In Cold Water: The Shelter Bay Mystery Review: Cold Blooded Crime or Coincidence?

This Prime Video documentary series recounts the mysterious drowning of school teacher Laura Letts-Beckett while on a fishing expedition with her husband Peter Beckett, who was the only witness to the tragedy. The true crime series takes viewers on a journey to unearth what truly happened on that cold day as, after a year, Peter is arrested for the murder of his wife.

The series has 3 episodes, each with a runtime of 40 minutes.

In Cold Water: The Shelter Bay Mystery Review

The icy waters of the Canadian Rocky Mountains look picturesque at first glance. However, In Cold Water: The Shelter Bay Mystery showcases the horrors that lurk underneath the waters and makes you question everything you knew about this shocking crime that seemingly came out of nowhere. The series is a rollercoaster of thoughts and feelings – leaving you to question everything that you are seeing and everything that you know about the case.

We learn about Peter and Laura’s whirlwind romance, their marriage and the seemingly blissful life that they led. There are discussions surrounding their families and how everyone in Laura’s family perceived Peter when they first met him. Then the narrative shifts to talks surrounding his controlling nature, his temper issues, his lack of a job and the several life insurance policies on Laura. There are talks of domestic violence and whatnot that come into play once Laura tragically dies and it doesn’t help that Peter seems to lack the ability to give himself a softer edge. Crazier still is when his words and actions start to make no sense in the aftermath of the tragedy.

Allegations start to be thrown left and right soon after, with Laura’s family, the campground manager, and the investigators all saying one shocking thing after another against Peter while he throws allegations against the others to refute their claims. The series brings forth both sides of this story with ease and with a sense of foreboding mystery that leaves you stumped. You can’t help but doubt Peter but also wonder whether all of this could’ve been a coincidence. I think the way the series brings forth these different perspectives is done well and hooks you to the matter at hand thoroughly.

And if the story wasn’t insane enough as it is, we are transported to a crime-thriller film where Peter turns into this conniving psychopath intent on getting rid of the witnesses who are testifying against him from behind bars. The docuseries has some delicious twists and turns that will make you laugh in disbelief at its insanity while also leaving you to fear for everyone involved. It leaves you to mull over whether Peter is capable of the things being said against him but never really answers them well enough for you to decide.

Final Thoughts

In Cold Water: The Shelter Bay Mystery documentary does a great job of making us wonder what is true and what is not. The story is nothing short of bizarre and with some wild twists and turns, making the docuseries out to be an entertaining and arresting watch. It doesn’t overdramatise anything but there’s drama enough here that will leave viewers hooked from start to finish.

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