INTO THE WATER

Everyone knows Paula Hawkins.The author who shot to fame after 'The Girl On The Train' was touted as an international bestseller.Honestly, I wasnt too impressed with the debut novel.(reviewed here).But those who read this blog know that I never give up on authors so easily and so when I heard about 'Into The Water',I knew that I had to pick it up.Finished reading it over the last weekend.

The plot:
A single mother, Nel Abbot is found dead at the bottom of the river that runs through town.Earlier in the summer, a teenage girl Katie,who happens to be Nel's daughter's best friend,met the same fate.Nel has always lived in the small town of Beckford in the Mill House by the river.The river has a history of its own and long submerged secrets and Nel was completely obsessesed with the stories of the women who had lost their lives here.Moreover Nel's daughter Lena believes that her mother killed herself.

Are these deaths related?

Lena finds herself in the care of  her mothers sister,Jules who has been summoned to the very town she ran away from and vowed never to return.

Lots of secrets,a haunting past and one explosive finale.

My Views:

I picked this up as a weekend read and I dont regret it.This was exactly what I needed.

'Into the Water' has multiple narrators.And when I say multiple,I mean not just two or three but ....brace yourselves, because there are 11 people telling their viewpoints.Now,it does get a bit difficult to get to know each of these people and I had to turn back a few times to recall who it was I was reading about.So you really need to pay attention while reading because this book sweeps you to the eerie little town of Beckford and makes sure you dont leave it until you find out what has happened.Yes!The story is chilling and fast paced and it made me very curious.I just couldnt wait to find out what it was all about.

All the characters are in some way linked to the dead woman.Moreover they are unreliable narrators which only adds to the intrigue.None of the characters are very likeable but what they have to say is very interesting.I loved the complexity in their nature.There is a psychic to add to the mystery.
There is history entwined with the present.It was creepy to read about the river and what lies beneath its calm exterior.
The emotional thread that runs between the estranged siblings and the cause of all the misunderstanding was remarkably captured.It was a collage of the fragility of human relationships and emotion and mystery.

Loved how it all ended and I must say it left me gobsmacked.I liked it way better than 'The Girl on the Train' and her next book is already on my TBR list.

I rate it a 4 out of 5.