How do writers come up with plots for mysteries? Amy Meyerson says the seed for her new novel, The Water Lies, was planted when, pregnant with her second child, she was startled how people reacted. Total strangers, without asking, touched her stomach, while others assumed she was fragile and needed help. At the same time, she was watching her mother and mother-in-law who, as older women, often felt invisible.
Tessa Irons and Barbara Geller are in very different places in their lives. Tessa, a jewelry designer, lives with her husband, Gabe, who is a well respected physician operating a fertility clinic. They have an 18 month old son, Jasper, and are expecting a daughter. Barb, a human resources supervisor, is divorced and forced into early retirement after an incident at her company. She has recently reconnected with her daughter, Regina, who has been in and out of rehab.
Tessa and Gabe live in a Venice Beach home surrounded by canals modeled after ones in that famed Italian city, minus the gondolas. The canals empty at low tide, then fill up with fresh water at high tide. Because the area is popular with tourists, the residents are accustomed to people peering into their homes. Several of Tessa’s neighbors actually seem to be exhibitionists, enjoying the attention. One morning, Tessa is upset to find that her neighborhood is drawing spectators for another reason. It’s low tide, and the body of a young woman is found in the canal’s muddy bottom.
Barbara is turning 70 and having a celebratory lunch with her book group, older women who are Jewish, mostly retired, and whose names all end in the letter “a.” (Not a requirement, but just how it happened.) What Barb is really looking forward to is a phone call from Regina. With their relationship still tenuous, Barb hesitates to call but with the day slipping away, she finally does. Regina answers and says she’s in a meeting and will call later. She never does. Barb’s fears are confirmed the next morning when Isaac, her ex-husband, calls with the news that Regina was found dead. Barb can’t accept that Regina was drunk, fell into the canal, and drowned. She wastes no time getting on a plane to Los Angeles.
When Tessa learns the identity of the dead woman, she’s shocked. She and Jasper were in the local coffee cafe when he spotted a young woman sketching on a pad. He began pointing at her saying “Gigi.” Tessa doesn’t recognize the woman, but her son obviously does. When people begin to stare, she hastily leaves. She shows Gabe the photo of the dead women being shown online, but he says he’s never met her and can’t explain Jasper’s reaction.
Barb lands in L.A. and makes a beeline to the canals wanting to see where her daughter died. She also visits the police station, meeting with Detective Gonzalez, who expresses his sympathy over her loss, but insists the evidence supports Regina’s death was an accident. Leaving the station, Barb sees Tessa and recognizes her as the pregnant woman she saw outside her canal house. It won’t be long before the two connect and begin to investigate what really happened to Regina.
Tessa became pregnant with IVF at her husband’s clinic to have Jasper, while this second pregnancy needed no intervention. But she knows the trauma of infertility and what some couples will do to become parents. When the second death is connected to Gabe’s clinic, Tessa wonders if her family, especially Jasper, might be in danger. She and Barb redouble their efforts, convinced the murderer is still out there.
The Water Lies
Amy Meyerson
Top Bigstock photo: Houses on the Venice Beach Canals in California
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