The Water Lies
“A heart-wrenching yet redemptive story about maternal instinct, fertility and broken trust.” — People Magazine
Internationally bestselling author Amy Meyerson takes readers on a harrowing journey where two mothers — one of a woman who drowned and the other of a toddler who might know what happened to her—are the only ones searching for the truth.
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“The Water Lies is an intoxicating and claustrophobic novel that expands the concept of ‘a mother’s worst fear’ in spectacular and twisted ways.”
-Katy Hays, New York Times bestselling author of The Cloisters
An Amazon Editors’ First Reads Pick for December 2025
People Magazine’s Best New Books Pick
Heavily pregnant with her second child, Tessa Irons has enough on her mind without her toddler throwing tantrums at the local coffee shop. The boy is inconsolable, shouting “Gigi!” to a woman Tessa’s never seen before—and never will again. The next morning, the woman’s body is dredged up from the canal outside the Ironses’ posh Venice Beach home, and Tessa’s gut tells her it’s no coincidence.
Barb Geller refuses to believe that her daughter’s death was just some drunken accident. She heads to California for answers, where she crosses paths with Tessa. Together they hunt for the truth, certain they’ll find a connection between their children.
But the police don’t believe them. Tessa’s husband dismisses her worries as pregnancy jitters, and even though people are always watching along the canals, no one saw a thing. Tessa and Barb only have each other, their intuition, and the creeping sense of danger that grows with every shocking revelation.
Praise for The Water Lies:
“Readers will often be on the edge of their seats…”
—Washington Independent Review of Books
“The Water Lies is engaging, the action is fast-paced, and the vivid descriptions of both characters and scenes combine to create a memorable tale. You will not want to put it down until you’ve reached the last page.”
— BookReporter
“…A compelling page-turner filled with twists and turns along every chapter. And, as you begin turning the corner toward the finish, you might find yourself trying to catch your breath. It’s that intense.”
— Florida Weekly
“Fresh and atmospheric, The Water Lies takes you to the Venice canals of Los Angeles, where a mystery unravels within that small acreage of fancy houses and putrid water. At the end of it, no one—and nothing—will be the same. With expert pacing, Meyerson pulls you deeper into the core of her story, forcing you to confront your own assumptions about friendship, motherhood, and marriage.”
—Julie Clark, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Flight
“The Water Lies is an intoxicating and claustrophobic novel that expands the concept of ‘a mother’s worst fear’ in spectacular and twisted ways. Expertly combining the paranoia of Hitchcock’s Rear Window and the fast-paced family mystery of The Last Thing He Told Me, Meyerson places the maternal bond under pressure, asking not only what mothers will do to protect their children from the truth, but also, themselves. Uncanny, unexpected, and wholly original, it’s the rarest of novels that understands how the word family can be a curse and a blessing, all in the same breath.”
—Katy Hays, New York Times bestselling author of The Cloisters
“I absolutely blew through this novel. It kept me guessing until the end, and afterward it left me with that unmistakable warmth I get from a great book, the kind that delves beneath a seemingly pristine surface, the kind that bonds one unlikely heart to another. Compulsively readable, The Water Lies deftly tackles what it means to mother, the cost of creating a deceptively perfect family, and the dangerous lengths any parent will go to for the sake of a child.”
—Amy Jo Burns, author of Mercury
“As an author, Amy Meyerson is gifted with a genuine talent for the kind of narrative driven storytelling style that fully engages the reader’s rapt attention from start to finish. Her newest novel, The Water Lies is an extraordinary and original suspense thriller…”
—Midwest Book Review