The Deepest Water

by Kate Wilhelm

Considered "one of the masters of psychological fiction in America" (San Francisco Chronicle), Kate Wilhelm serves up an irresistably chilling puzzle that will keep readers captivated until the very end.

When Jud Connors, a successful writer, is found murdered in his isolated cabin in the woods of Oregon, his daughter Abby's world starts to fall apart. Who wanted her father dead and why? More puzzling is how anyone could have gotten to the cabin undetected. Was the murderer someone Jud knew?

As Abby embarks on her own investigation, she soon realizes that the clue to the murderer's identity is buried in her father's latest novel, finished just weeks before his death. But will she be able to see through the fiction in time -- before the killer comes after her?

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Audiobook, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Detective

384 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 1, 2000

About the author

Kate Wilhelm’s first short story, “The Pint-Sized Genie” was published in Fantastic Stories in 1956. Her first novel, MORE BITTER THAN DEATH, a mystery, was published in 1963. Over the span of her career, her writing has crossed over the genres of science fiction, speculative fiction, fantasy and magical realism, psychological suspense, mimetic, comic, and family sagas, a multimedia stage production, and radio plays. She returned to writing mysteries in 1990 with the acclaimed Charlie Meiklejohn and Constance Leidl Mysteries and the Barbara Holloway series of legal thrillers.

Wilhelm’s works have been adapted for television and movies in numerous countries; her novels and stories have been translated to more than a dozen languages. She has contributed to Quark, Orbit,  Magazine of Fantasy and ScienceFiction, Locus, Amazing Stories, Asimov’s Science Fiction, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine,  Fantastic, Omni, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Redbook, and Cosmopolitan.

Kate Wilhelm is the widow of acclaimed science fiction author and editor, Damon Knight (1922-2002), with whom she founded the Clarion Writers’ Workshop and the Milford Writers’ Conference, described in her 2005 non-fiction work, STORYTELLER. They lectured together at universities across three continents; Kate has continued to offer interviews, talks, and monthly workshops.

Kate Wilhelm has received two Hugo awards, three Nebulas, as well as Jupiter, Locus, Spotted Owl, Prix Apollo, Kristen Lohman awards, among others. She was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2003. In 2009, Kate was the recipient of one of the first Solstice Awards presented by the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA) in recognition of her contributions to the field of science fiction. 

Kate’s highly popular Barbara Holloway mysteries, set in Eugene, Oregon, opened with Death Qualified in 1990. Mirror, Mirror, released in 2017, is the series’ 14th novel.

Reviews

[Moira · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice setup (rendolent of Hitchcock's Suspicion), great setting as always, but the character interactions are flat, when they need to carry this kind of thriller, and the plot oddly dull. It should be like that Hitchcock description of suspense - the audience knows a bomb's under the table but the heroine doesn't - but it just isn't. It doesn't help the two (male) villains, the investigating homicide dick, and the Famous Godlike Writer-Father are all straight asshole. Wilhelm goes for the old trick of describing the supposed great writing without showing any excerpts of it, which can work but in this case just makes the book feel more hollow.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though not a fan of murder mysteries, “Deepest Water” was a very satisfying read for me. Abby Connor’s father was murdered, and—not trusting the police investigator--she set out to find his killer. The setting in a remote cottage near Bend, Oregon, was idyllic, and it simultaneously created both serenity and suspense. The other two female characters, Abby’s former college professor Willa—recently her father’s lover—and an elderly motherly neighbor, Felicia, were both very likable. Abby’s father was a novelist, and the twist that I most enjoyed was that he disguised actual friends and acquaintances as characters in his books. It was up to Abby to discover the killer in her dad’s most recent unpublished book. The story was predictable, and even I, no expert in crime drama, was way ahead of Abby in nabbing the guilty one. Still, it held my attention, and, since I detest the cat-and-mouse impending violence of the final chapter of many crime dramas, I loved the low-key ending of the book. I think I should try another Kate Wilhelm story.

[Shawna Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the narrator's voice. She had a great range of voices for all the characters. The story was such a great peeling away of layers. Prior to the age of Bernie Madoff and the news about so many criminal activities taking place in the financial sector, most people would assume a "banker" was someone who was the opposite of a gambling addict, right? Abby's first marriage had ended when her father revealed her husband's gambling addiction and paid him off to get out of Abby's life. The second time around, she married a high level banker. When her father is killed in his remote lakeside cabin, Abby and two other women from her father's life slowly untangle the mysteries of his last book and his life as well as the people Abby's father loved (and despised). Great suspense at the end!

[Wendy Hearder-moan · Rating 3 out of 5]

As other reviewers have pointed out, there was not much of a mystery about who killed Jud Vickers. For me the question at the end was whether or not Abby would really have killed her husband if her friends has not solved the problem for her. It would have been self defence and perhaps the instinct to survive would have caused her to pull the trigger, but she seemed to be wavering.

[Cherie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story and wonderful narration on the audio book.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Deepest Water was everything I expected from a Kate Wilhelm novel and more. Suspenseful enough to keep me up reading late into the night/early morning.

[Biana]

This is much like any murder mystery, it doesn't stand out as anything fantastic. And I enjoyed listening to the tale, which included some places I'm familiar with.

I have 2 complaints, however. The main character Abby is in her second marriage. She learned so much the first time, has been happily married in the second. And yet, she's in her 20s. You know what people?!?!?! Life continues beyond the 20s. Sometimes things happen to people in their 30s or even 40s. It's okay. And if the goal is a radical change "so much ahead of you", that crap...it's still valid in the 40s. UGH.

Second, the narrator of the book Marguerite Gavin has a great voice. One that I can sink into. She makes adjustments for different characters but it's not out of reach. But she didn't pronounce Willamette correctly. And now that false teaching is even more ingrained in the non-PNW crowd.

It's Willamette, Dammit.

[Elaine Cramer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I made a new shelf for this, dark comedy. Not that this was intended as a comedy, but there was some definite dark humor in the resolution of the book. Not that I think it was much of a mystery either. It seemed pretty clear who the culprit was early, very early on. I only doubted it because I wasn't sure if it would turn out to be a red herring.

There were some well crafted scenes in this book. The burial of Jud was handled very nicely. The MC had a very clear arc, going from irritatingly hapless to kick ass in the end. The villain also had quite the downward spiral. You always knew he was off, but he really turned into quite the tool in the end.

The rest of the characters were pretty one dimensional, though uniquely characterized. I quite liked the story, but never felt %100 engaged.

[Heather · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't know where to start. I listened to the book instead of reading it and maybe that's why I'm feeling the way I am. I just felt it was just soooo boring and very much predictable. I have to wonder if maybe the author intended to make the killer so obvious?

I have a 50-60 min work commute, so I had plenty of time to listen, but I literally had to force myself to continue. I felt the main character Abby was an absolute idiot & the other characters were just.....boring. I felt like the author just gave up on the ending & took the easy way out. With a boring end to a boring beginning.

If you have insomnia & want a good tool to help you go to sleep, listen to this on audio. You'll be fast asleep in no time.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

While some reviewers knock this book, I really enjoyed it. Wilhelm is a good author, and it have appreciated several of her books, especially the Barbara Holloway series. This suspenseful thriller is a stand-alone book set in Oregon. Abby's father, a well-known author has been killed. She is coming to grips with this while trying to help the police solve the case. Jud, Abby's father has used people he knows in his novels, and Abby must go through and try to learn who would have motive. I guessed early on who was the guilty one, but the resolution was still suspenseful.

[Yvonne Mendez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very slow start and the culprit was discovered almost half-way through the book, yet it took what seemed like endless chapters piling up evidence against him. Normally when this happens in a mystery novel it's usually a distraction to prevent the reader to see the real culprit, I kept reading thinking there would be a plot twist, but nothing and even the end was flat since there was no final confrontation with the bad guy. Overall the story was entertaining, but not enthralling.

[Dawn Mateo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book with one exception. There was no plot twist. You're basically given a strong hint as to who the killer is in the middle of the book.....and it ended up being that person. I'm use to novels that twist and turn to the end. I still enjoyed this book, even though the ending was a little anti-climatic

[Betty Morrissey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I listened to this book and did not care for the narrator's voice. I thought the story was predictable from the get go and I didn't care about the characters, (even if they were women living in the Northwest). I couldn't get a fix on the cabins, lake, fingers, condo's...nada. Can't recommend.

[Kem · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a unique plot. I enjoyed it. We're led to the culprit fairly quickly, but we can't be sure. Then it becomes obvious and our heroine is in danger. It has a unique ending also. I like this author.

[Alicia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm two hours into this travesty. I don't care who did it. At this point I'd be happy if the pace picked up.

[Cody · Rating 3 out of 5]

Abby father was never there for her in the years that she need him most, because her father split ways with her mom and became an unsuccessful writer. Abby feels closer to Judson Vickers than to anybody else in her life, he is like father to her in some ways.


My overall impression on the book are the plot line is super fast in some parts and super slow in others and I wish that the writer would have made the plot go at the same time and not a varied speed cause it made me lose interest in it in some parts so in other words I did like the book a lot so I wouldn’t read it again. ⅗.
Detail / Description
The authors description of the setting is not the greatest and this is why I give it a ⅗. The author didn’t paint a vivid image in my head the whole time but in some spot the author did put a vivid image in my mind because she was so jumpy with the plot I couldn’t make an image before they went to another plot scene in some spots. No the lot was very descriptive in some spots which made it slow and too broad in other spots which made it to fast. The author puts a good plot in some spots and bad in others and doesn’t do it in all of the parts of the story. Another interesting part in the description is when the author describes the cabin scene when all of the cops come to investigate what happened when the person came and shot Jud.

My opinion on the plot/ action is it deserves a ⅘ here is why. When I first start the book it had a lot of action in the main setting.It was pretty good and after about a little while it got boring to which I almost stop reading it but I stuck with it and it slowly got better, but not great and then it got better. The plot is predictable in some spots but not in others which I like some I can’t say it is so bad. The characters in the beginning had a decent amount of time to develop but later in the book the new characters that came in didn’t have enough time to develop because the plot was moving so fast when some came in they did get anytime to develop. The plot sustain some conflict when Abby is at Juds cabin after he got shot but when the rest of the book is not focusing on that the book doesn’t have very much conflict. The book also has suspense in some spots also when Abby want to hear who murders jud she has suspense is made at that moment I the book.
My overall thoughts about the book The Deepest Water is that I like the book in some spots but in others I don’t like it so that is why I gave it a ⅗.




If you like books that have action a mystery In it and you can handle the fast pace of some parts and the really slow parts of a book this book is the one for you.

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Abby is in shock! Her father Jud, an accomplished author has been murdered in his own home, a remote cabin on the edge of a lake. He had phoned her the day before excited to share some news and asked her to come visit him but she already had plans made with two of her friends so she refused. Abby had always shared a special bond with her father but her visits had become less frequent since she remarried an investor. Her father never seemed to really approve of him but they did get along. Abby was still going to school working to finish her doctorate degree and working in a museum. She learns there was only one copy of her father's latest novel and a CD is missing and it seems part of the story is missing too. Abby has boxes and boxes in his house she has to go through to see if she can discover where the missing pieces are. Her father had an unique way of writing a story usually including characters he knows cleverly disguised into the story. While I suspected early on who the murderer probably was, I enjoyed finding out how she was going to catch the person without being killed herself. Found the book hard to put down!

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this psychological thriller, 48 year old best-selling novelist Jud Connors is found murdered in his isolated lakeside cabin in the Oregon Cascades where he has long done his writing. His daughter Abby begins seeing clues to his murder in his unfinished work, the final book in a trilogy about a boy who grew up in a place much like that of his cabin, fought in Viet Nam, and had secrets from that time to overcome. When the police seem to be stymied in their search for Jud’s killer, it’s up to Abby to decipher those clues. Was it the neighbors who saw themselves in his novels or someone else? As she digs for clues, her husband, Brice, complains that she's ignoring him and his recent losses as an investment broker, unwilling to help him with the large inheritance she will soon receive. With the help of Willa, Jud's lover, and Felicia, his closest friend, Abby realizes that she could be in danger as well.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, I've enjoy other books I've read by Kate Wilhelm, but this was fantastic. The tension held; the plot followed; the characters are well drawn. I love the red herrings -- the father living by himself on a lake, the daughter he would do anything for; the daughter who would do anything for him, but still he has secrets, as tragic as those secrets are. The witty neighbor, the comforting friend, the husband. Just the right level of intensity.. The perfect kind of murder mystery where it is almost less about the murder and more about what we find out about people after they are gone. I enjoyed the way the dad's novel was interwoven and integral to the plot. I just really enjoyed the whole thing from start to finish.

[Lola · Rating 4 out of 5]

In many ways, this is a fairly straightforward mystery, the kind of disposable reading you pick up to read on a airplane.

But Wilhelm has also crafted an engaging psychological study that slowly builds its suspense in a completely non-obvious way. Exactly how she does this is hard to define. The resolution is almost anti-climatic, and yet by steering right around an expected cliche, Wilhelm adds an essential layer. While the mystery itself is not especially memorable, the way Wilhelm lays it out and resolves it leaves a sense of wonderful satisfaction in the mind.

[Sheri faulk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay -
When Jud Connors, a successful writer, is found murdered in his isolated cabin in the woods of Oregon, his daughter Abby's world starts to fall apart. Who wanted her father dead and why? More puzzling is how anyone could have gotten to the cabin undetected. Was the murderer someone Jud knew?
As Abby embarks on her own investigation, she soon realizes that the clue to the murderer's identity is buried in her father's latest novel, finished just weeks before his death. But will she be able to see through the fiction in time before the killer comes after her?

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The mystery that wasn’t a mystery. When everyone knows the killer halfway through the book, or earlier, and you just wait for the characters to catch up… Still, I read to the end, hoping for a twist that never came. The characters were a bit flat. A bit stereotypical. I wish the author had spent more time developing and describing the characters as much as she did the setting. It wasn’t a terrible read. I picked it up in a used book store when I’d forgotten my book while on a weekend getaway. It was engaging and light. A nice departure from my usual reads.

[Kathie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book (have it in paperback) before my Goodreads account. I was weeding out books to give away and decided to reread it before saying goodbye to my physical copy. Im glad I did. It was an enjoyable mystery. I figured out the killer but really enjoyed watching the characters interact and see their responses. It’s almost like watching an episode of Hitchcock presents. Definitely worth a read. Think I’ll buy an electronic copy. Best part was it had been so long since I read it, I didn’t remember crucial points.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intended or not, the way the women in the story were pretty much dismissed made me think of Susan Glaspell's Trifles.

The murder mystery in this story didn't really end up being about who dunnit but rather how. And, the mystery that was most interesting wasn't even about a murderer. Neither of which took away from story but rather added to it. Wilhelm's ability to layer in meaning and depth is what keeps me coming back.

[KDawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book would've benefited from better editing in the audio version. There was not enough blank space left between sections. That being said, I was disappointed that the killer was so obvious - I was waiting for a twist at the end and it never came. You could see who the killer was from 1/3 of the way through. The characters were interesting and I did like them overall. I did finish the book, however, and that is wholly due to the writing itself, so I will not dismiss Wilhelm's other books.

[Oklee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first book by KateWilhelm but it will not be the last. Great descriptions, great character development, good plot. I enjoyed reading about strong women and enjoyed the mystery and the suspence. I appreciate the lack of gore that some murder mysteries seem to high light. The scenery made me want to rent a cabin in the woods of Oregon for a week.

[Maddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this to be a solid whodunnit/domestic thriller. The father-daughter relationship was rather sweet even though we only really see it from one side. I was pleased with the way the whole mystery unraveled and how we got to know our victim through their work. I will admit that that the ending felt a bit anticlimactic for me and the 'big reveal' wasn't much of a surprise.

[Trish · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Wilhelm's Barbara Holloway series, and I love her PNW settings, but this stand-alone novel fell woefully short. Just not enough mystery nor needed drama, nor character development for that matter, nor wonderful description in this mislabeled "mystery." Unfortunate! Maybe it's one of her early ones...

[Livia Moretti · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very well written and interesting book. The story unfolds into another story and another story, but it all ties in together at the end. Without giving away any spoilers, it didn’t take me long to guess who did what & the ending was somewhat unexciting leaving me a bit wanting. Yet I was still glad to have read the book & would recommend it

[June Kathrein · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have read many books by Kate Wilhelm, but this one was not my favorite. Within the first few chapters I had already figured out who was the killer. The story itself was ok but the plot was too easy to figure out.