The Drowning Kind

Beautiful, much like the cover. Very sad, and haunting, and McMahon does the thing I love where she meshes painful reality with eerie fiction. The whole thing was spooky, and a great mystery. The switch between the two timelines was done wonderfully as well.

DNF @ 60%

Spooky. Good Halloween read.

I wanted to like this so much more than I did but I don't know what it is about this author's writing style that keeps me from fully getting invested in her stories.

Something about McMahon's writing draws you in, even though the plot may seem absurd and unbelievable. Her stories are hauntingly beautiful. I actually was afraid to go to sleep at night after reading this book, gave me chills.

Wasn't quite as twisty or scary as I was anticipating, but I loved the ending. It really made the whole book for me. I also quite liked the narrator. All in all a pretty solid read.

this book was relentlessly boring and unoriginal. obviously, everything has been done before, but this book did absolutely nothing new in any sense. all of these characters, their relationships, how everything played out, i've seen it a hundred times. the writing of this was so boring and unimpressive. there were a few things i liked, but nothing that i'll remember in a month

Rating: 4.1 leaves out of 5
Characters: 3.5/5
Cover: 5/5
Story: 4/5
Writing: 4/5
Genre: horror/supernatural/thriller
Type: Audiobook
Worth?: Yes

This book did not disappoint at all, for me. It kept me on edge and making sure I listened more. The book did give me Haunting of Bly Manor vibes.

With Bly Manor we get the creepy lake, the woman in the lake, and how you aren't suppose to be wandering the house at night. These three things are the same with The Drowning Kind. You have the creepy lake (or pool now) that people tend to see a lady. Then you can't be out of bed or really up during the night because ghosts come out and play.

What I found interesting with this whole book was the back and forth between Jax and Ethel. It was nice to see each's view on the pool (water or whatever you want to call it.) I did figure out the connection between the two very early on. It could just be me or the author made it easy.

The ending was a twist I did not see coming. Where it was a bit shocking it was also kinda depressing.

What kept me from giving it a 5 was how Ryan's grandmother didn't really answer the question of wanting the land but shifted the conversation to her mother and Lexie's painting. We never really got an answer.

Thank you Netgalley for this copy of Drowning King by Jennifer McMahon.

This is only the second book Ive read from Jennifer McMahon, but I can say with certainty that:

1. Her writing gets better.
2. The plots get creepier.

The Drowning Kind was emersive not only do you become part of the family in present time, but you also have a sense of time shifting when she reaches you into the past. Not only will this book give you chills, but it will leave you with a sense of foreboding long after youve read the last page.