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The Woman in the Waves
There’s something sinister lurking in the waves…
It’s 1921 in Widow’s Peak, a gloomy fishing village on the south coast of New South Wales. Nineteen-year-old Missy Green fills her days helping her fisherman father on his trawler, and spending time with her grandfather, the town’s
reclusive lighthouse keeper. It’s a dreary existence.
Everything in her sea salt-soaked life is upended, though, when she glimpses something in the water – a mermaid ominously staring at her.
When Missy discovers the dead body of a woman washed up on shore, her disturbing hallucinations of the mermaid
gather steam.
Missy must navigate the treacherous waters of her secret-filled town while attempting not to drown in the recesses of her mind, and the eyes of a handsome detective…
It’s 1921 in Widow’s Peak, a gloomy fishing village on the south coast of New South Wales. Nineteen-year-old Missy Green fills her days helping her fisherman father on his trawler, and spending time with her grandfather, the town’s
reclusive lighthouse keeper. It’s a dreary existence.
Everything in her sea salt-soaked life is upended, though, when she glimpses something in the water – a mermaid ominously staring at her.
When Missy discovers the dead body of a woman washed up on shore, her disturbing hallucinations of the mermaid
gather steam.
Missy must navigate the treacherous waters of her secret-filled town while attempting not to drown in the recesses of her mind, and the eyes of a handsome detective…
- GenresMystery
238 pages, Paperback
Published March 11, 2025
8 people are currently reading
266 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
July 31, 2025
For starts, let me aknowledge this, once and for all: definitely, 2025 is not my reading year.
It's not my fault, though. I'm not to blame for all those raving and very misleading reviews and ratings. What's a simply reader like me to do about it, when the system's all f####d up and no longer reliable, right?
It's a sign of our times, sadly. A consequence of social media and the decline of traditional forms of advertinsing and publishing industry finding a way to mess up the system and turning things on their favor, hyping up their products, by paying people to speak wonders about them, or placing bots in communities like this to do such a task.
Take out this book, for example. Are you telling me that out of all those 39 five/four stars reviews, not a single one of them encountered the same issues as I did while reading it? Seriously? Not any single one of them found this book a little messy and way too predictable?
According to all these outstanding reviews and ratings, I was kinda expecting a masterpiece, an instant classic.....
What a bunch of liars.
What I've found, instead, was just a pretentious book, disguising itself as a work of art by its overuse of flowery prose.
Let's get one thing clear, people: flowery prose doesn't equally mean quality. Just because you write nice, doesn't mean your story is good. And readers should be very aware of it.
That being said, still I can tell that the author of this book has skills. She certainly has the tools to be a good storyteller, but there's a difference between having an idea for a story, and actually executing it right. This novels suffers from a poor execution syndrome, and trying to cover more that it can handle.
There are too many things happening at the same time in this novel, which do not necessarily contribute to the main plot. I'm still trying to understand why was the need to address the male protagonist, detective Ronan Shaw's, past war traumas or his childhood memories back in Ireland, about his father, mother and siblings. Specially with that ending. It leaves me guessing, what was it all for?
There's a whole inconsequential scene with a horse, igniting his memories about a mare he used to ride during the war that adds nothing to the overall plot. The same can be said about a sequence where he drives his Ford T down to Camberra, which serves more as an excuse to show off the author's skills in driving descriptions and old automobile's general mechanics.
Wasn't the plot about finding out who the hell murdered the girl our protagonist found on the beach in chapter one? So, what's the point of all those insubstantial scenes?
I have noticed this several times, more than I can count of, about the author's tendency to go off the rails. And this affects the normal flow of a scene, forcing me to go back and forth, trying to understand what was was happening in the first place.
I also don't understand at all why there was a need to toss a romance in between, except for the excuse that nowadays books feel the need to force a romance in with a shoehorn to make them more attractive, appeal a wider audience and therefore, sell more.
This book would've been ten thousand times better without it and sticking to the police investigation. Instead, I was forced to read scene after scene of the detective dazzled by the wild beauty of the female lead, her hair, her eyes (yeah, I got it, ok? Don't need to tell me for the hundredth time how infatuated he is about her long dark hair) or what's technically the same, the female lead touching herself while thinking about the handsome detective or dreaming about being touched down there by him, or the warmth between her legs everytime she sees him.
As you can see, it has stuck with me. And with good reason, given that the central part of the story, the part where the plot should be developing, the author chooses instead to deliberately focus on all these very inconsequential things, again and again and again.
There's a crime that needs solving, you know?
By the time the author realizes that this a thriller after all and that she should get down to business and have her detective solve the case, it's already too late, and only the most stubborn readers (like the one writing these lines, hi!) would have gotten this far. Most of you, would probably have dnfed before reaching to that point. And I wouldn't blame you.
For a book of this lenght (287 pages on my kindle), it surely took all my will and all of my strenght, to be able to finish it. It took me ages to get to that final page for a book this short.
I said at the beginning of this review that this book was very predictable. And sure it was. I could predict every single one of the plot twists with full expertise. And I hate it when something like that happens. It's not me who became good at guessing turning points, but authors becoming way too lazy in their writing, and trusting less and less on readers capabilities to infer things on their own.
So, in resume, another failed read in a still failed reading year. As I already said above, this book could have been better, if it had taken the traditional path of a thriller. It tried to bite off more than it could chew, and that's its main fault. There're war traumas, childhood traumas, hints to postpartum depression and suicide, mental health issues, and if that weren't enough, also alcohol smuggling, mobsters and mermaids. Way too much for a simple story about a murder. Or a murderer.
The author surely knows how to paint a scene, but if only that was all it took to tell a story.
What a story would that be.
Quality based rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Liked based rating: ⭐⭐⭐
It's not my fault, though. I'm not to blame for all those raving and very misleading reviews and ratings. What's a simply reader like me to do about it, when the system's all f####d up and no longer reliable, right?
It's a sign of our times, sadly. A consequence of social media and the decline of traditional forms of advertinsing and publishing industry finding a way to mess up the system and turning things on their favor, hyping up their products, by paying people to speak wonders about them, or placing bots in communities like this to do such a task.
Take out this book, for example. Are you telling me that out of all those 39 five/four stars reviews, not a single one of them encountered the same issues as I did while reading it? Seriously? Not any single one of them found this book a little messy and way too predictable?
According to all these outstanding reviews and ratings, I was kinda expecting a masterpiece, an instant classic.....
What a bunch of liars.
What I've found, instead, was just a pretentious book, disguising itself as a work of art by its overuse of flowery prose.
Let's get one thing clear, people: flowery prose doesn't equally mean quality. Just because you write nice, doesn't mean your story is good. And readers should be very aware of it.
That being said, still I can tell that the author of this book has skills. She certainly has the tools to be a good storyteller, but there's a difference between having an idea for a story, and actually executing it right. This novels suffers from a poor execution syndrome, and trying to cover more that it can handle.
There are too many things happening at the same time in this novel, which do not necessarily contribute to the main plot. I'm still trying to understand why was the need to address the male protagonist, detective Ronan Shaw's, past war traumas or his childhood memories back in Ireland, about his father, mother and siblings. Specially with that ending. It leaves me guessing, what was it all for?
There's a whole inconsequential scene with a horse, igniting his memories about a mare he used to ride during the war that adds nothing to the overall plot. The same can be said about a sequence where he drives his Ford T down to Camberra, which serves more as an excuse to show off the author's skills in driving descriptions and old automobile's general mechanics.
Wasn't the plot about finding out who the hell murdered the girl our protagonist found on the beach in chapter one? So, what's the point of all those insubstantial scenes?
I have noticed this several times, more than I can count of, about the author's tendency to go off the rails. And this affects the normal flow of a scene, forcing me to go back and forth, trying to understand what was was happening in the first place.
I also don't understand at all why there was a need to toss a romance in between, except for the excuse that nowadays books feel the need to force a romance in with a shoehorn to make them more attractive, appeal a wider audience and therefore, sell more.
This book would've been ten thousand times better without it and sticking to the police investigation. Instead, I was forced to read scene after scene of the detective dazzled by the wild beauty of the female lead, her hair, her eyes (yeah, I got it, ok? Don't need to tell me for the hundredth time how infatuated he is about her long dark hair) or what's technically the same, the female lead touching herself while thinking about the handsome detective or dreaming about being touched down there by him, or the warmth between her legs everytime she sees him.
As you can see, it has stuck with me. And with good reason, given that the central part of the story, the part where the plot should be developing, the author chooses instead to deliberately focus on all these very inconsequential things, again and again and again.
There's a crime that needs solving, you know?
By the time the author realizes that this a thriller after all and that she should get down to business and have her detective solve the case, it's already too late, and only the most stubborn readers (like the one writing these lines, hi!) would have gotten this far. Most of you, would probably have dnfed before reaching to that point. And I wouldn't blame you.
For a book of this lenght (287 pages on my kindle), it surely took all my will and all of my strenght, to be able to finish it. It took me ages to get to that final page for a book this short.
I said at the beginning of this review that this book was very predictable. And sure it was. I could predict every single one of the plot twists with full expertise. And I hate it when something like that happens. It's not me who became good at guessing turning points, but authors becoming way too lazy in their writing, and trusting less and less on readers capabilities to infer things on their own.
So, in resume, another failed read in a still failed reading year. As I already said above, this book could have been better, if it had taken the traditional path of a thriller. It tried to bite off more than it could chew, and that's its main fault. There're war traumas, childhood traumas, hints to postpartum depression and suicide, mental health issues, and if that weren't enough, also alcohol smuggling, mobsters and mermaids. Way too much for a simple story about a murder. Or a murderer.
The author surely knows how to paint a scene, but if only that was all it took to tell a story.
What a story would that be.
Quality based rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Liked based rating: ⭐⭐⭐
January 9, 2025
Omg what a book!!
This is not my usual genre to read but I feel honoured to have been given an arc to read.
I read it cover to cover in one sitting. I can’t remember the last time I did that!
It kept me totally captivated as I read. The writing was mesmerizing and made the images come to life in my mind.
The author’s note at the end is totally worth reading with many parts of the story historically accurate. I had no idea that Canberra had a prohibition law and I am now going to read the First Nations Dreaming story of the five islands.
Such an enthralling book with an ending that I certainly didn’t predict.
Well done Camille on a spectacular book.
This is not my usual genre to read but I feel honoured to have been given an arc to read.
I read it cover to cover in one sitting. I can’t remember the last time I did that!
It kept me totally captivated as I read. The writing was mesmerizing and made the images come to life in my mind.
The author’s note at the end is totally worth reading with many parts of the story historically accurate. I had no idea that Canberra had a prohibition law and I am now going to read the First Nations Dreaming story of the five islands.
Such an enthralling book with an ending that I certainly didn’t predict.
Well done Camille on a spectacular book.
January 21, 2025
Its few and far between I read a book that I truly immerse myself in.
I'm a seasonal reader, and I knew that The Woman in the Waves was a book I needed to read in storms and by seas. My recommendation is to read this on a cloudy rainy day, to have English Breakfast tea and a Monte Carlo, to sit in a cafe in a seaside town and/or order fish and chips and read with a view of the ocean.
While I'm not typically a thriller/mystery reader, this book was so well written that I breezed through and was hooked pretty much immediately. I adored this experience, and while there were points I thought 'wait a second...is this right?' it turns our Camille Booker is just incredible at foreshadowing and was planting little seeds from the very beginning. It felt expert, and an author who can tie everything together so neatly, while maintaining incredible imagery and really making a reader question who they can trust while they're reading dual perspectives and are used to believing everything the protagonist says as truth, is an author that I think will achieve great success and go on to publish a lot more phenomenal books in their career.
I grew up roughly 'Sixty Miles South of Sydney Cove,' so the opening to this novel immediately set a scene I was familiar with. Local stories are always a treat, the mention of towns in and around the Illawarra made this book so clear in my mind that I felt like I could see the roads protagonists were travelling on. Even without the bonus of familiarity, the descriptive language would mean that anyone from anywhere would see the image Booker paints, clearly.
Missy is spooky, the daughter of a lighthouse keeper who is beginning to question her past more intensely, and whose isolated, quiet life is beginning to implode, is a complex character.
Ronan, the towns detective looking into the mystery of the body Missy finds, is intriguing, but smokes far too much. Smoking is bad for you, don't do it, Ronan certainly regrets it now.
The mystery is incredible. Layered an misleading, difficult to decipher but not frustratingly so, the way the book ends is eerily and somewhat tragically perfect.
I'm excited to buy the paperback when its released, and keep this beautiful, wild book in my collection.
While reading this book I found myself taking it to remote seaside towns, spotting mermaids (in various forms), and at one point climbing down a precarious cliff and sitting in a storm staring out at the sea like some mournful Victorian ghost (or Missy tbh). The way Booker writes, I could smell the ocean spray and craved fish, I could hear waves and the clarity of the voices. I stood at the Kiama harbour, staring at the docked boats and trying to decide which one was closest to the Senhora au Vento for some time, before realising that boats have probably changed a lot in the last 100 years.
All in all, its not often I find a book this captivating, and so my five star rating is truly reflective of my experience reading and all the adventures it lead me on.
Im so excited to read more from this author in the future.
I'm a seasonal reader, and I knew that The Woman in the Waves was a book I needed to read in storms and by seas. My recommendation is to read this on a cloudy rainy day, to have English Breakfast tea and a Monte Carlo, to sit in a cafe in a seaside town and/or order fish and chips and read with a view of the ocean.
While I'm not typically a thriller/mystery reader, this book was so well written that I breezed through and was hooked pretty much immediately. I adored this experience, and while there were points I thought 'wait a second...is this right?' it turns our Camille Booker is just incredible at foreshadowing and was planting little seeds from the very beginning. It felt expert, and an author who can tie everything together so neatly, while maintaining incredible imagery and really making a reader question who they can trust while they're reading dual perspectives and are used to believing everything the protagonist says as truth, is an author that I think will achieve great success and go on to publish a lot more phenomenal books in their career.
I grew up roughly 'Sixty Miles South of Sydney Cove,' so the opening to this novel immediately set a scene I was familiar with. Local stories are always a treat, the mention of towns in and around the Illawarra made this book so clear in my mind that I felt like I could see the roads protagonists were travelling on. Even without the bonus of familiarity, the descriptive language would mean that anyone from anywhere would see the image Booker paints, clearly.
Missy is spooky, the daughter of a lighthouse keeper who is beginning to question her past more intensely, and whose isolated, quiet life is beginning to implode, is a complex character.
Ronan, the towns detective looking into the mystery of the body Missy finds, is intriguing, but smokes far too much. Smoking is bad for you, don't do it, Ronan certainly regrets it now.
The mystery is incredible. Layered an misleading, difficult to decipher but not frustratingly so, the way the book ends is eerily and somewhat tragically perfect.
I'm excited to buy the paperback when its released, and keep this beautiful, wild book in my collection.
While reading this book I found myself taking it to remote seaside towns, spotting mermaids (in various forms), and at one point climbing down a precarious cliff and sitting in a storm staring out at the sea like some mournful Victorian ghost (or Missy tbh). The way Booker writes, I could smell the ocean spray and craved fish, I could hear waves and the clarity of the voices. I stood at the Kiama harbour, staring at the docked boats and trying to decide which one was closest to the Senhora au Vento for some time, before realising that boats have probably changed a lot in the last 100 years.
All in all, its not often I find a book this captivating, and so my five star rating is truly reflective of my experience reading and all the adventures it lead me on.
Im so excited to read more from this author in the future.
January 23, 2025
The Woman In The Waves is a gripping and atmospheric novel with incredibly vivid and sometimes terrifying imagery. From that beautifully haunting cover right through until the final dark and disturbing paragraph, I could not look away from its pages.
Beginning on the fishing boat, Senhora ao Vento (The Lady in the Wind) off the south coast of NSW in 1921,19 year old Missy thinks she sees a mermaid who speaks to her, beckoning her into the sea. Shortly afterwards she makes the gruesome discovery of a woman’s body on the beach, setting off an investigation that pulls her into the orbit of Detective Ronan Shaw. As she assists with the investigation, Missy’s hallucinations of the mermaid become more and more disturbing and the line between reality and imagination is blurred. Can they solve a murder before Missy loses herself to the sea?
This book was so incredibly atmospheric and ghostly. There was a gothic vibe that ran through its pages with the dark and festering secrets of this family. The 1920s setting is so perfectly written with the gangster element, speakeasy and also the mining and lighthouse keeping jobs adding a wonderful sense of time and place. The detail that Camille has put into the running of a lighthouse, as well as the movement of coal added so much authenticity to this story and I loved reading about it. I found myself doing a lot of googling while I read (always a sign of a great book) as I learnt more about the Illawarra region and some very recognisable places and people from history.
I also found the character of Missy absolutely brilliant! I loved the chapters from her POV as they took me right inside her troubled mind adding extra tension and depth to this gripping narrative.
“We fishing families keep to ourselves. Sometimes too much. Sometimes I can feel my loneliness”
Beginning on the fishing boat, Senhora ao Vento (The Lady in the Wind) off the south coast of NSW in 1921,19 year old Missy thinks she sees a mermaid who speaks to her, beckoning her into the sea. Shortly afterwards she makes the gruesome discovery of a woman’s body on the beach, setting off an investigation that pulls her into the orbit of Detective Ronan Shaw. As she assists with the investigation, Missy’s hallucinations of the mermaid become more and more disturbing and the line between reality and imagination is blurred. Can they solve a murder before Missy loses herself to the sea?
This book was so incredibly atmospheric and ghostly. There was a gothic vibe that ran through its pages with the dark and festering secrets of this family. The 1920s setting is so perfectly written with the gangster element, speakeasy and also the mining and lighthouse keeping jobs adding a wonderful sense of time and place. The detail that Camille has put into the running of a lighthouse, as well as the movement of coal added so much authenticity to this story and I loved reading about it. I found myself doing a lot of googling while I read (always a sign of a great book) as I learnt more about the Illawarra region and some very recognisable places and people from history.
I also found the character of Missy absolutely brilliant! I loved the chapters from her POV as they took me right inside her troubled mind adding extra tension and depth to this gripping narrative.
“We fishing families keep to ourselves. Sometimes too much. Sometimes I can feel my loneliness”
February 27, 2025
Wow! What an incredible novel. I was completely mesmerized and intrigued throughout this whole book.
Camille’s writing is so beautiful and filled with suspense, I couldn’t put it down. I found myself pausing and pondering over many sentences because the writing was so descriptive and poetic.
There are so many elements to this beautiful book, some difficult topics are covered, trauma, a love story, troubled family relationships. There’s so much emotion and imagination, I really loved it.
It’s beautiful, yet tragic. So eerie and mysterious. I was in total disbelief throughout the last 60 pages. I’ll definitely be recommending this book to everyone, I loved every single page!
Thank you Camille and @hawkeyepublishing for sending me this early copy in exchange for an honest review.
Camille’s writing is so beautiful and filled with suspense, I couldn’t put it down. I found myself pausing and pondering over many sentences because the writing was so descriptive and poetic.
There are so many elements to this beautiful book, some difficult topics are covered, trauma, a love story, troubled family relationships. There’s so much emotion and imagination, I really loved it.
It’s beautiful, yet tragic. So eerie and mysterious. I was in total disbelief throughout the last 60 pages. I’ll definitely be recommending this book to everyone, I loved every single page!
Thank you Camille and @hawkeyepublishing for sending me this early copy in exchange for an honest review.
June 11, 2025
Loved this close-up look into a small fictional Australian town, Widow’s Peak; the briny, water-centric descriptions; and spending time with these characters by the sea in the post WWI era- solving murder mysteries.
This was such a good and different story for me to take in and I lost track of time diving into the intricacies of it all. So impressed!!
This was such a good and different story for me to take in and I lost track of time diving into the intricacies of it all. So impressed!!
March 12, 2025
The Woman in the Waves by Camille Booker is an incredibly atmospheric, imaginative take on mermaids, folklore and certain health issues. The plot is centred around one of my beloved iconic landmarks—a lighthouse and in one of my favourite Australian coastal areas: Wollongong/Illawarra where I lived for a number of years after coming to Australia from the east coast of Canada (where I was a fisherman’s daughter, too). A place I would say that not only energised me but at that time literally saved my life (I suffered severe allergies). Without doubt, it’s an enchanting story setting (even in 1921!) that inspired Camille Booker for her fictional town of Widow’s Peak.
It is obvious from the start, that this novel is going to be extra special. Literary lyrical beauty pours from these pages. Camille’s writing style is that of a poet. Images are compact yet fluid and jump out at you in such a fresh original way. They sneak into your psyche as you are immersed into that world of truth and lies, smoke and mirrors, appearances and reality, mystery and magic. This stunning delivery allows you to step off the cliff of the mundane and plunge into the waves of the imagination where you can not only envision the characters, locations and events in living colour but also become part of them as if you are there, not only as a spectator but as a participant.
Missy/Marissa which means ‘of the sea’ is an intriguing lead character. She tells her side of the story and clearly offers a vivid account of all that happens to her. We are left to wonder at times if she really has seen her mother (who is said to have passed) in the form of a mermaid. The world her mind constructs is powerfully suggestive and we easily fall into her beliefs and confusion that arise at times. Crimes are committed and she is first on the scene of each. Is it chance or is there more happening than meets the eye? What mysteries are unfolding, what lore is breaking on the shore of our minds and hers?
Irish born Detective Shaw is another mesmerising lead character. His involvement with Missy is intricate and intriguing as he tries to crack the cases that come his way with her help. We get his perspective which makes him more personal to us. We observe carefully his actions and reactions. He is kind, understanding and caring. Through his questioning, we learn a lot about the other characters Flea, Gust, Missy’s Grandfather Avo—the lighthouse keeper, her mother and Lara—to name a few.
This novel addresses some difficult topics such as postnatal depression—an issue that is very real with many women after giving birth when hormone levels suddenly drop causing a wide variety of symptoms including low spirits, lack of energy, lack of interest in activities, agitation, sleep problems, negative thoughts, etc. Then there is mercury poisoning that I was not aware of in early lighthouse keepers caused by the regular exposure to this deadly substance during the cleaning of lighthouse lenses. It could lead to neurological damage resulting in memory loss, confusion, weakness, hallucinations, mental breakdown—just to name a few side effects. The author handles these issues creatively and respectfully, weaving very real facts into her strong fictional core. The messages come across in a dreamlike way and like the siren’s call, the writing seduces you to take a trip to the mirky depths of these matters. The currents sometimes are strong, the weather moody and menacing, and the journey is filled with bumps, setbacks and startling surprises. And when you have come to the end of the storm and story, the resolutions will forever haunt you. For the memories you have amassed will sting like salt in a wound at the realisations of these characters and what they have gone through and why.
Yes, it is an enlightening, inspiring, mesmerising story that sings like a siren and delivers dangers and delights in many areas. I definitely recommend The Woman in the Waves for it will take you to some areas you may have not been before and lead you to a seabed of adventure, wildness and lore. Hats off to Ms Booker for an amazing, exceptional, unforgettable sea-drenched tale. 5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thanks to Hawkeye Publishing and Camille Booker for a review copy.
It is obvious from the start, that this novel is going to be extra special. Literary lyrical beauty pours from these pages. Camille’s writing style is that of a poet. Images are compact yet fluid and jump out at you in such a fresh original way. They sneak into your psyche as you are immersed into that world of truth and lies, smoke and mirrors, appearances and reality, mystery and magic. This stunning delivery allows you to step off the cliff of the mundane and plunge into the waves of the imagination where you can not only envision the characters, locations and events in living colour but also become part of them as if you are there, not only as a spectator but as a participant.
Missy/Marissa which means ‘of the sea’ is an intriguing lead character. She tells her side of the story and clearly offers a vivid account of all that happens to her. We are left to wonder at times if she really has seen her mother (who is said to have passed) in the form of a mermaid. The world her mind constructs is powerfully suggestive and we easily fall into her beliefs and confusion that arise at times. Crimes are committed and she is first on the scene of each. Is it chance or is there more happening than meets the eye? What mysteries are unfolding, what lore is breaking on the shore of our minds and hers?
Irish born Detective Shaw is another mesmerising lead character. His involvement with Missy is intricate and intriguing as he tries to crack the cases that come his way with her help. We get his perspective which makes him more personal to us. We observe carefully his actions and reactions. He is kind, understanding and caring. Through his questioning, we learn a lot about the other characters Flea, Gust, Missy’s Grandfather Avo—the lighthouse keeper, her mother and Lara—to name a few.
This novel addresses some difficult topics such as postnatal depression—an issue that is very real with many women after giving birth when hormone levels suddenly drop causing a wide variety of symptoms including low spirits, lack of energy, lack of interest in activities, agitation, sleep problems, negative thoughts, etc. Then there is mercury poisoning that I was not aware of in early lighthouse keepers caused by the regular exposure to this deadly substance during the cleaning of lighthouse lenses. It could lead to neurological damage resulting in memory loss, confusion, weakness, hallucinations, mental breakdown—just to name a few side effects. The author handles these issues creatively and respectfully, weaving very real facts into her strong fictional core. The messages come across in a dreamlike way and like the siren’s call, the writing seduces you to take a trip to the mirky depths of these matters. The currents sometimes are strong, the weather moody and menacing, and the journey is filled with bumps, setbacks and startling surprises. And when you have come to the end of the storm and story, the resolutions will forever haunt you. For the memories you have amassed will sting like salt in a wound at the realisations of these characters and what they have gone through and why.
Yes, it is an enlightening, inspiring, mesmerising story that sings like a siren and delivers dangers and delights in many areas. I definitely recommend The Woman in the Waves for it will take you to some areas you may have not been before and lead you to a seabed of adventure, wildness and lore. Hats off to Ms Booker for an amazing, exceptional, unforgettable sea-drenched tale. 5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thanks to Hawkeye Publishing and Camille Booker for a review copy.
February 24, 2025
Chilling and stunningly executed, a dark novel of considerable power, gothic in its intensity with heart thumping suspense. Set in Widow’s Peak, an isolated New South Wales coastal fishing town, where Missy Green helps her father fish the ocean as shadowy and restless as her thoughts. Her father Gust is a taciturn fisherman and both he and Avȏ, her eccentric lighthouse keeper grandfather, hold secrets about her deceased mother which she cannot unlock. Every day Missy thinks about her mother Neve and her mysterious disappearance but cannot find solace. She projects strange and fanciful thoughts into things connected with the sea including a mermaid sighting. The dialogue between father and daughter is snippy and uncomfortable when later a body washes up on the shoreline. I realised Missy needed a confidante. Enter handsome Irish copper Detective Ronan Shaw and several moody and enlightening pages later Missy crosses his path. Later the gangster Sonny Fynn shows up. The story background is well done, including grim flashbacks, uninviting docks where Missy’s friend Flea works, and the eerie white lighthouse. Favourite quote on page 146 when Shaw asks ‘I’m just wondering what kind of person it takes to run a lighthouse. Coelho answers The kind that prefers a solitary life. Most wickies fall into three categories: romantic, pioneer, isolationist.’
For the sake of historical interest, there’s an unrelated yet spectacular car chase. Taking into consideration this is 1921 and the car was a Model T Ford, if a sly grog villain was cornered by a police officer, would the officer really say ‘Freeze’ in the middle of Australian bushland? To nit-pick further, the date when Detective Shaw passes through Canberra (a nice piece of historical commentary BTW) Parliament House wasn’t official until 1927. Does it matter? In the interesting coal mining chapter, at this time coal would have been measured in tons. I did like the backstory snippets: Shaw’s personal moment of reflection fighting on the Hindenburg Line when he encounters a docile delivery horse in a Widow’s Peak street counteracting the more brutal war scenes from his past. But historical data aside, this story has quite a unique edge to it and I will not easily forget the nightmarish, skin-crawling and confusing moments Missy experiences. As Detective Shaw digs deeper he begins to unravel the family’s conflict and deception. It’s touch-and-go who will survive the bitter reveal and who finds emotional resolution. Trigger warnings are at the front of this book and health information at the end. Award-winning author Camille Booker has another book coming in 2026 ‘Code Name Funnel Web’ and the mere title makes my spine shiver.
For the sake of historical interest, there’s an unrelated yet spectacular car chase. Taking into consideration this is 1921 and the car was a Model T Ford, if a sly grog villain was cornered by a police officer, would the officer really say ‘Freeze’ in the middle of Australian bushland? To nit-pick further, the date when Detective Shaw passes through Canberra (a nice piece of historical commentary BTW) Parliament House wasn’t official until 1927. Does it matter? In the interesting coal mining chapter, at this time coal would have been measured in tons. I did like the backstory snippets: Shaw’s personal moment of reflection fighting on the Hindenburg Line when he encounters a docile delivery horse in a Widow’s Peak street counteracting the more brutal war scenes from his past. But historical data aside, this story has quite a unique edge to it and I will not easily forget the nightmarish, skin-crawling and confusing moments Missy experiences. As Detective Shaw digs deeper he begins to unravel the family’s conflict and deception. It’s touch-and-go who will survive the bitter reveal and who finds emotional resolution. Trigger warnings are at the front of this book and health information at the end. Award-winning author Camille Booker has another book coming in 2026 ‘Code Name Funnel Web’ and the mere title makes my spine shiver.
June 28, 2025
Camille Booker's debut novel is atmospheric and spooky. It's set in 1921 in a fishing village on the south coast of NSW. Missy Green is nineteen years old and works with her father on his fishing trawler, and spends time with her grandfather, the town's reclusive lighthouse keeper.
Missy misses her mother's presence and this sense of loss and mystery about her death permeates the narrative. I always picture my mother, Neve, as this woman in the photograph. Barely a woman, a girl, seventeen. Her dark hair almost covering her face from a gust of wind, caught forever in this image. That gust has probably travelled across the whole world a hundred times by now. I wonder if it has ever blown through my own hair. This is how she has stayed in my mind, over the years, frozen in a moment of happiness. In a gentle, vulnerable pose. I cannot imagine her aged.
Missy discovers the dead body of a woman washed up on the beach. She starts to experience hallucinations of a mermaid in the sea, is it her mother, calling her to join her in the water?
These misgivings aside, this book has some beautifully lyrical moments, and I look forward to reading Camille's next book.
Missy misses her mother's presence and this sense of loss and mystery about her death permeates the narrative. I always picture my mother, Neve, as this woman in the photograph. Barely a woman, a girl, seventeen. Her dark hair almost covering her face from a gust of wind, caught forever in this image. That gust has probably travelled across the whole world a hundred times by now. I wonder if it has ever blown through my own hair. This is how she has stayed in my mind, over the years, frozen in a moment of happiness. In a gentle, vulnerable pose. I cannot imagine her aged.
Missy discovers the dead body of a woman washed up on the beach. She starts to experience hallucinations of a mermaid in the sea, is it her mother, calling her to join her in the water?
These misgivings aside, this book has some beautifully lyrical moments, and I look forward to reading Camille's next book.
March 30, 2025
This book hooks you in from the very first chapter. I was enthralled from the beginning by the amazing descriptive language Camille used throughout.
This story has so many aspects, well researched scientific and historical facts along with real known places as well as a fictional town, all wrapped around a who done it mystery with suspense and a touch of romance. From the very start, the real and the imaginary work together. The impact of the sea creatures and the haunting atmospheric setting of the ocean lure the reader in. The Woman In The Waves is set in a fictional coastal town in the Illawarra region of the NSW south coast in the 1920’s. We meet Missy Green, a fisherman’s daughter and the tale is told from her point of view. We watch and wonder as Missy navigates her life but also as she works to uncover the secrets of her past that have always haunted her. We see her as she struggles physically and mentally trying desperately to find the truth. In contrast to Missy we have Detective Rohan Shaw and we see things from his police point of view. We watch and wonder as they get to know each other. Many powerful themes are explored including mental health, the impact of post war on men, motherhood, women’s secrets, and family relationships. This book delivers so much through a salty briny tale with lighthouses, mermaids and gangsters,full of secrets, tension and romance. Then,the deep and dark undertow pulls you in right to the end…watch out for the truth!
Highly recommend this tale, especially if you love historical fictions, 1920’s, seaside stories mystery and murder.
This story has so many aspects, well researched scientific and historical facts along with real known places as well as a fictional town, all wrapped around a who done it mystery with suspense and a touch of romance. From the very start, the real and the imaginary work together. The impact of the sea creatures and the haunting atmospheric setting of the ocean lure the reader in. The Woman In The Waves is set in a fictional coastal town in the Illawarra region of the NSW south coast in the 1920’s. We meet Missy Green, a fisherman’s daughter and the tale is told from her point of view. We watch and wonder as Missy navigates her life but also as she works to uncover the secrets of her past that have always haunted her. We see her as she struggles physically and mentally trying desperately to find the truth. In contrast to Missy we have Detective Rohan Shaw and we see things from his police point of view. We watch and wonder as they get to know each other. Many powerful themes are explored including mental health, the impact of post war on men, motherhood, women’s secrets, and family relationships. This book delivers so much through a salty briny tale with lighthouses, mermaids and gangsters,full of secrets, tension and romance. Then,the deep and dark undertow pulls you in right to the end…watch out for the truth!
Highly recommend this tale, especially if you love historical fictions, 1920’s, seaside stories mystery and murder.
May 7, 2025
The Woman in the Waves
This spooky, atmospheric, haunting piece of genius had me hooked from the very first sentence. With its delicious prose, and sense of time and space, I could taste the briny sea, and smell the remnants of the heinous crimes committed as part of the mystery element of the tale.
It’s an overcast, dull day 1921 when Missy happens across a dead body that has washed up on her local beach. An investigation begins, but this is only the start of the grisly deaths that keep popping up around the small village of Widows Peak.
With mermaids and murder, and World War One references, we experience a tale that is part historical fiction, part gothic, part mystery, and with a sprig of romance, it really does cover a lot of delicious ground. A twisty, turny journey of uncertainty. Booker’s prose is exquisite, oozing off the page like an octopus through a manhole. Not to mention the cleverly crafted suspense throughout that really kept the book in my hands long after bedtime.
I enjoyed every minute of this, and was left wanting more by the end. Highly recommended.
#myfavouriteline (there were literally a gazillion to choose from) ‘The blanket of crabs scuttles from the rock shelf, up the path, between the tuffs of grass and shrubs that cling to the cliff wall. The octopus glides along with them, and my stomach trembles with fear.’
This spooky, atmospheric, haunting piece of genius had me hooked from the very first sentence. With its delicious prose, and sense of time and space, I could taste the briny sea, and smell the remnants of the heinous crimes committed as part of the mystery element of the tale.
It’s an overcast, dull day 1921 when Missy happens across a dead body that has washed up on her local beach. An investigation begins, but this is only the start of the grisly deaths that keep popping up around the small village of Widows Peak.
With mermaids and murder, and World War One references, we experience a tale that is part historical fiction, part gothic, part mystery, and with a sprig of romance, it really does cover a lot of delicious ground. A twisty, turny journey of uncertainty. Booker’s prose is exquisite, oozing off the page like an octopus through a manhole. Not to mention the cleverly crafted suspense throughout that really kept the book in my hands long after bedtime.
I enjoyed every minute of this, and was left wanting more by the end. Highly recommended.
#myfavouriteline (there were literally a gazillion to choose from) ‘The blanket of crabs scuttles from the rock shelf, up the path, between the tuffs of grass and shrubs that cling to the cliff wall. The octopus glides along with them, and my stomach trembles with fear.’
January 6, 2025
Book 1: The woman in the waves
This story is packed with grit and lingers in your mind long after reading it. It's dark, intriguing, gothic and historical! Missy the protagonist is the epitome of an unreliable narrator, and she sucks you right in to the point you don't know what is truth, lies or that murky space in between.
I loved the pull of the sea, its beauty and power, and Camille's evocative descriptions of the waves, what lies beneath and all its creatures. So beautiful, and so intimidating!
The dialogue takes you to a world long past, covered in fish guts, blood and salt. I could smell this little seaside town in Missy's hair, her bedroom, her father's boat and the old lighthouse. It permeates into the story, like a real character. Very sensory, and so cinematic!
I was honoured to add a reader's blurb when I first read this book, which sums up my thoughts in less words: "This unique story is so atmospheric and intriguing, it crept under my skin and stayed there long after I stopped reading. Camille has drawn Missy in a perfectly imperfect way: naive but cunning, selfish but loving. Get ready to be mesmerised, wave by wave and chapter by chapter."
I hope you enjoy this original story as much as I did!
5 stars from me!
This story is packed with grit and lingers in your mind long after reading it. It's dark, intriguing, gothic and historical! Missy the protagonist is the epitome of an unreliable narrator, and she sucks you right in to the point you don't know what is truth, lies or that murky space in between.
I loved the pull of the sea, its beauty and power, and Camille's evocative descriptions of the waves, what lies beneath and all its creatures. So beautiful, and so intimidating!
The dialogue takes you to a world long past, covered in fish guts, blood and salt. I could smell this little seaside town in Missy's hair, her bedroom, her father's boat and the old lighthouse. It permeates into the story, like a real character. Very sensory, and so cinematic!
I was honoured to add a reader's blurb when I first read this book, which sums up my thoughts in less words: "This unique story is so atmospheric and intriguing, it crept under my skin and stayed there long after I stopped reading. Camille has drawn Missy in a perfectly imperfect way: naive but cunning, selfish but loving. Get ready to be mesmerised, wave by wave and chapter by chapter."
I hope you enjoy this original story as much as I did!
5 stars from me!
February 22, 2025
If you're yet to read THE WOMAN IN THE WAVES, let me swim you through it...
It's historical fiction, but it's also a mystery. It's a police procedural, but there's also romantic tension. This book gives, and gives, and gives in a way that few others do.
It's written from two points of view—Missy, a fisherman's daughter who is haunted by the past and her own slippery mind—and Shaw, an Irish police detective assigned to the murder case of a young woman whom Missy discovers washed up on the beach.
This is not a story you simply read. It is one you are plunged into. The setting is atmospheric and eerie, as though you're experiencing the fictional world through the murky, bracing sea itself. The queen of motif, Camille's stunning prose is layered with symbolism and hidden meaning, and she holds the themes of secrets and the sea with an unflinching gaze from the first immersive chapter to the startling conclusion. With character names like Gust and Shaw, and every metaphor drawn from the briny depths, you never lose the sense that you are being held by a master storyteller.
There's crime and lies and betrayals and past trauma and new love, and if you're like me, you won't want it to end—but you will be powerless against the story's siren song. In short, this novel is a beautiful way to drown.
It's historical fiction, but it's also a mystery. It's a police procedural, but there's also romantic tension. This book gives, and gives, and gives in a way that few others do.
It's written from two points of view—Missy, a fisherman's daughter who is haunted by the past and her own slippery mind—and Shaw, an Irish police detective assigned to the murder case of a young woman whom Missy discovers washed up on the beach.
This is not a story you simply read. It is one you are plunged into. The setting is atmospheric and eerie, as though you're experiencing the fictional world through the murky, bracing sea itself. The queen of motif, Camille's stunning prose is layered with symbolism and hidden meaning, and she holds the themes of secrets and the sea with an unflinching gaze from the first immersive chapter to the startling conclusion. With character names like Gust and Shaw, and every metaphor drawn from the briny depths, you never lose the sense that you are being held by a master storyteller.
There's crime and lies and betrayals and past trauma and new love, and if you're like me, you won't want it to end—but you will be powerless against the story's siren song. In short, this novel is a beautiful way to drown.
March 3, 2025
This much-anticipated novel by multi-awarded Hawkeye author, Camille Booker arrived last week, and I devoured it in a couple of days. The writing lures you in. It is poetic and visceral, with the setting a powerful character in her own right.
The main character, Missy is elusive. Bold, yet lonely. Curious and quiet, yet aggressive. As a reader I was both charmed and shocked by her but as a character she grips you and doesn’t let go until you reach the last page.
Booker has researched post World War I Australia meticulously, capturing the horror relived daily by returned soldiers, the challenges of law enforcement in a young nation established by brute force. We see its capital city still raw and new, with social issues like the prohibition dominated by political expediency and financial gain. The sphere of mental health is an unexplored wasteland, reflected in an indifferent sea and harsh landscape. And between these layers of history and social commentary, Booker’s characters emerge, their stories mysteriously entwined, their secrets drawing them into a spiral from which none emerge unscathed. It is impossible to read this book without it leaving a deep imprint in your imagination. A dark, exquisitely written novel.
The main character, Missy is elusive. Bold, yet lonely. Curious and quiet, yet aggressive. As a reader I was both charmed and shocked by her but as a character she grips you and doesn’t let go until you reach the last page.
Booker has researched post World War I Australia meticulously, capturing the horror relived daily by returned soldiers, the challenges of law enforcement in a young nation established by brute force. We see its capital city still raw and new, with social issues like the prohibition dominated by political expediency and financial gain. The sphere of mental health is an unexplored wasteland, reflected in an indifferent sea and harsh landscape. And between these layers of history and social commentary, Booker’s characters emerge, their stories mysteriously entwined, their secrets drawing them into a spiral from which none emerge unscathed. It is impossible to read this book without it leaving a deep imprint in your imagination. A dark, exquisitely written novel.
July 8, 2025
This book is the embodiment of trusting the process of a new book, a new author, and a new experience. I’m afraid this beautifully written book would have passed me by had I not met the lovely Camille at a book launch earlier this year. I rarely read historical fiction, and I do love when it works out this way. What a heady blend of all the hefty themes, surprising me at every possible moment.
Gripping and atmospheric, the ever building of suspense in the surrounds of a troubled ocean and the equally troubled mind of Missy, a beautiful young woman scarred by her past felt like a perfect mix of love story versus a fraught and fragile state of mind.
I loved the capable Ronan Shaw who was not at all flawed, the perfect gentleman. Teaming up with Missy to unearth the mystery of a woman found dead on the sand, spat out by this dread filled ocean. Missy is envisioning a mermaid, her mind a mess of reality and hallucination. What is real?
I was blindly taken in by Missy, and held safely by Ronan, swept up in the quickness of their union and the desperation of their search. Deftly executed with all manner of surprises, I was swept along with this mercurial tale of the ocean amongst the trauma and the moments of love. Mystical, gothic and eerie.. and the cover, how beautiful!
Gripping and atmospheric, the ever building of suspense in the surrounds of a troubled ocean and the equally troubled mind of Missy, a beautiful young woman scarred by her past felt like a perfect mix of love story versus a fraught and fragile state of mind.
I loved the capable Ronan Shaw who was not at all flawed, the perfect gentleman. Teaming up with Missy to unearth the mystery of a woman found dead on the sand, spat out by this dread filled ocean. Missy is envisioning a mermaid, her mind a mess of reality and hallucination. What is real?
I was blindly taken in by Missy, and held safely by Ronan, swept up in the quickness of their union and the desperation of their search. Deftly executed with all manner of surprises, I was swept along with this mercurial tale of the ocean amongst the trauma and the moments of love. Mystical, gothic and eerie.. and the cover, how beautiful!
June 11, 2025
I'm utterly blown away by how brilliant the writing is and the evocative mood created through the use of landscape and the protagonist's senses.
At times it reads like historical fiction, at others a gothic thriller or a crime mystery, but the author weaves these threads so seamlessly, she creates a genre all her own.
The natural imagery is breathtaking, the plot pulse-pounding, and the tender love story running beneath it all is masterfully told. I devoured it in two days - and that twist at the end? I did not see it coming!
The lighthouse is a character of its own. The landscape and sea cast a brooding, almost mythic mood over the story as we follow Missy Green in 1921. She’s helping the very charming Detective Ronan Shaw (think: Tommy Shelby from Peaky Blinders - but a good guy) solve the mystery of a woman’s body that washes ashore… while also confronting the ghost of her mother and her visions of mermaids that haunt the waves
A beautiful, tragic, and mesmerising read that conjures sirens, gangsters, secrets, murder, and a love story that lingers long after you turn the final page.
January 22, 2025
You won't be forgetting this book anytime soon...
Thank you to the author for giving me an ARC of the book.
The first thing that struck me about this book was the beautiful and descriptive language from the very first page. Camille manages to weave myth and legends with superstition and fact while bringing the characters to life.
You are made to feel as if you are in the ocean, you can feel the waves and spray (and smell the fish guts!) of the ocean. Particularly the scenes with the octopus you feel as if the creature is right in front of you.
The book has an ominous and gothic feel and you're never quite sure who is telling the truth within the characters as everyone is looking out for themselves when a body washes ashore. Told from two perspectives, this book is both historical and crime that will have you racing to the end. I won't lie. I finished this book and went Holy s***
I mean it when I say I won't forget this book anytime soon, in all the best kind of ways.
Highly recommend.
Thank you to the author for giving me an ARC of the book.
The first thing that struck me about this book was the beautiful and descriptive language from the very first page. Camille manages to weave myth and legends with superstition and fact while bringing the characters to life.
You are made to feel as if you are in the ocean, you can feel the waves and spray (and smell the fish guts!) of the ocean. Particularly the scenes with the octopus you feel as if the creature is right in front of you.
The book has an ominous and gothic feel and you're never quite sure who is telling the truth within the characters as everyone is looking out for themselves when a body washes ashore. Told from two perspectives, this book is both historical and crime that will have you racing to the end. I won't lie. I finished this book and went Holy s***
I mean it when I say I won't forget this book anytime soon, in all the best kind of ways.
Highly recommend.
March 3, 2025
I was gifted this book by Hawkeye Publishing and Camille Booker as an early reader, and I’m so glad I had the chance to experience it.
The story follows Missy and a detective as they navigate a community full of secrets, trying to uncover the mystery behind a woman found deceased on the shore. While I usually lean toward faster-paced novels, this one had me wishing I had more time to read because I was completely hooked.
This book is packed with mystery, suspense, and intrigue. The author did an exceptional job weaving in Australian history, myth, and legend, making the story feel both immersive and uniquely rich. Her vocabulary is outstanding—she captures vivid imagery with relatable analogies that stay true to the character’s voice.
Missy’s journey is both haunting and heartbreaking as she struggles to distinguish between reality and the hallucinations of a mermaid that seem to consume her mind. The execution was superb, and I was thoroughly impressed.
The story follows Missy and a detective as they navigate a community full of secrets, trying to uncover the mystery behind a woman found deceased on the shore. While I usually lean toward faster-paced novels, this one had me wishing I had more time to read because I was completely hooked.
This book is packed with mystery, suspense, and intrigue. The author did an exceptional job weaving in Australian history, myth, and legend, making the story feel both immersive and uniquely rich. Her vocabulary is outstanding—she captures vivid imagery with relatable analogies that stay true to the character’s voice.
Missy’s journey is both haunting and heartbreaking as she struggles to distinguish between reality and the hallucinations of a mermaid that seem to consume her mind. The execution was superb, and I was thoroughly impressed.
January 14, 2025
The coastal setting, vivid descriptions, and gothic undertones make this book unforgettable.
Missy. What a complex character. She’s not your typical historical fiction heroine, and that’s exactly why I loved her. She’s gutsy but flawed, curious but cautious. Watching her navigate this eerie world where myth and reality collide is so compelling. And that moment she glimpses the mermaid is breathtakingly written. Not a fairytale, but dark, haunting, and exactly what you’d expect from Camille’s style.
And the gothic undertones in this novel absolutely deliver! There’s this constant sense of foreboding that lingers from the beginning and by the time you reach the final chapters, you’re completely immersed. And the payoff? Absolutely worth it.
Missy. What a complex character. She’s not your typical historical fiction heroine, and that’s exactly why I loved her. She’s gutsy but flawed, curious but cautious. Watching her navigate this eerie world where myth and reality collide is so compelling. And that moment she glimpses the mermaid is breathtakingly written. Not a fairytale, but dark, haunting, and exactly what you’d expect from Camille’s style.
And the gothic undertones in this novel absolutely deliver! There’s this constant sense of foreboding that lingers from the beginning and by the time you reach the final chapters, you’re completely immersed. And the payoff? Absolutely worth it.
March 31, 2025
The book starts with that eerie, atmospheric feel. The one that excites us for the read ahead.
And it continues all the way through.
It is a fabulous story about Missy Green, who has been brought up by her father and her grandfather, who lives in the lighthouse.
She never knew her mother, but upon discovering a dead body of a woman on the beach, Missy has hallucinations of her mother.
As her hallucinations worsen, and more people are found dead, Missy has to come to terms with the thought that someone she loves is responsible.
As you read the chapters, that eeriness strengthens, your thoughts deepen, and the atmosphere rages like a storm at sea.
What a beautiful and mesmerising book this is.
And it continues all the way through.
It is a fabulous story about Missy Green, who has been brought up by her father and her grandfather, who lives in the lighthouse.
She never knew her mother, but upon discovering a dead body of a woman on the beach, Missy has hallucinations of her mother.
As her hallucinations worsen, and more people are found dead, Missy has to come to terms with the thought that someone she loves is responsible.
As you read the chapters, that eeriness strengthens, your thoughts deepen, and the atmosphere rages like a storm at sea.
What a beautiful and mesmerising book this is.
January 6, 2025
This is a wonderful read. Fans of historical fiction will love this novel. The characters are intriguing, the setting atmospheric and the 1920s period has been recreated masterfully. There are dark undertones with dreamy elements of the unworldly (watch out for mermaids). Missy Green is a complex character and the reader is taking along on her journey of change, her world growing darker. Beware - people may not be who you think they are, especially Missy?! Nice plot twists at the end. Camille Booker has backed up from her first novel What If You Fly with this salt of the earth historical mystery. Read it - you'll love it.
February 4, 2025
The Woman in the Waves is a mesmeric historical story written by a unique talent. Booker takes us back to a gothic 1921 on the east coast of Australia when a fisherman’s daughter, Missy, stumbles upon a body. This vivid encounter sets up Missy’s quest to understand the legends of the sea and the disappearance of her mother. With tightlipped locals, a new detective on the case, and a lighthouse overseeing all, the stench and mystery of this eerie fisherman’s village is spellbinding.
I’m mad for this one!
I’m mad for this one!
March 23, 2025
A haunting and enchanting read that will stay with you long after you put the book down. I took my time with this one, savouring the mysterious, seafaring world that Camille Booker creates so beautifully. A story of mystery, madness, and unbearable loss. The depths of the sea are matched by the depths of the human psyche in this heartbreaking and mind-bending novel that will have you questioning the nature of reality and the possibilities that exist beyond the here and now.
April 13, 2025
A Sadly beautiful tale
While I suspected I didn’t want to believe it to be possible. A heroine, a strong woman, a monster, mercury - the real monster
I could feel smell and taste the rough south coast waves and rocks . This was so beautifully written. So many possibilities and so many twists and it certainly had my mind wandering into ourworld of fantasy- the possibility of mermaids and the power of the octopus. I’m looking forward to reading something else by the author.
While I suspected I didn’t want to believe it to be possible. A heroine, a strong woman, a monster, mercury - the real monster
I could feel smell and taste the rough south coast waves and rocks . This was so beautifully written. So many possibilities and so many twists and it certainly had my mind wandering into ourworld of fantasy- the possibility of mermaids and the power of the octopus. I’m looking forward to reading something else by the author.
January 6, 2025
Truly one of the most gripping, immersive, and haunting novels I've read in a long, long time. Booker's prose is deliciously elegant, and her characters are intricately constructed works of art. The world-building is magnificently visceral, too---I felt as though I could taste the briny waves of Widow's Peak every time I turned the page.
Don't miss this one---it's an absolute must-read.
Don't miss this one---it's an absolute must-read.
January 20, 2025
The Woman in the Waves is an atmospheric coastal mystery full of suspense and intrigue. Set in a small fishing town in 1920s Australia, Booker’s beautiful prose and masterful storytelling bring the coast to life on each sea-drenched page. I couldn’t put this down; the characters and evocative coastal setting haunted me afterwards.
February 3, 2025
Thank you to Camille Booker for sending me a digital copy of her book The Woman In The Waves to read and review.
This was a dark intriguing read with a rich atmospheric setting. Well developed characters and at times haunting imagery. I couldn't put it down just like Missy I felt like I was being called. The ending will stay with me for a while.
This was a dark intriguing read with a rich atmospheric setting. Well developed characters and at times haunting imagery. I couldn't put it down just like Missy I felt like I was being called. The ending will stay with me for a while.
February 10, 2025
Wow! Not sure what I was expecting, but this book was utterly gripping and beautifully written. Set in a tiny fishing village on the NSW south coast following the Great War, 'The Woman in the Waves' is a highly atmospheric read filled with suspense and dark twisty turns that culminate in an ending you won't see coming. Brilliant work from Camille Booker - an author to watch.
March 21, 2025
This is a dark, moody and sumptuous treat that builds slowly before surging to a dramatic close.
I sometimes find the gothic historical fiction genre tricky to get into, but for talented writers like Hannah Kent and Camille Booker I am willing to dive in and get swept away. Gorgeous lingering prose in a foggy seaside setting with a secret romance made for excellent reading.
I sometimes find the gothic historical fiction genre tricky to get into, but for talented writers like Hannah Kent and Camille Booker I am willing to dive in and get swept away. Gorgeous lingering prose in a foggy seaside setting with a secret romance made for excellent reading.
March 24, 2025
A captivating novel with everything you could ask for: amazing character development, intriguing plot, historical information on Australia. Could not put the book down. The suspense of the plot had me enthralled until the very end. This is the second book I have read of Camille Booker's and my only sadness is that there isn't another out already to read. Amazing author!
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