Editor’s note: This review was submitted by a library patron during the 2017 Adult Summer Reading program. We will continue to periodically share some of these reviews throughout the year.
Paula Hawkins’ second novel is a good read, but not quite as compelling as her first, “The Girl on the Train.” “Into the Water” is a story of mysterious deaths that occurred in the river of a small town and focuses on several characters in that small town. Each of these characters is a narrator, and the novel shifts among them, which makes the book a bit confusing to read because there are so many characters. The mystery is compelling, though, particularly the story of Jules Abbott, who is trying to understand how and why her sister, Nel Abbott, died in the very river that she had long been fascinated with: the river was the subject of a book that she was writing. Jules cares for Nel’s daughter and works to solve the mystery of her sister’s death. She also becomes focused on her late sister’s book project and the ways in which she interpreted some of the mysterious deaths that occurred at this local “suicide spot.” Jules also revisits her past and the roots of her strained relationship with her sister. The story and mystery are compelling, despite the large number of characters and a couple of plot twists that test the notion of “suspension of disbelief” required for fiction.
Three words that describe this book: mystery, thriller, sisters
You might want to pick this book up if: You enjoyed “The Girl on the Train.”
-Sarah
