There were still many of my unanswered doubts which are still going through my head but some things should remain secrets, which would soon lead to a part two! :p

Jude and Kate have both felt that they finally found their missing half. A person who feels the way they do and understand them but I didn't feel their connection at all. Jude and Kate moved way too fast and it just didn't work for me in this story. Rich in character, Water Under the Bridge is a novel of surprise, bright dreams and foiled ambition, a tapestry of people whose lives, through time and circumstance, become entwined in several ways. Set in Sydney, it begins in 1932 as the Harbour Bridge opens and the future is full of promise.A modern day Crime and Punishment that keeps you on the edge of your seat. A stunning book that manages to terrify and enlighten at the same time. I reread it on a regular basis to remind myself what the best, most empathetic crime journalist can be like." —Gary Shteyngart, author of Lake Success You have to use your buoyancy compensator, make yourself “negatively buoyant,” so you’re almost prone on the bottom. It looks as if you’re doing a push-up. You’re as far down as you could possibly be. Elliott remained in the United States for the remainder of his life, commencing a literary career in 1963 with his autobiographical novel "Careful He Might Hear You", which won the Miles Franklin Award and was subsequently made into a film. He published ten novels in total, several of which dealt with issues from his own childhood and experiences in Australia before the War. Although he increasingly developed a following among Australian readers, Elliott remained uncomfortable with his country of birth, in no small part due to his homosexuality, which had marked him out for difference during his youth. He spent his final years in New York City, dying of cancer in 1991. Easily one of the most harrowing non-fiction books of the year… Godfrey cannily shifts perspectives, which allows for insights not only into the legalities of the case but also into the minds of the teens involved. This is a dark ride."

In Chalk Hill, the core setting of Water Under the Bridge, Malone has issued this reader with a familiar setting, which immediately served to propel me to this novel. Although I haven’t had the pleasure of visiting the exact location featured in Water Under the Bridge, I am familiar with the surrounding region. Lily Malone gets all the finer details of her setting just right in this novel. The locale came across as vivid and colourful. The community that resides in this small town are a likeable and realistic bunch. I loved the sense of community participation and mutual support that came out of this delightful small town. I’m so glad we get a chance to revisit the people and the locale of Chalk Hill again soon, via future books in this series. The portrayal of Shasta, the ageing chorus-girl, is both brutal and sympathetic. She gives up her big break on the stage to take care of him all through the bleak years of the depression, but her resentment about this entrapment and the lost opportunities for fame and for love bleed through into hysterical rants which are legendary in the boarding house. When Neil comes home after the celebrations for the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1932, he is warned to be wary: Which flowed so easily with these two, I loved every interaction between them, the push & pull really gets you hooked! I am sorry if this review is less than organized. It's just that this book has seriously left me with a book hangover that I can't quite contain! I didn’t like the way Malone included Ella’s swimming hang-up into Sam’s problems, however. Even if I could imagine a small Aussie town without a swimming pool, I could never imagine any 10 year old Aussie kid having such limited time in a swimming pool. Every school has compulsory swim lessons, for starters, and did he never get invited to a party at a pool or beach? I’m sorry, I just don’t think it would be that easy to avoid swimming in one of the hotter states of Australia.Jake loves Chalk Hill and life is even better now that Ella has moved into town. The former professional swimmer fascinates him and because she's selling his house there's plenty of time to get to know her. Ella has a past and she's hiding something, Jake would love for her to trust him. Will he manage to win her over? What will happen when Ella discovers his motives behind the high price of the house? Will her dreams be shattered just like they were many years ago or will Ella find happiness in Chalk Hill after all?

Water Under the Bridge shows Lily is one of the best Aussie authors (I have read) when it comes to really nailing characterisation. I LOVE the sound of Chalk Hill as a community and, oh, the joy in that name Honeychurch! Inspired! Under the Bridge is a true crime book about the murder of fourteen-year-old Reena Virk in Canada in 1997. Being in the UK and my teens in that year I don’t remember the case so this crime story was all new to me and I wanted to wait until I had finished the book before Googling it.Elliott began acting and writing for radio during his teens, and showed signs of a promising career during his twenties before he was called for administrative military service in World War II. In 1948, Elliott relocated to the United States where he became a highly regarded television scriptwriter. As a fiercely intelligent and bold person, he made a name for himself, until the era of live television drama ended in the early 1960s. Ella Davenport hasn’t been in a swimming pool since a bad decision ruined her chance of Olympic gold. So when Ella decides on a new career selling property, she chooses Chalk Hill. The country town is a long way from the water, with no pool in sight. Perfect! Jake Honeychurch has two brothers and has grown up in this town he runs the family farm and hardware store and he is left in charge of selling his Nanna’s house, a house that means a lot to him and he is not overly keen on selling but he needs to put it on the market this brings him to Ella new to her job at the local real estate and Jake chooses her to sell the house maybe this was fate. Jake learns that Ella is one determined Lady and he is drawn to her and her son in a way he never thought to happen again.