#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERGOODREADS CHOICE AWARD WINNER FOR MYSTERY/THRILLERAn addictive new novel of psychological suspense from the author of #1 New York Times bestseller and global phenomenon The Girl on the Train and A Slow Fire Burning. “Hawkins is at the forefront of a group of female authors—think Gillian Flynn and Megan Abbott—who have reinvigorated the literary suspense novel by … Gillian Flynn and Megan Abbott—who have reinvigorated the literary suspense novel by tapping a rich vein of psychological menace and social unease… there’s a certain solace to a dark escape, in the promise of submerged truths coming to light.” —Vogue
A single mother turns up dead at the bottom of the river that runs through town. Earlier in the summer, a vulnerable teenage girl met the same fate. They are not the first women lost to these dark waters, but their deaths disturb the river and its history, dredging up secrets long submerged.
Left behind is a lonely fifteen-year-old girl. Parentless and friendless, she now finds herself in the care of her mother’s sister, a fearful stranger who has been dragged back to the place she deliberately ran from—a place to which she vowed she’d never return.
With the same propulsive writing and acute understanding of human instincts that captivated millions of readers around the world in her explosive debut thriller, The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins delivers an urgent, twisting, deeply satisfying read that hinges on the deceptiveness of emotion and memory, as well as the devastating ways that the past can reach a long arm into the present.
Beware a calm surface—you never know what lies beneath.
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I was blown away by the success and popularity around Hawkins’ debut novel, The Girl on the Train. While I did enjoy the plot and the unreliable narrator, I was unconvinced that it deserved all the hype.
I feel similarly about this one, Paula Hawkins’ first release post-The Girl on the Train popularity. The idea was interesting, but I found it first confusing and later predictable.
The structure of this novel leaves a lot to be desired. While books that jump POVs between chapters can undoubtedly be enjoyable and well-executed, Hawkins jumps randomly between 10+ characters, and I found this nearly impossible to follow without referencing previous chapters for the better part of the novel’s outset.
This was still a fairly enjoyable read once I got the characters down, but I’d recommend Ruth Ware’s The Lying Game: A Novel (or anything by her, really) over this one.
An enjoyable thriller from Hawkins. We are thrust into a small town in England, the type where everyone knows everyone and their respective business. The hamlet is seemingly surrounded by a river, which acts as both friend and foe to the villagers. A still pool of water is the locale in which 2 women in short succession have leapt (were pushed?) to their deaths from the cliff above. We learn that this is a pattern dating back hundreds of years, with other women either committing suicide or being disposed of after being declared witches. Secrets and resentments abound among the residents, young and old. It was a bit of a slow start for me, as each chapter is narrated by a different character, so it was hard to get to know everyone in fits and starts. Some of the plot twists weren’t that twisty or shocking. Overall, though, I enjoyed peeling back the layers of the mystery.
I was torn between 3 and 4 stars for this one.
The Drowning Pool is a body of water that has claimed the lives of many women. Nel Abbott has always been fascinated by the local lore about the women who have drowned there. She decides to write each of their stories. When Nel’s daughter’s best friend is found dead in the water, blame is cast among many local residents. When Nel herself is also found dead, her daughter is convinced she took her own life. Nel’s sister Jules is not so sure however. What exactly is going on beyond the scenes in this small town and why have these women died? Is the Drowning Pool really the place where troublesome women meet their demise?
I really liked the plot of the story. I wanted to find out which of the women had committed suicide and whether any of them had actually been murdered. Hawkins does a good job slowly building the story and leaves the reader wondering not only who may have committed murders but why. There are subtle hints and the characters are intricately woven together to create several endings for the book. With that said, reading the story takes some patience. There are many narrators and the story is told at various points in time. Interspersed between all of that, the reader learns the personal narratives of women who have lost their lives at the Drowning Pool years prior. It takes awhile to find a reading rhythm. I didn’t think the ending was all that surprising but I liked it anyway.
My main hang up with the entire book was I felt a little misled. I’m sure it’s only me but the beginning of the book made me believe that witchcraft trials would play some part in the story. I guess to some extent it did but not how I imagined. I think the initial narrative was just an example of a troublesome woman and her fate.
All in all, this was a good read. It was very different from Hawkins last novel and I look forward to her future work!
Jumped around too much…
A little predictable
How did Nell Abbott die? Murder or suicide? Sometimes I did forget that was the plot of the book because the story also centered around the river that runs through this small town and its “drowning pool.” It also took me awhile to keep all the characters straight because they all get to tell there point of view. All in all I enjoyed the read and I definitely didn’t guess the ending it was a shocker.
Looking forward to seeing the movie. Hope they stick true to story.