Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Into the Water by Paula Hawkins

14 reviews

mr_cain's review

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I only docked .25 of a star because the pacing was so slow in the exposition. I understand she's establishing a whole host of characters and I do appreciate it, but it's a book you have to power through the first part of. 

This book genuinely kept me guessing. I did suspect the real culprit several times, but I waffled often. Hawkins does a great job supplying motive and details for each of the suspects without it feeling like a painfully deliberate red herring. 

Hawkins also makes the characters each their own and her style is distinct for each chapter in a different POV (i.e. Helen, Jules, + Sean's chapters all feel genuine vs. the same style with different names as many POV switching books seem to do). She provides a cast of characters who are complex and feel so real. Not every character is deeply complicated but they all have their own established psyches which I loved. 

I can easily call myself a Paula Hawkins fan after this.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Death of parent, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Bullying, Body shaming, Infidelity, Rape, Fatphobia, Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Blood

Minor: Vomit, Eating disorder, and Chronic illness

paronomaniac's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious relaxing tense medium-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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Suicide, and Rape

Moderate: Child abuse, Misogyny, Animal death, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child death, Infidelity, Murder, Suicide attempt, and Fatphobia

eshiltonn's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-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

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Infidelity, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Murder, and Death

unboxedjack's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.25

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Grief, Rape, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Child death, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Animal death and Animal cruelty

blackferrum's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Actual rating: 3,8

Baca ini setelah 2 tahun dan kesannya beda banget waktu pertama kali baca. Well, aku lupa dulu kenapa bisa betah sama narasi khas dari penulis yang emang panjang dan mampir-mampir dulu, tapi sebenernya beberapa aspek bagus.

Pertama, aku suka voice karakternya bisa dibedakan. Memang, karakternya banyak banget, sampai beberapa waktu setelah mulai mesti mengingat dia siapa, relasinya dengan si ini apa. Tapi ya itu tadi, setiap karakter punya ciri khas. Kalau dilihat secara umum, Julia sekilas sama kayak Louise, sama-sama punya gangguan mental dan kelihatan nggak bisa dealing with the past, tapi selain keterangan ini pov siapa di awal bab, mereka bisa dibedakan.

Kedua, alur yang menapak satu demi satu tangga hingga sampai konfliknya bagus. Yep, memang sih, kesannya kayak belok ke kanan dulu padahal bisa langsung belok kiri aja. Kayaknya ini ciri khas PH naikin tension di ceritanya agar bisa makin naik (?) plus dia nggak segan-segan membeberkan banyak rahasia dari setiap karakternya biar pembaca makin bingung mau ngarahin telujuk ke mana.

Ketiga, proyek Nel Abott soal Kolam Penenggelaman itu bagus. Maksudku, aku paham kenapa dia jadi terobsesi dengan sungai itu dan emang ceritanya kelam-kelam semua. Oh, salah satu kebenaran mengenai kematian salah satu korban Kolam Penenggelaman itu duh, ngeri, sih. Bikin sadar kalau ternyata batas antara mimpi dan ingatan itu beda tipis.

Terakhir, aku suka ilustrasi sampulnya, sih. Kerasa kesan air dan misterinya.

Bagian yang mungkin bikin kurang sreg sih, ya narasi yang mesti ke mana-mana dulu atau rahasia karakter lain ditebar biar orang nggak bisa langsung nebak. Yah, ini memang jadi keuntungan sekaligus kelemahan. Salah satu kelemahannya, rawan bikin bosen dan karena rahasia masing-masing orang terasa pribadi banget, rasanya malah kayak kita lagi ngintip gitu.

Bagian yang juga jadi perhatian itu dinamika hubungan antara Nel dan Julia. Kasihan sih, mereka banyak salah paham di masa lalu.

Oh, di buku ini ada isu sensitif soal pedofilia, medium sih, tapi hati-hati aja.

***

Jules (Julia) Abbott harus kembali ke Rumah Penggilingan─rumah masa kecilnya─karena kakak sekaligus saudara satu-satunya, Nel Abbott, ditemukan terapung di atas Kolam Penenggelaman.

Kisah-kisah mistik sekaligus mitos yang berkembang di masyarakat sekitar Beckford sepertinya sudah cukup kental, sehingga penemuan mayat Nel dianggap memiliki kaitan dengan kematian 4 wanita lain (yang berbeda generasi); Libby, Anna, Lauren, dan Katie yang juga meninggal dalam sungai tenang namun menghanyutkan itu.

Unsur thriller yang dipadukan dengan sedikit unsur paranormal ini membuat pembaca ngeri sekaligus penasaran. Bagaimana kisah orang-orang di sekitar Nel yang mencari motif dan alasan "kenapa" dan "bagaimana" dirinya meninggal hingga ditemukan di air yang baginya sudah menjadi "teman hidup" itu.

Sudut pandangnya berubah-ubah pada setiap chapter. Bisa sudut pandang pertama maupun ketiga, tergantung pada siapa yang bertutur dalam chapter tersebut. Agaknya memang membingungkan di awal. Nama-nama tokoh yang terlibat tidak sedikit, walaupun memang kebanyakan masih memiliki relasi, tapi tetap saja aku sempat berhenti sejenak untuk mengingat-ingat siapa yang dimaksud Jeannie, Mark, Josh, Helen, Alec, dan masih banyak lagi.

Ini buku kedua Paula Hawkins yang aku baca, setelah sebelumnya berkenalan dengan karya pertama sekaligus fenomenalnya, Girl On The Train. Tipikal "drama" yang ditulis Paula tampaknya masih belum berubah, masih sama-sama mengandung unsur sederhana-namun-rumit. Jika kalian sudah membaca dua bukunya pasti akan paham maksudku, karena ini khas banget!

Karena itu spekulasiku dari awal benar meskipun kadang terbantah di beberapa bagian, tapi spekulasi lain muncul. Yah, bukunya tebal, jadi kalian juga pasti akan sangat penasaran bagaimana dan kenapa Nel Abbott ini malah memilih mati di sungai yang notabene adalah "hidup"nya.

Perfect 5 stars for this book! Terjemahannya oke banget (bakal jadi langganan terjemahan dari Naoura Books, nih, hehe), mudah dipahami, dan nggak bikin bingung. Plot twist di akhir memang nggak "wah" tapi bakal bikin pembaca langsung mencak-mencak nggak jelas karena "Seriously?"

Pencinta thriller dan karya Paula Hawkins, wajib baca ini!

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity, Pedophilia, Mental illness, and Alcohol

lulu2312's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

It was a really easy book to read. I read it in two days and enjoyed it. But there are things in there that I didn't like, like pedophilia which isn't really condemned and the plot was pretty predictable except for the last sentence where I was like, okay, I didn't really see it coming. But overall it was good!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexism, Death, Violence, Suicide, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, and Pedophilia

Minor: Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Child abuse, Death, and Infidelity

hkhowell's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I love the format of this book! There were so many characters and they all had their own POV chapters which added to the mystery in a compelling way. I would have liked to read more about the drownings before Lauren/seen their connection a little more obviously. I also would have loved to learn more about the main characters back story - we don't know anything about her before Nel's death. I get why she didn't want to go back to where she grew up but I would have liked to know what all she was leaving behind to do so.

I liked this one way more than the girl on the train. Ultimately the reading experience was more enjoyable than the actual story.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Murder, Rape, Suicide attempt, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, and Emotional abuse

cheye13's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.0

I was intrigued by a premise that didn't pay off. I find a lotta mystery/thrillers lean on the drama of people hating each other or simply being terrible for no reason, and that's precisely all this is. Everyone hated each other throughout this book and I have no clue why. The drama of the drowning pool was barely skimmed and the ending was not only unsatisfying, but also pointless. I do like a small town interwoven with drama, and I don't mind unlikeable characters, but as everyone was horrible for seemingly no reason, this was ultimately just an annoyance to read.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Murder, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fatphobia, and Grief

Moderate: Gaslighting, Infidelity, Sexism, Cursing, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Drug use, Eating disorder, and Physical abuse

rape is not depicted on-page, but before and after is extensively detailed; many detailed scenes involve drowning

angelafeng's review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Murder, Infidelity, Violence, Blood, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Animal death, Fatphobia, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Rape, Cursing, Bullying, Body shaming, and Pedophilia

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Eating disorder, Cancer, and Suicide attempt

boredacademic's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Cursing, Death of parent, Death, Fatphobia, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicide

Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Misogyny