The Water Tower: A Lakeview Mystery by Amy Young

The Water Tower: A Lakeview Mystery
by Amy Young

About The Water Tower

The Water Tower: A Lakeview Mystery
Cozy Mystery/Women Sleuths
1st in Series
Setting – A fictional Ohio town in the suburbs of Cleveland called Lakeview
Level Best Books (June 20, 2023)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 250 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1685122779
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1685122775
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BT3T8M1C

Josie Ashbury was a successful Hollywood actress with a booming career—until an on-set breakdown sends her back to her small Ohio hometown to recover. Taking a job teaching at her old high school, Josie is beginning to put the pieces of her life back together when one of her students dies under suspicious circumstances. The police close the case quickly, without any real answers. Josie is determined to find the truth behind the girl’s death.

At the same time, Josie is battling demons of her own. As she faces debilitating insomnia that leaves her with gaps in her memory, she dives into the tangled secrets surrounding the investigation. When she finally unravels the web, she discovers that the truth lies much closer to home than she could have ever imagined.

Excerpt

She stood on the water tower, looking at the skyline she had only observed from the ground. You really could see the whole town from up here. Funny how your whole life can fit into one 360-degree glance. Peering down at the ground, she was no longer able to see individual blades of grass, all of them blurring into a sea of perfect emerald green. To her right was the roof of Lakeview High School, looking small from this vantage point. She felt as though if she leaned over far enough, she could almost touch it. But that was ridiculous; the school had to be several hundred feet away. Her vision came in and out of focus as she swayed, thinking about her life, her past, her future… Reaching out her slender arm, she twirled her wrist. She could hardly wait for graduation when, everyone said, “real life” would begin. “I can’t wait to get out of here,” her friends exclaimed, dreaming of big cities and even bigger lives in far-off places: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, anywhere but here. But she knew they would return, just like their parents, raising 2.5 kids with a Labradoodle and a balding husband in one of the best-little-suburbs in the country. Was it really so bad? She watched all these super-educated women who had given up their careers to stay home and clean up after the kids and drive to soccer practice, instead of changing the world as they’d so hopefully planned when plotting their escape years earlier. Was that her fate? Was that what awaited her now? Dozens of similar thoughts swirled and crashed like waves in front of her, mixing in a fantastic spray of colors, lights, and sounds.

My Review:

This was a generally well-written mystery with some complicated threads woven into an interesting whole. I think it's fair to warn upfront that to me in some ways it didn't feel wholly like a cozy; huge trigger warnings about talk of suicide, a high body count, and dead teenagers (this last nearly made me put it down, but I had passed the point where I could stop by then).

On the up side, the perp was both unexpected and yet fully set up, motives seemed generally plausible, and Josie's level of cooperation with the police was reasonable. She doesn't stop looking when the police do, for good and sufficient reasons, and she doesn't keep things secret that she ought to share. There is suspense, bad behavior, and some discussion of topics that maybe need more airtime: mental health and drug use among teens.

I really enjoyed the friends group that Josie has around her to offer help and support, and hope that they get more chances to shine in future installments. I assume those will be forthcoming, as Book 2 is definitely set up in the ending to Book 1.

My Recommendation:

This would be a good summer/beach read for those who enjoy a little more edge to their cozies and aren't put off by the high school setting.

About Amy Young

Amy Young is an author, comedian, and actor based in Cleveland. After spending a decade in Los Angeles working in the entertainment industry and writing her debut novel, The Water Tower, she returned to Ohio to be closer to family. Amy is working on her second book, a thriller, and in her free time she enjoys going to the theatre, bingeing reality TV, and spending time with her husband and many, many cats. She has a B.A. in English from Kenyon College.

Author Links
Webpage: http://www.authoramyyoung.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authoramyyoung
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/authoramyyoung
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amypcomedy
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/AmyPYoung1
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/36651982.Amy_Young

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