'The Girl on the Train', Paula Hawkins's best-selling debut book, has approximately 20 million copies sold worldwide and was made into a movie starring Emily Blunt. Most likely, you've heard of it. My first Paula Hawkins's novel was 'Into the Water'. Although I wouldn't say I loved it, I did like it. I have not read her best-seller "The Girl On The Train," therefore I cannot compare this novel to it.
Summary:
The narrative of Beckford, a small town, and the mystery surrounding its waters is told in "Into the Water". Nel Abbott had been phoning her sister Jules desperately a few days before she died. Jules and her sister were estranged, so she didn't bother to return her call. Nel is now dead, and it is believed that she died by suicide. Jules is forced into returning to the town of Beckford and its enigmatic waters. Returning to the Drowning Pool and the evils that lie in its waters is something she vowed she would never do.
She is terrified of Beckford, of the Mill House, the river, and above all else, the Drowning Pool. Because Nel was resilient and passionate about living, she would never have jumped, and she would never have wanted it to turn out this way. But one can never guess when it comes to the Pool. It has claimed enough lives over hundreds of years to be regarded as unnatural.
Before her demise, Nel Abbott was engaged in a project involving the Drowning Pool. However, the majority of people disapproved of her choice. As it reveals Abbott's viewpoint and investigation of the Drowning Pool suicides and deaths, it causes distress in the neighborhood.
What is the mystery of Nel's death? What mysteries are concealed in the Pool? Jules, will something awful happen to her?
To learn more about this intriguing story of power, darkness, hope, and deceit, read the book.
Review:
The book is far from straightforward to read, and the reader will need to refer back to previous chapters to understand what is going on. Even when your eyes tell you to close them, keep turning the pages because the plot is compelling and mysterious and has the promise of a dramatic unraveling.
The large cast of characters was the only thing I didn't particularly like. They are simply too numerous to keep track of, and until the middle of the story, I was having trouble recalling each one, but the plot is kept sufficiently engaging by a few interesting individuals.
Paula's writing style appealed to me since it maintained the mystery until the very end. Multiple points of view are used in the narration. For instance, Jules' story is told in the first person, which is the narrative voice. Others are portrayed from a third-person perspective.
The climax was a bit underwhelming. For the avoidance of spoilers, I won't go into specifics, but rest assured that it was a little disappointing. The hype that Paula built up for the story from the start, in my opinion, started to fade toward the conclusion.
The ending doesn't have a stunning twist that makes you gasp. Everything comes to a seamless end in a corner where you are left with doubts and largely disgust at how awful people can be or how simply horrible realities may be buried.
Conclusion:
If you're looking for a slower-paced, gloomier work of fiction that focuses more on capturing the essence of a troubled community than on solving crimes, you'll likely appreciate this narrative. It might qualify as a slow thriller. For readers, who enjoy such type of genre, there is much in this book to admire and enjoy. Despite being brilliantly written and realistically described, 'Into the Water' isn't particularly excellent crime fiction.
My Rating: 7.2/10
