#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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Lots of interesting twists.
Everyone is guilty in this book. The fun is trying to figure out exactly what of. I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the part the river played in this book. Sometimes alluring, sometimes intimidating, sometimes downright terrifying.
I was expecting a mystery, maybe a little bit of a psychological thriller but instead I was introduced to more POVs than I can actually keep track of. The only mustery I was left with is who is who and why do I care.
Fabulous! 4.5 Starts
Readers, this one isn’t going to be handed to you on a silver platter. You’re going to have to work for it. It’s complex, multilayered and none of the multiple narrators are to be trusted. Not that they’re all purposely trying to deceive, but time, emotion and perception can wreak havoc on memories.
Into the Water takes place in a small town with a dark history with inhabitants that carry many secrets. Bodies are turning up in the river and have been for years. The latest death leads to a chain of events that begins to reveal long held secrets, new memories and a history that maybe due for a rewrite.
If you prefer to get from point A to point B on the quickest route, this story isn’t for you. If you prefer your characters to be clearly labeled villain or hero, this isn’t the story for you. If you prefer your endings tied up in a pretty bow and presented without question, this story isn’t for you. But, if you don’t mind taking a slow and at times, arduous journey on a road with lots of twists and turns, uncomfortable scenery, questionable company, and an uncertain destination (LOL) than this is the book for you.
Into the Water was a little slow to start with a lot of characters to keep track of. After a few chapters, it really picked up and became riveting. Thoroughly enjoyable thriller.
I love reading it i could read it without stopping
Excellent read. Kept me on the edge of my seat to the very end. Now the wait begins until Paula releases another book!
This is the 2nd book I’ve read by this author. While I find her books an easy read, they seem to always have odd endings in my opinion. I’m kind of on the fence as to whether I’ll buy another book by this author.
I cheated. I normally don’t look at the rating of a book before posting mine. And I did. I cheated and I read a few review because I was blown away by this book and I couldn’t get some of the lower ones. Now I know “No two people read the same book the same way” and I know “Everyone has a right to their own opinion”. I get it. I really do.
I was enthralled with this audiobook. 100% totally swept away into the british lifestyle. I really think that the audio played a big part into me enjoying it. I was quickly finding any excuse to listen to the book. I was left in speechless many times.
I don’t think there has been an audiobook that I have enjoyed more than this one. But, and its a big BUT. The conclusion was not what I had expected to be. While the build lead up to it, the ending seemed…Well it just seemed to of ended. While the main question was answered I was still left wondering and not in a good way. I was left wondering about parts of the story that would never warrant a second book. I had question left unanswered while the ig one from the plot was.
The characters I felt were developed. The plot was intriguing. the narrating was superb. I enjoyed the book all the way up until I got to about 90% when it started to dwindle down and the conclusion came.
I was a little unsure about reading this book, even though I LOVED “The Girl on the Train”, because of the poor reviews. I’m glad I decided not to listen to the reviews! I gave “Into the Water” a try and went in without any expectations. I ended up loving this book as well! Let me say first and foremost that Into the Water is nothing like The Girl on the Train. The two books are very different so do not start reading this book expecting a carbon copy of Paula Hawkins’ first book. That being said, I still loved this book and appreciated the differences. Even though this book does have a psychological thriller storyline at its base, it is almost more of a character study. The interesting thing is, it’s a character study of a small town and the relationshipsband interactions between its residents. There are a lot of characters in this book and many people felt there were too many. I decided to take notes on the book from the beginning because of all the warnings about how the large cast of characters were very hard to follow and keep track of. After a few chapters I found it to be pretty easy to follow. I didn’t really need the notes at all. The characters were very well-written which I really liked. By the end of the book you felt like you lived in this small town with them. Some people disliked the fact that most of the characters were unlikable. I don’t really understand why that bothers readers. People are flawed and have many layers to them so what does it matter if they aren’t particularly likable? The characters were well-developed so you understood why they did the things they did in the book. Some were more sympathetic than others but in the end you even understood the murderer.
I would definitely recommend this book. It’s an great character study and a suspenseful murder/mystery all in one book!
In one word… “deep” I was totally drawn in by the obsession of the drowning pool. And then, unexpected twists and turns led me to fall in love with this book. So much going on beneath the surface.
I found this book to be an unpredictable read with a winding story told by several characters. It was recommended by my daughter. A definite page turner.
I loved it!
I want to say that I love this book but I can’t. Reading into the book I found my self a little confused do to all of the point of views I couldn’t remember who was who until I was in the middle of the book. But in my opinion, for me it was a good read. It was a page turner. Obviously every one has a different opinion. If you like to read psychological Thriller then maybe this book is for you. Can’t wait to read “The girl on the train”
This book was so tedious I had to send it back and demand a refund. I cannot for the life of me imagine why anybody would put this on a ‘best of 2018’ list. I know I’m not alone. Everyone I’ve talked to who read it says the same thing.
I know The Girl on the Train was wildly popular, but I liked this one better.
Not as good as hoped, but still an entertaining page-turner.
A great suspense novel. With a lot off twist and turns
Very intense plot but there were so many characters and POV shifts that it was hard to keep up with the story sometimes and several times I found myself skipping back and forth to try and make sense of what I had read. This made the read frustrating but the story itself was so compelling I managed to read the entire book in one setting anyway.
I had a hard time getting into this due to the shear amount of characters to try to keep track of who was who. However, by the end I was happy with the book.