to become a #1 New York Times bestseller with over one million copies sold, a Reese's Book Club selection, an ITW Thriller Award finalist, and one of the best books of the year according to both Glamour and Newsweek, per Penguin Random House's own records.

“A darkly glittering gem of a thriller from a new writer to watch — with unreliable characters, wry voices, exquisite pacing, and a twisting plot.”

— Kirkus Reviews
Sources: Kirkus Reviews, Penguin Random House
4.0from 30,763 Amazon ratings— reader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score

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Something in the Water is Catherine Steadman's debut psychological thriller following newlyweds Erin and Mark, whose dream honeymoon in Bora Bora is derailed by a dangerous underwater discovery that forces them into a devastating moral choice. A #1 New York Times bestseller and Reese's Book Club pick with more than one million copies sold, it delivers what critics praised as "unreliable characters, wry voices, exquisite pacing, and a twisting plot" — making it an ideal pick for thriller readers who prize propulsive momentum and rich book-club debate. Readers seeking deep psychological interiority over plot mechanics may find the genre conventions familiar, but for its intended audience, this is domestic suspense firing on all cylinders.
Is it worth reading?
For readers who enjoy propulsive psychological thrillers in the domestic suspense tradition, Something in the Water delivers a well-crafted, compulsively readable experience. It earned rare dual validation for a debut: a #1 New York Times bestseller with more than one million copies sold, a Reese's Book Club selection, best-of-year recognition from both Glamour and Newsweek, and an ITW Thriller Award finalist citation. The New York Times credited Steadman for keeping "the suspense ratcheted up" throughout — meaningful praise for a first-time novelist. Readers who find the "dark secret on a luxurious vacation" template overly familiar, or who prioritize literary complexity over plot momentum, may find the experience more competent than revelatory.
Similar books
Readers who enjoy Something in the Water will likely find much to appreciate in the curated titles displayed below. Ashley Elston's First Lie Wins shares the same propulsive, twisty domestic-thriller DNA and morally compromised protagonist. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens similarly blends a richly atmospheric setting with a central mystery that doubles as an examination of how far someone will go to protect themselves. Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman, while lighter in tone, also centers on a protagonist concealing a life-defining secret and was a Reese's Book Club pick — making it a natural companion read for fans of Witherspoon's selections. Paula Hawkins' The Girl on the Train and Alex Michaelides' The Silent Patient are also frequently cited alongside Something in the Water as cornerstones of the domestic psychological thriller genre.
Who should read this?
Something in the Water is best suited for adult readers who enjoy fast-paced psychological thrillers in the domestic suspense tradition — fans of "a marriage under pressure" narratives where a seemingly stable life fractures from within. It's an especially strong pick for book club groups, given the central ethical dilemma it poses. Readers who respond to Reese Witherspoon's Book Club selections or who enjoyed The Girl on the Train and The Silent Patient will find themselves in familiar, well-executed territory. Those who prefer slow-burn literary fiction or prioritize deep psychological interiority over plot mechanics may want to temper their expectations.
About Catherine Steadman
Catherine Steadman is a British actress and author.
Tell me about the adaptation
Fox 2000 Pictures optioned Something in the Water for film adaptation, a deal that LuvemBooks' review cites as further confirmation of the novel's significant cultural reach. Specific casting or release details are not confirmed in LuvemBooks' coverage at this time. The novel's cinematic construction — tight pacing, a visually arresting Bora Bora setting, and a high-concept moral premise — makes it a natural fit for screen translation, and Steadman's own background as an actress and screenwriter suggests she understands the demands of visual storytelling.
What are the main themes?
At its core, Something in the Water is a novel about moral compromise and the lengths ordinary people will go to protect what they've built. The publisher frames it as an examination of "the hopes we desperately cling to, the ideals we're tempted to abandon, and the perfect lies we tell ourselves." Critics also read it as a study of a marriage under pressure and an interrogation of the precarious foundations of middle-class life. The central question — speak out or protect the secret? — is less a plot device than a genuine ethical stress test, which is part of why it generates such durable book club discussion.
Is it a good book club pick?
Something in the Water is exceptionally well-suited for book clubs. The central ethical dilemma — what would Erin and Mark do, and what would you do in their position? — is precisely the kind of question that generates genuine, personal debate. LuvemBooks' review notes this is "a richly debatable moral premise" that helps explain both Reese Witherspoon's selection and the novel's enduring shelf presence years after publication. The accessible, propulsive pacing also means members are likely to finish it, which is its own practical virtue.
Summarize this book

Summarize this book

Something in the Water follows Erin, a documentary filmmaker, and Mark, an investment banker, newlyweds who travel to Bora Bora for their dream honeymoon. While scuba diving, they make a discovery that forces them into a devastating choice — speak out or protect a dangerous secret — setting off what the publisher describes as "a devastating chain of events." The novel uses this honeymoon-gone-wrong architecture to examine how quickly ordinary people can be pulled into moral compromise, and how far they'll go to preserve what they've built. The story opens with a striking hook, before rewinding to show how paradise unraveled into catastrophe.

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Our Review

We review the evidence: published critics, reader verdicts and BookTube reviews, gathered and weighed with AI assistance and edited by LuvemBooks, rather than one reader's first-hand take.

Steadman's debut announces itself with a premise built for compulsion: what would you risk for the life of your dreams?

What the Novel Is and What It Sets in Motion

Something in the Water opens with a striking hook before rewinding to show how a honeymoon in paradise unraveled into catastrophe. Erin is a documentary filmmaker on the brink of a professional breakthrough; Mark is an investment banker with ambitious plans.
The two are passionately in love and embarking on what should be the trip of a lifetime to Bora Bora. While scuba diving in the crystal blue sea, they make a discovery that sets the rest of the novel in motion.
The choice that follows — to speak out or to protect their secret — triggers what the publisher describes as "a devastating chain of events." The novel uses this honeymoon-gone-wrong architecture to interrogate how quickly ordinary people can be pulled into moral compromise, and how far they'll go to preserve what they've built.

Significance and Cultural Footprint

Few debut thrillers land with the force this one did. Penguin Random House records it as a #1 New York Times bestseller with more than one million copies sold, and rights have been sold in more than thirty territories worldwide.
Reese Witherspoon selected it for her Book Club, calling it "a psychological thriller that captivated me from page one" and describing it as "the perfect beach read." It was named one of the best books of the year by both Glamour and Newsweek, and was an ITW Thriller Award finalist.
The novel's cultural reach was further confirmed when Fox 2000 Pictures optioned it for film. For a debut, that combination of commercial performance and critical recognition is genuinely rare.

Craft and Narrative Construction

Steadman came to fiction with a background as an actress and screenwriter, and critics noted that she "potently draws upon her acting chops," crediting the novel with "unreliable characters, wry voices, exquisite pacing, and a twisting plot." Critics observed that "Steadman keeps the suspense ratcheted up" — a compact but meaningful verdict from the paper.
Fellow thriller author B. A. Paris called it "superbly written, clever and gripping," while Louise Candlish described it as "as frightening as it is funny... A caper with a dark heart." The publisher characterizes the novel as examining "the hopes we desperately cling to, the ideals we're tempted to abandon, and the perfect lies we tell ourselves" — framing that positions the thriller mechanics within a broader moral inquiry.
Reviewers also noted that the novel functions as an examination of "a marriage under pressure" and the precarious foundations on which middle-class lives are built.

Who It's For and How It Reads

This is a novel designed to be consumed at speed. Witherspoon's "perfect beach read" label is apt in the sense that the plot is engineered for forward momentum — the Bora Bora setting, the high-stakes couple, the ticking moral clock.
Readers drawn to psychological thrillers in the tradition of domestic suspense — where a seemingly stable life begins to fracture from within — will find the setup immediately familiar and well-executed. The novel is equally well-suited to book club discussion: the central ethical dilemma (what would you do?) is the kind of question that generates genuine debate, which helps explain both Witherspoon's selection and its enduring shelf presence years after publication.

Honest Limitations

The novel's very strengths also define its limits. Readers who find the "dark secret on a luxurious vacation" template overly familiar in domestic suspense may find that the Bora Bora setup trades in well-worn genre conventions rather than subverting them.
Some readers drawn to slow-burn literary thrillers or psychological complexity over plot mechanics may find the novel's primary emphasis on propulsion — what happens next — leaves less room for deep interiority. The Kirkus review, while largely positive, also signals that the novel's ambitions are squarely commercial and genre-bound, rather than genre-expanding.
That is not a flaw for its intended audience, but it is a fair calibration for readers approaching it with different expectations.

Sources & Further Reading

The key facts and claims in this review are grounded in the retrieved, verified sources listed below.

  1. Cited in this review
  2. 1
    Something in the Water: Reese's Book Club by Catherine Steadman: 9781524797676 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

    penguinrandomhouse.com

  3. 2
    SOMETHING IN THE WATER | Kirkus Reviews

    kirkusreviews.com

  4. Further reading
  5. 3
    Catherine Steadman — author profile

    Catherine Steadman, LuvemBooks

  6. 4
    Something in the Water - Reese's Book Club

    reesesbookclub.com

  7. 5
    Something in the Water: Reese's Book Club

    randomhousebooks.com

  8. 6
    Something in the Water - Catherine Steadman

    catherinesteadman.com

  9. 7
    Something in the Water: Reese's Book Club: A Novel by

    bookclubs.com

  10. 8
    Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman, Paperback | Barnes & Noble®

    barnesandnoble.com

Age & Reading Level

Recommended age

Adult

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Content to know about

criminal entanglement and moral jeopardy
depictions of a marriage under extreme stress

Skip if you want a slow-burn literary thriller that prioritises psychological depth over plot momentum.

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Ashley Elston

Reese's Book Club pick built on a double-crossing protagonist — morally murky choices pile up at the same pace, rewarding readers who love unreliable narrators.

Like Erin in Something in the Water, Elston's heroine is a woman who has reinvented herself and whose carefully constructed life starts unravelling one dangerous decision at a time. The plotting is tight and propulsive, with each chapter peeling back a new layer of deception. Best for readers who want a book-club thriller where character loyalty shifts constantly and no one is entirely innocent.

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Fellow Reese's pick with a wry, unreliable female voice hiding dark secrets — delivers the same compulsive readability with a sharper emotional payoff.

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