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rainnbooks's review
4.0
The Drowning is an exceptional psychological thriller. Most of the psychological thrillers that we get to read now focuses on the main protagonist undergoing some disturbing and scary situations with the person causing them revealed at the end. In the Drowning for a change, the terror is induced to a very shady character and thereby reduces the emotional angst that can be felt when reading such books.
Alex is a selfish, ambitious and self-centered man focused on achieving the perfect life and goes about winning it ruthlessly. But the readers are made aware of his past where as an 18-yr old swimming counselor at a boys camp, he punishes a young Joey who is afraid of deep waters by leaving him alone in a raft. And after 20 yrs, Alex faces the repercussions of not doing the right thing then as his seemingly perfect life is targeted and destroyed. The ending was a masterstroke and by keeping Joey's mystery alive, the author definitely manages to hook the reader. Brilliant!
Alex is a selfish, ambitious and self-centered man focused on achieving the perfect life and goes about winning it ruthlessly. But the readers are made aware of his past where as an 18-yr old swimming counselor at a boys camp, he punishes a young Joey who is afraid of deep waters by leaving him alone in a raft. And after 20 yrs, Alex faces the repercussions of not doing the right thing then as his seemingly perfect life is targeted and destroyed. The ending was a masterstroke and by keeping Joey's mystery alive, the author definitely manages to hook the reader. Brilliant!
engpunk77's review
4.0
I had never seen nor heard of this book, and it was placed in my hands by a student who urged me to borrow her copy. She's one who reads all of her own books and rarely checks out books from the library, even though she's there every day. I wondered what kinds of books she likes, and she couldn't explain. Reading this was my homework in trying to figure her out so that I could recommend some free library books to her. :) I'd call this airport fiction, as the cover cannot be ignored. It's everything I ever wanted from airport fiction, and it's certainly not at all YA.
This book is like candy, and I have zero complaints.
This book is like candy, and I have zero complaints.
soshereads_'s review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This book started of strong. I was into it, I really loved the spooky set up of a boy thought to be gone coming back to haunt the man who left him on a raft all those years ago.
But then... it went somewhere else that I can’t even tell you what it’s about. Several parts didn’t make sense to me:
-Normally I love POV switching in novels but the ones in this book felt so random to me, and were so infrequent that I didn’t get the point of it.
-The main character was supposed to have some sympathetic qualities to him, according to the author in the interview questions. But I found 0 redeemable qualities about the abusive, narcissistic, neglectful man Alex is.
-The plot points made no sense. The police made no sense, we are supposed to believe that the police act like this when it comes to the rich and powerful? They did not take a home invasion seriously? And we are supposed to believe that the family doesn’t report the video of them? This just seems so far fetched to me.
-the big “twist” at the end that gives no resolution to the one part of the story that I cared about that made me NOT DNF this nook.
-the ending left me with a “did I really just read this? Is this all there is to it?”
Like I said the book started off strong and there were some great writing moments in this. But overall it was a disappointment.
But then... it went somewhere else that I can’t even tell you what it’s about. Several parts didn’t make sense to me:
-Normally I love POV switching in novels but the ones in this book felt so random to me, and were so infrequent that I didn’t get the point of it.
-The main character was supposed to have some sympathetic qualities to him, according to the author in the interview questions. But I found 0 redeemable qualities about the abusive, narcissistic, neglectful man Alex is.
-The plot points made no sense. The police made no sense, we are supposed to believe that the police act like this when it comes to the rich and powerful? They did not take a home invasion seriously? And we are supposed to believe that the family doesn’t report the video of them? This just seems so far fetched to me.
-the big “twist” at the end that gives no resolution to the one part of the story that I cared about that made me NOT DNF this nook.
-the ending left me with a “did I really just read this? Is this all there is to it?”
Like I said the book started off strong and there were some great writing moments in this. But overall it was a disappointment.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Violence, and Stalking
Moderate: Misogyny and Suicide
Minor: Fatphobia
wordswithrach's review
3.0
In my opinion, the main character was very unlikable. He didn’t seem to have a moral compass and seemed entirely motivated by selfishness.
The drowning was a very quick read for me. The twists and turns kept me engaged the whole time. That being said I didn’t find the end very satisfying. I won’t say more because I don’t want to give any spoilers.
The drowning was a very quick read for me. The twists and turns kept me engaged the whole time. That being said I didn’t find the end very satisfying. I won’t say more because I don’t want to give any spoilers.