Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Into the Water

Don't get me wrong: the book is written with an interesting use of prose that seems almost alluring to the reader. The writing is good, the story is interesting and the "twist" is well set up (even if it's not the most shocking one).

Characters, however, were the problem. It is very hard to make the main character seem like an actual human being that could exist outside of the novel. It is almost impossible to do so when the cast of main characters consists of more than a dozen people. Lena, Jules, Mark, Patrick, Helen, Sean, Nickie, Erin, Josh, Louise. Chapters of the fictional book from perspectives of Libby, Nel, Anne, Lauren and Katie. There should be fewer narrations is all I'm saying. I found myself forced to look back and constantly check which character was which and it felt exhausting.

The pacing is confusing. On one hand, it's nicely set up and it all comes together at the right points. On the other hand, midway through the book, I found myself to be extremely bored as I felt like everything was repeating. "Haven't I read that already?" or "wait, wasn't that revelation already revealed?" were the thoughts that constantly flew through my mind.

Is the book worth reading? Sure. Will I pick up another publication by Paula Hawkins? I wouldn't be against it. Will I recommend this book to any of my friends with passion? Probably not.

Also, if I took a shot every time there is a water metaphor I would be dead. That's all

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bookfann's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense

4.0

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lordofdisorder's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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lcronin0815's review against another edition

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dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

I wanted to like this book so much but it just fell a little flat for me and was very middle of the road for me. I thought that writing was find and the pace of the book would have been good if I hadn’t have listened to it on audiobook. The two things that bugged me with this book were the description of Julia’s character, especially when she was younger, and the fact that everyone was some shade of awful.

First, one of the major take-aways from Julia‘a character is describe as being fat and it is only seen in a negative “Look at her- what a disgusting fat person”. It just seems too much when you have repeated people describing another person, and more specifically a CHILD, as being a disgusting outcast just because of her weight.

Second- There is a review that does better job explaining this but there isn’t anyone in this book that is victim or villain. There aren’t any middle of the road characters and everyone seems to have a big secret to the point of it being a little forced.

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rbrockett21's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Having just read the Girl on the Train, I was excited to read Hawkins’s next thriller. However, both as a stand-alone and in comparison to GotT, I felt it was disappointing. After seeing how well she can convey unreliable narration, it seemed like this was written by a less experienced author who was just entering the genre. Honestly, it seemed like this could have been her first work, not GotT. I didn’t feel a deep connection with any of the characters, and the set up left me wondering if there even was a mystery to be solved at all.

I think what got in the way of the potentially good plot was the excessive filler written in from each perspective. There’s leaving clues via different perspectives, and then there’s just spending too much time trying to make something out of nothing.

Though it was a quick read, I wouldn’t say I was madly turning the pages out of suspense. The only time the pace picked up was about 2/3 of the way through, and only briefly. Even in the moments leading up to finding out who the guilty party was, I just wasn’t that invested. And, in my opinion, the answer to whodunnit was very disappointing; it felt like it was supposed to be a twist that just completely missed its mark.

I still intend to read A Slow Burning Fire upon its release to see if it’s on par with GotT, but after Into the Water my excitement has been curbed. Hopefully her next novel will rekindle my appreciation for her writing style.

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jench391's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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