I felt just ok about Hawkins’ The Girl on the Train, so I expected similar results from this book. I think my low expectations helped me enjoy this more than I thought I would (not MUCH more, but still, every little bit counts?).
Into The Water is set in a small town in England that is home to the Drowning Pool, a section of river that has seen the deaths of many women over the years – some by murder, some by suicide. The story gets underway with the apparent suicide of Nel Abbott, a single mother and artist who was researching and writing a book about the deaths of these women.
Nel’s estranged sister, Jules, comes to identify her body and to take custody of her teenage daughter Lena (whose best friend had just died in the river a few months prior). With two deaths in such a short time frame, and with some of the circumstances raising suspicion, an investigation begins to turn up years of town secrets about many of its residents, not just the dead women.
Each chapter in the book was written from the perspective of a different character (with 10+ different voices being featured). It’s a fine strategy, but I didn’t love it here… too many voices, and some were written in first person, while some were in third. There were a ton of eye-rolling moments where the reader is asked to suspend belief a bit too much.
Overall, it’s not a great book, but it was interesting enough to have me finish it in one sitting. Perfect for the weird twilight week in-between Christmas and New Years, where I didn’t want to expend too much brain power. 😉