Josie Ashbury grew up in the little town of Lakeview, Ohio, but when she graduated high school, she not only made her way to Los Angeles as a hopeful actress, but she is one of the blessed few to actually hit it big in Hollywood. After years in the spotlight as one of the stars on a procedural cop drama, a nasty breakup with her boyfriend/co-star and a mental breakdown has led her to shedding her public life and returning not only to Lakeview, but to Lakeview High as a teacher.
While Josie is using this time back home to do some major self-care, she isn't quite up to 100% yet. For one, the insomnia that has frequented her life is in full force right now, and it is playing havoc on her schedule (and truth-be-told, her mental state, as well). While she does manage to get a routine together, the sleepless nights are starting to catch up to her. Unfortunately, Josie's life is about to get a lot more complicated when she finds a dead body at the base of the town water tower while out for her morning jog.
The body belongs to a student of Josie's named Amber. Amber seemingly had everything going for her. Not only was she the daughter of esteemed Congressman Clinton Oldham, but she was popular, pretty, and well-liked. While it looks like Amber apparently jumped from the water tower, it quickly becomes clear that there was a major dose of fentanyl in her system, and to make matters worse, she was also pregnant. With the motivations behind Amber's tragic death far muddier than anyone could have imagined, Josie turns to her high school sweetheart, now police officer, Sean, to see if there is anything she can do to help.
Josie recognizes her time as a cop on television doesn't really make her a police officer, but she can't help asking questions of her own. While she doesn't have access to the information that Sean and his team does, and while she doesn't have any real authority in the town, being a local celebrity has more than one benefit and she finds that she has the ability to open a few doors that even the police have trouble getting through.
As Josie, Sean, and Nikki (Josie's oldest friend who now works at the local newspaper) each investigate Amber's death in their own unique ways, it becomes clear that there are some darker secrets just under the surface of Lakeview. Amber's boyfriend gets arrested for possession of fentanyl and he becomes the primary suspect in the teenager's death, but based on Josie's own interviews with the young football player, he doesn't fit the bill. Nikki learns the details about a strange ultra secret nightclub that seems to be connected to Amber's nightlife and Sean starts to find his own investigations slowed down by people higher up the food chain than himself.
As more and more revelations about Amber's recent past come to light, it becomes clearer and clearer to the trio of investigators that there is something bigger going on than just another drug overdose, and all three of them are determined to get to the bottom of it.
As the plot of The Water Tower unfolded to me, I got a good idea of who the killer was, but the exact motivations and details were hard for me to nail down. Young did a great job of presenting all the clues to make this a mystery the reader could solve, and along the way she presented some fun characters that I wouldn't mind seeing in another story. That being said, if this is a one-and-done mystery, then it is a good tale that is worth picking up if you are looking for a fast read.
