THE DROWNING KIND by Jennifer McMahon

 

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 THOUGHTS: 

This was my first book to read by this author. Normally I do not read books that are ghost fiction or paranormal but am so glad that I read this one. It was so good. Had me reading much later at night that usual. I did't want to put it down. And that ending. I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING!! Not at all. It floored me and was perfect at the same time.

This is a story about a lot of loss. A lot of things happening that can't be explained in the normal sense of the word. Yet you know the pool has power. The power to heal. The power to give. But also it has the power to take. And take it does. 

Jax goes back home for her sister's funeral. Lexie drowned in the pool that they had grown up swimming in. She was an excellent swimmer so what could have happened? Did someone kill her? Was it an accident? Or could she have taken her own life? Was Lexie tired of living with the illness she had. Was she ready to give up? Can Jax find the answers? Or will something happen to her too?

This book will pull you in and won't let you go. It will hook you from the start. All the things going on. You will want to know what happened and why. You will want to know the people in this story and believe me you will get to know them. Each one who has a tie to the pool will intrigue you. Pull you in. Hold you captive until the very last word. That very last part though will blow you away. Things are not always as they seem. Not cut and dry always. 

Could there be something sinister going on in this house or in the pool? Or is there more. All that will be answered for you and much more. Wishes granted and lives taken. You will be given what you wish for but you will have to pay a price too. Nothing is free. As you learn the ins and outs of this family, this house, this pool, you will wonder if what you are reading is real or some figment of someone's imagination. It's a very deep and intense story that will drag you to the bottom of a pool and back.

Told from alternate POV's and times this book keeps you wondering if it's real or not. Does this place really hold magic or is it a figment of someone's imagination? Can wishes be granted or is something else happening. What is true and what is not? You have to read this one to find out. To have answers. To get to know these people and feel their fears, tears, happiness, love, loss and so much more.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #JenniferMcMahon, #GalleryBooks for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this book.

5/5 stars. It was so much more than I thought it was going to be. I'm very happy I read this one and I do recommend it to all. It's just got so much.