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. ~taken from Goodreads
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. ~taken from Goodreads
Jennifer McMahon is one of my favorite authors, which shocks even me because I am a huge scaredy-cat and paranormal thrillers aren't my thing. McMahon does a phenomenal job telling a story and getting a reader hooked on the mystery aspect and then sneaking in the paranormal scenes. The genres blend seamlessly. I started my journey with the author when I read and loved "The Winter People" (not reviewed on my blog) and then got swept up in "The Invited". I was so excited to read her latest!
This novel has been my favorite so far! I loved the alternating timelines. We start out in the life of Jax, a woman who has a complicated past and has moved across the country to get away from it all. She was once very close with her sister, Lexie, but since Lexie's mental illness diagnosis they have grown apart. Lexie inherited their grandmother's sprawling estate and living off a trust while she battles a mental illness. Jax is a social worker with tons of student loan debt and barely making ends meet. In a way she resents the life Lexie is living, but all her frustration and jealousy changes when she gets a call that Lexie is dead. She has drowned in the pool.
Meanwhile, in 1929, Ethel is trying everything under the sun to conceive a child with her husband. She married late in life and fears they are too old and will never have the family they dream of. She is a busy woman of her time- the doctor's wife, community committees and sewing circles fill her time. But she feels the emptiness of her womb and becomes obsessed with becoming a mother.
Lexie was a busy woman prior to her death. She seems to have been carrying out experiments and investigating the natural swimming pool on the estate. The pool is filled with water from a natural spring and the spring has a dark history. Locals have wild and crazy stories about the magic of the water. The water in the pool can grant wishes, it can miraculously heal the dying and wounded, it can make anyone's life worthwhile, but it always comes with a price. Sometimes a deadly price.
Ethel's husband surprises her with a weekend away at a brand new grand hotel that boasts of a beautiful natural spring. It is the prefect romantic getaway Ethel needs. Upon arrival there are whispers of wishes being granted. Other guests whose lives have changed for the better simply by telling the water their what they most wish for in life. Ethel whispers her desire to become a mother into the pool and later find out she is pregnant! Full of blissfulness she can't wait for the day her daughter comes into the world. But after her daughter, Margaret, is born the couple learns she has a dire heart issue. She won't live long.
Meanwhile, Jax starts looking into all the papers and notes that Lexie has left behind. The pool has taken many of lives. So many people have been drowned in the water under mysterious circumstances, not just her sister, but her aunt as well. There was also always a rule their grandmother made them follow- NO SWIMMING AT NIGHT! As Jax investigates the mysterious past of the the pool she starts to believe that the pool and the water flowing into it may just have supernatural powers.
The way the two storylines slowly flowed and gave more clues was seamless. We start to see how each main character share a similar story and it all surrounds the mystery of the pool. THE WATER DOES NOT GIVE WITHOUT TAKING!
This was a 5 star read for me and left me swept up even after finishing this chilling, mysterious and satisfying novel. Thanks to Netgalley and Gallery Scout Press for allowing me a digital copy to read and give my honest review.
"The Drowning Kind" is set to be released here in the U.S. on April 6, 2021 so preorder now! You won't be disappointed!
Happy Reading!
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