Elle Connel studied English at the University of St Andrews, and later Shakespearean Studies at Kings College London and Shakespeare's Globe. She has worked as a researcher for Al Jazeera television, a freelance writer while living in Spain, and later as the Cruise Coordinator for the National Trust for Scotland (where she worked onboard a ship, swam amongst icebergs, set foot on St Kilda, and finally learned how to ceilidh dance). She’s now a fulltime writer, based in Edinburgh with her husband and twin sons.
About the book
Seven friends gather at a castle in the Scottish Borders. One last girls' weekend before Georgina's wedding. Near the castle, through a path in the woods, is a loch. After a few bottles of Prosecco, the girls head down to the water to take photos. The loch is wild, lonely, and stunningly beautiful. They set their camera to self-timer and take some group shots. Later, looking back at the pictures, they see something impossible. Behind them, eyes wide, a small, drenched boy emerges from the water. How did he get there; where is he now; and what does he want?
The girls thought they knew each other's darkest secrets, but one of them has been hiding something terrible. Consumed by grief, she's been waiting for the perfect moment to wreak her revenge...
Is it just me or are these women the reason some of us prefer our own company. What a complete and utter nightmare. Instead of support there is disinterest, instead of genuine affection there is an almost competitive need to outdo each other. How very exhausting to keep these kind of relationships and so-called friendships going. Sometimes you have to leave the school, college, university and childhood friendships behind.
Tessa has planned the perfect hen-do for her group of friends, but she has made sure it is particularly perfect for the bride-to-be. In fact one could almost say she has ulterior motives to ensure this trip to a lonely, rural Scottish location goes exactly the way she has imagined it for months.
What Connel does with remarkable accuracy is show the negative side of female friendships, especially women in friendship groups. Unfortunately it isn't all sisterhood and support. It can also evolve into comorbidity and codependency. All the while the negativity is the fuel that cements the relationships and the strange inability to let go of something so harmful.
It's a dark domestic thriller - the kind of read that shows the dark side of toxic relationships. The way some people inflict wounds and leave scars upon others and yet are completely oblivious to the pain and suffering they leave in their wake.
Buy Down by the Water at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Wildfire pub date 8 July 2021 | Hardback | £16.99 - Also available in e-book and audio. Buy at Amazon com.
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