Still Waters

It’s a week before Christmas. Sophie is out of work, out of love and out of her depth—literally. Stuck in Cornwall on the holiday from hell with her ex-boyfriend, her boyfriend’s ex, and two intimidating colleagues. If that’s not enough, Sophie’s got her hands full trying to prevent her best friend’s perfect engagement from blowing up in her face.

When a corpse turns up in the local harbor it’s the perfect distraction…at least until someone tries to add Sophie to the body count.

Tangled love, tangled lives, tangled clues. Now there’s a holiday menu Sophie can’t resist.

Still Waters

'Tis the season to get deadly.

Warning, this title contains bad language, bad behavior and bad puns. There are scenes of violence, gore, and unashamed sentimentality. Book 4 of the Sophie Green Mysteries.

Available in digital format (ISBN: 1-59998-944-1) May 2008 and trade paperback in 2009 (ISBN: 978-1605041551) from Samhain Publishing.

"Ms. Johnson has outdone herself with this one. She's even woven in the back story so that you don't feel lost by picking up the series in the middle. I can't wait to read the next story. Please, Ms. Johnson, hurry, hurry, hurry." Jan Crow, ParaNormalRomance Reviews

"Kate Johnson has created another captivating tale that grabs readers from the first word and tickles their funny bone until the last. From romantic drama to murderous mayhem, STILL WATERS will keep you guessing and laughing until the end." Kathy Samuels, Romance Reviews Today

"Still Waters is the best installment of them all... With hilarious situation and a bag full of colorful characters, Still Waters is a book after your own heart." Bramble Nymph, Literary Nymphs.

"I thoroughly enjoyed reading Still Waters! Talk about being entertained throughout an entire story... Kate Johnson writes beautifully of mystery and suspense." Goddess Minx, Literary Nymphs.

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Random stuff about Still Waters

Still Waters was bought by the wonderful Jess, who then retired from editing (sob!), which meant the book was edited by an editor who hadn't bought it. This made me nervous. Happily, Tera proved to be awesome, doing a great job with Still Waters and asking for more Sophie. More!

This is the first Sophie book to be set entirely in England. There just didn't seem to be any cause or reason to move the action abroad.

It's also possibly my favourite of the books, especially as concerns the relationship between Luke and Sophie.

I had no idea what Maria was going to do. I really didn't. She just did it.

Port Trevan is based on the lovely village of Port Isaac on the north coast of Cornwall. John Betjeman described the streets as 'perpendicular', and he's right—they're so steep as to be almost vertical.

Still Waters soundtrack

(warning, contains spoilers)

The opening to Still Waters is linked inextricably in my head with the Kaiser Chiefs' Heat Dies Down. It charts in wonderfully witty detail a relationship that starts with "I impressed you not. Well, not a lot," and goes on to, "I've got a wider knowledge of the world; I just can't face another argument," and "so we ended at the end." Luke and Sophie's relationship has come to a definite halt by this point: they think it's all over.

The dead girl in the harbour is likewise stuck with being Miss Otis from the often-recorded song (the version I have is Bryan Ferry) Miss Otis Regrets. In fact, that was the working title of the book, and is the nickname Sophie and the coroner give the drowned woman.

I won't give into the temptation to put Surfin' USA for the scens in Watergate Bay. It displays a singular lack of imagination, and besides, it's just nothing like California.

Sophie's little underwater episode goes to the theme of The Research's Splitting Hairs. The tones are very spooky, it's all a capella and it just has an underwater feeling to it. a great band, very quirky.

When Sophie realises she just can't slide back into being involved with Luke, she tells herself it's not all "rainbows and butterflies," which comes from the Maroon 5 song She Will Be Loved. Luke, on the other hand, is starting to realise how much he needs Sophie, and how much "know(s) all of the things that make you who you are."

When I think of Sophie doing her freelance detectoring, I always think of No Doubt's Detective. "I'm your broken-hearted detective."

Finally, they get back together, and the music for this is The Feeling's I Want You Now. "My innards go berserk every time your voice gets near." They've been going nuts for each other for weeks, and now finally they can do something about it.

Sophie makes an attempt to produce a romantic breakfast, and flicks on the stereo to get the Cardigans' If There Is A Chance. It's a slow, sad song, but there's some hope to it too: "If there is a chance, just one in this world, that we'll ever dance again...there's one record left that you haven't heard, and I'll keep it spinning."

I actually had to argue to keep Caroline, No in the book, because the line editor had never heard of it. But the instant Sophie uttered those words, the Beach Boys song came into my head and was stuck for the rest of the scene. It's actually not one of my favourites, but it's definitely there.

Christmas Day, when Luke gives Sophie her present, has to be No Doubt again (yes, I was listening to it at the time) with what's probably Luke's soundtrack, Underneath It All. "You know some real bad tricks and you need some discipline, but lately you've been trying real hard and giving me your best."

When Sophie accompanies Luke to the airport it's actually a really small segment of the book, but I can see the whole thing clearly in my head, and the music playing is KT Tunstall's Other Side Of The World. It's really about all the things that have been stopping Sophie from getting back with Luke in the first place: "Will you still love me when you can't see me any more?"

At the end of the book when Luke finally makes it back, very late, he and Sophie dance to Elton John's lovely Tiny Dancer, which makes it into the dialogue twice, once when Luke tells Sophie to, "Hold me closer, Tiny Dancer," and then immediately after as he asks Sophie if she wants to find some sheets of linen to lie down in.

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