Into the Water: A Novel

by Paula Hawkins

Rife with twists and turns as sharp as any riverbend, Into the Water is a powerful evocation of human instincts and the damage they can inflict. But beware the water's calm surface—you never know what lies beneath.

A flowing river ejects the body of a woman onto its banks: a single mother, the motive behind her death unknown. Weeks earlier, the body of a teenage girl washed upon the river's shores—motive for death yet unknown. But the river has dredged up more than just bodies: dark secrets thought to be long buried in the water's murky depths will come to light, and the investigation will uncover the stain of a disturbing, complicated history that will not wash away.

A psychological thriller with a mystery that runs long and deep, Into the Water pits the search for truth against the deceptions of memory and emotion, and the suspense will have readers holding their breath.

• ISBN10: 0385689659
• ISBN13: 9780385689656
• Publish Date: 1 May 2018 (first published 2 May 2017)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: CA
• Imprint: Anchor Canada
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 400
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/isbn/9780385689656

Reviews

[pagesbycyndy]

Review:

As I started listening to this book I tried not to make comparisons to the author's last book and there was no comparison. This is a very slow moving story that really did not draw me in until a third of the way through. The overall theme of this book is sad depressed women that go into the river to end it all, I am not saying whether or not they go willingly but they do go. I was drawn in by the words and how well written this was. I am a sucker for a good mystery with a twist and yes this book did have that. This story is told from many points of view which was a bit confusing for me at first until I got to know each character. There is not one happy character in this story, each one is suffering from something and that was a bit much at times. I think I just wanted to keep the focus on the main event, did Nel go willingly and of course the mystery of why did Katie go into the river to end it all. I think I was most interested in the why of Katie and the how of Nel and that is what intrigued me the most and kept my interest, how it all unfolded. Towards the end of the book when all of the shocking events come together was the best part of the book, it was a great conclusion.

Final Thoughts:

While I did enjoy this book I found it hard to follow at times with too many points of view and way too many subplots. Aside from that the author delivered a good , somewhat dark, suspense story.This review was originally posted on Cindy's Book Binge

[Quirky Cat]

Another woman is dead, the second one this year; both died by apparent suicide in the same pool of water. But there's more to it than that, there's more history to this place. The truths and half-truths blur together to make an intriguing mystery about what is real and what is a lie.

(show spoiler)[

Warnings first: This is a fairly heavy book on the whole, covering several intense subjects. Rape is mentioned; as one of the character's backstory. There are details included, from the perspective of the victim. There are several suicides and attempted suicides discussed, and they come up frequently. Additionally one character kills an animal – though it is “off screen” so to speak, and we only learn about it from another character's reaction to the news. The animal one is quick, though brought up a couple of times later.
Into the Water is Paula Hawkins follow up to Girl on the Train, and many fans will be happy to hear that it was not a fluke. I felt that Hawkins' writing style has grown, though there is still something to be desired for with the character development. Many of the characters have had horrible and tragic events in their past, and while I did find myself feeling sympathetic or defensive for them (as the situation called for), I feel like Hawkins could have done more to bring the characters to life; to bring their grief and anger to a whole new level.
What I loved in particular was the study of how time can distort the perception of events; how a lie told enough times can become the truth. That is where the book truly shined, in my mind. One can find a mystery or a thriller in any bookstore, or on any shelf. It is much harder to find a novel that explores subjects such as this. I'm half tempted to give it a four star rating for this fact alone.
There were many more characters in this novel; with the perspective switching about each chapter. I found the number of characters with their own point of views just a bit overwhelming, and would have been happier with even just one or two less. Additionally, I felt that there were some secondary plots introduced by a couple characters that were later left unresolved. This could have been intentional, allowing for a sequel, or it could have been an oversight. I'm unsure as to which.
I am very happy to report that while I had my theories of “who done it” I wasn't truly sure until the end; and I found the ending itself satisfactory. It held up to the promises delivered to us at the start of the book, and fully explained the why and how of what happened (for the main plot at least). We're also not thrown a mysterious killer that is only introduced at the end, so bonus there! (That's a pet peeve of mine).

] (hide spoiler)

For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[kimbacaffeinate]

Setting this aside. All of the POVs are making me a tad crazy. Parts are interesting, so I may attempt this again but for now, I am feeling frustrated.