Deadly Waters by Dot Hutchison

Deadly Waters by Dot Hutchison

My Rating: ★★★★

I received a copy from Thomas & Mercer through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rebecca Sorley is just your average college student who is balancing her active social life with her academic career when several male students start turning up dead. While each death occurred under suspicious circumstances, Rebecca and her friends find it odd that each male student killed by alligators are also rapists. When more bodies turn up, it becomes obvious that someone is targeting rapists. There’s a good chance that this vigilante is a student, and the hunt to find them is on.

This isn’t your usual mystery as this is more of a slice of life story with a suspense and murder weaved through it. We follow Rebecca and she does not investigate the murders. However, her friend and love interest, Det Corby, is working the case and he does bring a bit of his side of things into the story. There is an occasional chapter told from the vigilante’s perspective, but otherwise, we’re following Rebecca and her group of friends through a short period of their lives.

I usually read mysteries from the perspective of characters who are investigating crimes, whether detectives or amateur sleuths, so I love that Dot Hutchison came at this story from another direction. It kept things interesting to follow a group of students who are experiencing the change in energy on campus as the crimes unfold. It gave the story a different dynamic because the primary focus was not on the murder mystery. Instead, as the story developed, it focused on survivors of sexual assault and how rape culture blames the victims.

I loved the many characters we follow throughout the story. There’s such a variety of wonderful characters that I would love to see again if this wasn’t a standalone story. I can picture the series continuing should the author choose to do that, but I also like that it’s a standalone and that we’re left to imagine what happens next based on where we last saw everyone.

As far as the mystery itself goes, I found that the chapters from the vigilante’s perspective when they were closing in on their next victim hindered the mystery. It was obvious who the vigilante was from the very beginning. I think that the mystery and suspense would’ve come through a lot better if these chapters were not included because just came off weird sitting next to the rest of the story. Plus, Hutchison’s efforts to shroud the vigilante’s identity just gave her a suddenly very masculine voice compared to every other chapter from her perspective. I seriously wondered if she had some kind of mental break down and didn’t remember killing anyone.

Otherwise, I think this is a great story and I highly recommend reading it if it sounds like a story you’d be interested in checking out.