Hi, Friends! Tuesday turned out to be a day that got away from me, so I’m doing my usual book review post today. I should be back on schedule next week. In the meantime, I have a review from one of my auto-buy authors to share. I pre-ordered this book the moment I saw it was available!
BOOK BLURB:
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Invited and The Winter People comes a chilling new novel about a woman who returns to the old family home after her sister mysteriously drowns in its swimming pool…but she’s not the pool’s only victim.
Be careful what you wish for.
When social worker Jax receives nine missed calls from her older sister, Lexie, she assumes that it’s just another one of her sister’s episodes. Manic and increasingly out of touch with reality, Lexie has pushed Jax away for over a year. But the next day, Lexie is dead: drowned in the pool at their grandmother’s estate. When Jax arrives at the house to go through her sister’s things, she learns that Lexie was researching the history of their family and the property. And as she dives deeper into the research herself, she discovers that the land holds a far darker past than she could have ever imagined.
In 1929, thirty-seven-year-old newlywed Ethel Monroe hopes desperately for a baby. In an effort to distract her, her husband whisks her away on a trip to Vermont, where a natural spring is showcased by the newest and most modern hotel in the Northeast. Once there, Ethel learns that the water is rumored to grant wishes, never suspecting that the spring takes in equal measure to what it gives.
A haunting, twisty, and compulsively readable thrill ride from the author who Chris Bohjalian has dubbed the “literary descendant of Shirley Jackson,” The Drowning Kind is a modern-day ghost story that illuminates how the past, though sometimes forgotten, is never really far behind us.
MY REVIEW
Oh, how creepy! I love how Jennifer McMahon weaves spookiness and mystery so deftly in dual timelines. She never disappoints me with her books. Both timelines in this story are engrossing, but I was riveted by the one in the past which centers around a luxury resort hotel. The time period is 1929-1930, slightly before and after the Great Depression. People flock to the hotel, looking for healing. Many swear they’ve been cured of ailments after a dip in a pool on the property, or by whispering a wish to the water.
This is no ordinary pool. The water is murky and dark and bears a sulfuric, metallic scent. It’s rumored the water gives as much as it takes, and for every wish it grants, payment must be made in kind.
Will and Ethel are newlyweds trying to start a family. Ethel desperately wants a baby, and it seems such a simple thing to make a wish by the water—especially after a dip in the pool heals three cuts on her leg as if they never existed. I loved both Will and Ethel, and was on pins and needles as their life unfolded after Ethel’s wish.
In the present, Jax arrives at her grandmother’s home, Sparrow Crest, once the site of the hotel. She and her sister Lexi spent summers with their grandmother and grew up swimming in the pool. When their grandmother passed away, Lexi inherited the property, but now she’s gone—drowned in the pool. Jax considered Lexi’s mental state precarious but knows her sister was an expert swimmer. Soon after arriving, she discovers bits and pieces of old history Lexi was collecting about the pool and the old resort hotel, along with journal entries and frantic scribblings.
Chapters alternate between Ethel’s POV in the past and Jax’s in the present. Although I was not as invested in Jax’s storyline as Ethel’s, she had some wonderfully goose bump scenes. Like when she’s measuring the depth of the pool at night with a flashlight or when she thinks she hears someone outside and finds wet footprints by the door.
This is an atmospheric read, slowly building suspense. The descriptions of the pool are haunting and dark, the mystery intricate and compelling. I loved how both past and present funnel together in the concluding chapters. The ending was not what I expected, and I had to ruminate on it for a while. Definitely a twist. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5 for review posting.
Jennifer McMahon was the first author I read who used dual timelines in a novel. It was because of The Night Sister, that I chose to use past and present timelines in my Hode’s Hill series.
Like The Night Sister and The Drowning Kind, the three novels that comprise Hode’s Hill—Cusp of Night, End of Day, and Eventide combine mystery and suspense with ghostly elements. In closing, I’m going to offer a shameless plug. If you haven’t read Hode’s Hill, you can pick up all three books in the series for a total of $4.97. Each novel can be read as a standalone, but my publisher currently as a sale going on the whole set.
As always, I wish you happy reading. Be sure to let me know your thoughts on The Drowning Kind, too!
Great review! I’m so jealous, this sounds so good!
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LOL! Hi, Sheri. It’s an excellent book, definitely worth a read!
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As soon as I can get my hands on a copy, thanks!
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Great review:) I’m a fan of duel time lines, and even have one I’m working on. I loved how well yours worked in the Hode Hill Series.
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Denise, I can’t wait to see what you do with dual timelines. I devour novels like that!
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🙂
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As you said, this story sounds creepy. Great review, Mae. I’ve read several books with fuel timelines and I loved them. It seems like Jennifer did a good job building up the suspense. Very intriguing.
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I’m a huge fan of dual timelines, Miriam. Jennifer McMahon was the first author to introduce me to them and I’ve been a fan of hers ever since. She never disappoints me with her stories. The Drowning Kind was excellent.
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This sounds interesting, fab review Mae!
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Thanks, Fraggle. I love Jennifer McMahon’s work. She really delivered with this one!
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This sounds like a read I would enjoy. Great review. Thanks for sharing, Mae 🙂
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I definitely recommend checking it out, Harmony. A great blend of past, present, and creepiness in both eras!
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Your review makes me want to grab this one now. Glad she was able to pull the dual timeline off so well. It sounds suspenseful! Thanks for sharing your lovely review. 😉
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Hi, Mischenko. Thanks so much for visiting to check out the review. The Drowning Kind is an excellent read. And McMahon always delivers her dual timelines seamlessly! 🙂
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Can you imagine seeing footprints near a pool where no one was swimming? Eeeek! Great review, Mae!
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The scenes with the pool are so creepy, Priscilla. Wonderful goose bump moments!
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What a great review, Mae. Thank you for sharing. I enjoy dual timelines, as it adds to the mystery. I’ll check this one out! 😊
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I’m so glad my review has you intrigued, Gwen. I really enjoyed this novel!
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Sounds really good. I think your publisher’s sale deserves its own post.
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Thanks, Craig. I probably should do more promo on my own books. I’m so bad at that!
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Me too. I need a new avenue for promo.
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Thanks for your excellent review, Mae. I read The Night Sister a while back and remember loving it. This new book sounds deliciously creepy and atmospheric. Ill definitely check.this one out!
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The Night Sister is still my favorite Maura Beth, but The Drowning Kind is very atmospheric. I think you’d like it 🙂
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This does sound good and the dual timeline is intriguing. I’ll put this on my TBR that I should be able to start working through soon. 🤞
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I think you’d enjoy this, Tessa. I’m all over anything she writes 🙂
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Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this book, Mae. It sounds absolutely riveting! I’m heading off to check it out. And, as others have said, I loved how you worked the dual timelines in the Hodes Hill Series.
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Thanks so much, Jan. I really enjoy working with dual timelines. The WIP I recently finished uses them as well.
And I think you’d enjoy The Drowning Kind. There’s some nice shivers among the mystery elements!
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I’m so glad you enjoyed this too Mae!
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I really did, Kim. Like you said, not quite on par with The Night Sister, but still so wonderful.
BTW, I’m 25% through Chasing the Boogeyman. It’s so different than anything I’ve read before!
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Is it different for you in a good way?
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It took me a while to settle in, but I’m invested. I’m just not used to reading anything that is all telling the story rather than showing, but I think I will like it overall.
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I read The Winter People, but I haven’t kept up with this author since then, and it’s only because of lack of time. This one sounds fabulous – loved the description of the wet footprints, a chilling vision. Awesome that this author inspired your dual timelines for the Hode’s Hill novels!
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The Winter People was another good one, Teri. She really has a gift with dual timelines and elements that are ghostly or odd. I really enjoyed this novel. And yes–reading The Night Sister and discovering dual timelines was like opening a gift on Christmas morning for me. I was immediately smitten with the concept!
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This does sound creepy, in a good way. She should have stuck with a genie in a bottle for her wishes! Great review, too. I’m hooked.
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So glad my review hooked you, Jacqui. It’s a great read.
And I got a good laugh out of the genie in the bottle!
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I love the cover, Mae. And the I’ll bet the dual timelines were right up your alley. There’s nothing quite as creepy as murky, dark water. Gives me the shivers to just think about it. The book sounds like a wonderful read. Thanks for the review and recommendation. 😀
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Hi, Diana. Thanks for dropping by to check out the review. The pool in this book was definitely creepy…especially at night. The scene with Jax running around with a flashlight trying to measure the depth still sticks with me. Just eerie, you know?
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😀 Very eerie.
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MC, you’ve just got to stop this! I need to add yet another book to my list. Horrors! It’s going to topple and kill me!
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LOL! Well I certainly don’t want your TBR toppling and taking you out, Noelle, but I am glad I hooked you. This was such an intriguing read, and the author is soooo good!
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A good review, Mae. Congrats on the publisher sale. I already read the Hodes Hill series, and at that price, it is certainly a bargain. Good luck with the sale.
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Thanks, John. I loved your HH book reviews. I’m so glad you enjoyed my series–and this review! 🙂
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Yes I did.
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This book sounds a perfect pick up. Thanks for a compelling review Mae. I am totally in awe.
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I’m so glad you enjoyed the review, Balroop. The book really grabbed me and sucked me in. I love this author and her work!
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The cover is creepy enough for me, lol. Thanks to your books, I’ve developed a passion for dual-timelines, so this sounds interesting. Thanks for the recommendation!
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Woohoo! Another dual timeline fan. I’m delighted, and thrilled my books helped introduce you to that camp, Jacquie!
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Ooh, this sounds so intriguing! Love the dual timelines. I’m trying to resist, but I may have to add this one to the TBR (if I live long enough to read them all). Thanks, Mae! I think. LOL
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LOL! I think my TBR is most likely to outlive me, Sue, but I’m glad my review has you considering another book for your pile!
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Sold! I just picked up my copy . . . lots of great ratings on Amazon, too. 🙂 Thanks for the excellent review, Mae.
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Woohoo! I’m thrilled my review sent you to Amazon, Mark. I hope you enjoy the story. I found it riveting. Happy reading!
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Hmm, I’ve read a few books lately whose endings aren’t what I expected. Must be a trend right now. There were a few years in the 70’s (I think) when every “serious” movie had a downer ending. It got depressing. Glad you enjoyed your book.
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Judi, it’s interesting you should mention the 70s. I remember reading a few books by Sidney Shelton and every one of them had downer endings. I swore I would never read him again. There was also a female author and all her work was so depressing. Catherine Coulture?
Although this book wasn’t depressing, it was…different.
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This sounds like a book I would enjoy. Writing dual timelines isn’t easy (my new series has bits from the past weaved into the story). I enjoy reading them.
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I think you’d like this, Joan. And I agree that dual time lines are tricky to write. It basically comes down to telling two different stories then knitting them together at the end.
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Looks like a compelling read Mae.. thank you for the recommendation.. will put on my next Amazon run..enjoy the rest of your weekend..x
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Hi, Sally. Glad you stopped by to check out the review. It’s an excellent read. Happy browsing at Amazon! 🙂
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This does sound incredibly creepy, Mae.
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Creepy fits it perfectly, Robbie 🙂
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a quick stop over to follow so i can stay in touch and spend time checking out your work at leisure. all the best and be well.
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