The Drowning Kind by Jennifer McMahon, 5 Stars

Sometimes you need just a good old fashioned scary story. I just finished watching The Haunting of Bly Manor and it was on point. Now, not as on point as the first season, The Haunting of Hill House, but still completely satisfying in that scary story, ghostly, has a really good spooky backstory and it all comes together in the end kind of way.

And this is what you can expect from The Drowning Kind. Janelle Brown, author of Pretty Things and Watch Me Disappear had the perfect testimonial for the book saying, “The Drowning Kind is satisfying on every level: Marvelously chilling, elegantly written, a true page-turner. I couldn’t wait to get to the end; I also wanted to savor every page. Jennifer McMahon is a master of mood.”

This is exactly how I felt. Review over. Just kidding. But I will tell you that I read this book standing in line to vote (which is also scary). It was a gorgeous 60-degree November day and having the BEST book to read really helped with my hour long wait!

From the Publisher:

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 Review:

The Drowning Kind is set at an estate in Vermont, where there is a natural spring that is magical. But when the spring gives, the spring also takes. So spooky, right? But even if the spring wasn’t enchanted, I personally cannot imagine swimming in a “pool” that is basically bottomless black water. I would be terrified.

So already, before anything actually happens, I’m spooked. But then you have to take into account that people swimming in the pool have seen dead people. Or people anyways, that aren’t real. And that is terrifying. I don’t even like fish biting my toes.

I can’t say much, except that you can expect to devour this book. Then, when you’ve finished it, you’ll mourn the fact that you can’t go back and savor it more. It’s that good. Of course, make sure that you are the type that can read this type of book without having it keep you up all night!

Special thanks to Netgalley and Gallery Books for this amazing gem. This one is out April 6. Get your copy.

Indiebound