This thriller follows the deaths of four women in the aptly named Drowning Pool. The first, Anne Ward, died as a witch over two hundred years ago, and the most recent, Nel Abbott, is believed to have committed suicide.

Nel's sister, Jules, returns to her hometown to look after Nel's teenage daughter, Lena. We meet a wide range of characters, all connected in some way to the Drowning Pool and the deaths in there. It's a twisty thriller with questions raised as to what really happened to the women. As Jules gets closer to the truth, everybody has something to hide.

People who love plot-driven novels. The second half is fairly fast-paced. It's good for people who like to be kept guessing until the last moment (although, actually, the end wasn't that much of a surprise).

This book is written from many POVs. I didn't like it. There are too many. Because of this, it took me a long time to get into the book. It distracts from the story, rather than adding to it. Also, when I reached the end, there seemed to be many plot strands floating loosely, waiting to be explained. The actual tying up of everything fell a little flat. Nothing blew me away.

Disappointed. I've thought about it, and I'm sure Paula Hawkins's only intention when writing this book was to write as big a hit a The Girl On The Train. Unfortunately, in the process, she lost the passion and magic needed to make a mesmerising read. She wrote it with the wrong goals in mind. It all fell flat.

Paula Hawkins. When I think of The Girl On The Train, I think of the suspense and how everybody loved it. I always say I loved it. However, reading this book, I remember how many problems I had with the first book. Her writing style doesn't strike me as the most polished. Yes, she can tell a story. She has good ideas. But, actually, you look closely, and she is far from the best writer in the world. That said, I have read both her books, and I didn't not enjoy either of them.

It's a good mystery with exciting parts and a lot of suspense. It has a lot of twists, too.

Too many POVs! Too many threads and they don't all come easily together.

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Created Jan 09, 2019 at 5:11am • Submit your own review...