Into the Water by Paula Hawkins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Once I got into the flow, I was totally swept up by this story and the murky lives of the (many) characters involved.
I am reviewing Into the Water by Paula Hawkins, the lady who brought us the Sunday Times No.1 bestseller The Girl on the Train. Here’s what I thought:
^^ Jules’ sister, Nel, jumped into a scary place they call The Drowning Pool, which is something Jules knows her sister would never have done. Now Nel is dead. What follows is a look inside the muddy depths of the lives of other characters, each wielding their own secrets and lies. But if Nel didn’t jump, is there a murderer among them? And what about Nel’s own account via her unpublished memoir; can any of it be true?
^^ After struggling with the way this was written (not only did each chapter have a different person’s point of view, but it seemed each point of view swapped from 1st person for main characters, to 3rd person for seemingly secondary characters), I soon got into the flow of reading and raced through, thoroughly enjoying the ride.
^^ Despite a slow start struggling to get my head around the changes of POV I soon picked up the pace and raced through Into the Water. I can still happily recommend this book as the author has a great writing style, which really pulls me under into her characters’ world as if I’m part of their secrets and the stories they tell.
^^ I found the ending really emotional, and was not disappointed with this author’s second book. After Hawkins’ success with Girl on the Train, she had a lot to live up to. For me this did not disappoint. With so many twists and turns it makes for an urgent, intelligent read with lots of hidden depth rising to the surface.
Overall: Paula Hawkins has written yet another powerful, satisfying read where her characters not only have something to tell, but have pasts they’d rather you not find out. Once I got into the flow, I was totally swept up by this story. The author has a fascinating way of showing how she understands human behaviour. Not all lies come from hatred. We’re all human, and humans have a bad habit of making a mess of things, especially when the push comes to the shove and the survival instinct kicks in. 4.5 stars over on Amazon.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a paperback ARC review copy to read.
I think, according to the rules, Paula Hawkins passes as a British author, and can be added 2017 British Books Challenge, so I am adding her here and can remove this review if I need to LOL
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