annieb123's review against another edition
4.0
Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
The Drowning Kind is a psychological mystery paranormal thriller with a creepy gothic vibe by Jennifer McMahon. Released 6th April 2021 by Simon & Schuster on their Gallery imprint, it's 336 pages and available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
This is a well written, extremely creepy and atmospheric, character driven mystery with a very strong paranormal ghost story subplot central to the story. It's told in a parallel timeline narrative which resolves at the denouement. I found the plotting quite uneven throughout and there were a lot of plot threads which were never resolved which niggled at me annoyingly.
There is some potentially triggering content including self harm (a *lot* of it), suicide ideation, death of a child, mental health issues, death by drowning, and a shed load of paranormal death in addition. There is a nebulous plot, but nothing linear at all. The scenes are strung together sequentially, but don't resolve to any meaningful degree. The end (for me) was something of an anti-climax. Despite the drawbacks, the scenes are beautifully rendered with clear and evocative prose and the characters are finely drawn with believable motivations and dialogue. The author is clearly good at her craft.
Three and a half stars, rounded up for the writing. This would be a good fit for "women's paranormal"/ghost story readers. For me, the ending was the weakest part of the story.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
The Drowning Kind is a psychological mystery paranormal thriller with a creepy gothic vibe by Jennifer McMahon. Released 6th April 2021 by Simon & Schuster on their Gallery imprint, it's 336 pages and available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
This is a well written, extremely creepy and atmospheric, character driven mystery with a very strong paranormal ghost story subplot central to the story. It's told in a parallel timeline narrative which resolves at the denouement. I found the plotting quite uneven throughout and there were a lot of plot threads which were never resolved which niggled at me annoyingly.
There is some potentially triggering content including self harm (a *lot* of it), suicide ideation, death of a child, mental health issues, death by drowning, and a shed load of paranormal death in addition. There is a nebulous plot, but nothing linear at all. The scenes are strung together sequentially, but don't resolve to any meaningful degree. The end (for me) was something of an anti-climax. Despite the drawbacks, the scenes are beautifully rendered with clear and evocative prose and the characters are finely drawn with believable motivations and dialogue. The author is clearly good at her craft.
Three and a half stars, rounded up for the writing. This would be a good fit for "women's paranormal"/ghost story readers. For me, the ending was the weakest part of the story.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
afox98's review against another edition
4.0
Jax gets notice that her estranged sister, Lexie, has drowned in the spring-fed pool at their grandmother's house that Lexie inherited. Jax flies back to Vermont to make funeral arrangements and feels guilty over the time she's let go by that she didn't keep in touch. Lexie has been mentally ill for some time, and you can feel Jax's sympathy and jealousy of how Lexie was the sparkling one throughout their childhood and young adulthood. Reuniting with her father whom she has a difficult relationship with, along with her aunt Diane and childhood friend who runs the bakery, Jax digs into the history of the area and the infamous springs on their land. What she finds is a story about an old hotel on the premises that burned down and a woman named Ethel dependent on the springs in a sad way. The story alternates between Jax's viewpoint and Ethel's and is creepy and suspenseful in all the best ways. I did get annoyed with Jax at various times for not being more of her own person, but overall enjoyed the book immensely.
shipleyd's review against another edition
3.0
Jennifer McMahon's books seem to be a hit or miss for me and this one was closer to a miss. I enjoyed the time frame from the 1920's that explained about the history of the property but had a hard time connecting with the present day. I found it to be boring with not much happening. I was also not surprised by the ending.
ldoherty25'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? Yes
3.0
pili87's review
4.0
4/5 stars
**Mild hints or spoilers**
I was looking for a spooky book to read for October and this ended being a great choice!
I was hoping for more creepy supernatural moments or more background on the origins but I can't deny this book gave me chills a couple of times and made me addicted. The set up is brilliant, the characters well defined and the pacing is perfect. The alternating chapters of the past and present worked incredibly well and every time I finished a chapter I was conflicted between sad and excited to go back to where it left off. Both plots were highly enjoyable and unsettling in their own way and leave you wanting for more.
Things I didnt love: it does feel like the book drags a bit at times. I was hooked but it took very long to reel me in fully. Not much happens and I was expecting the characters to resist or fight against the supernatural, if that makes sense. The characters deny and react to the pool's influence instead of confronting the supernatural element straight on. I'm aware that this book was about the family's feelings and relationships than the pool itself but I still feel a bit cheated.
**Heavy spoiler**
The ending: I liked the ending actually but parts of it just... didn't make sense to me. Are the characters still denying the pool's power? Not a single character likes Sparrow Crest or the pool and yet... they don't fill it and even gather for dinner after everything that happened there?
Unanswered questions: why was Declan dreaming about the fish? How is he related to all this? Did I miss something? Why did the pool have powers at all?
**Mild hints or spoilers**
I was looking for a spooky book to read for October and this ended being a great choice!
I was hoping for more creepy supernatural moments or more background on the origins but I can't deny this book gave me chills a couple of times and made me addicted. The set up is brilliant, the characters well defined and the pacing is perfect. The alternating chapters of the past and present worked incredibly well and every time I finished a chapter I was conflicted between sad and excited to go back to where it left off. Both plots were highly enjoyable and unsettling in their own way and leave you wanting for more.
Things I didnt love: it does feel like the book drags a bit at times. I was hooked but it took very long to reel me in fully. Not much happens and I was expecting the characters to resist or fight against the supernatural, if that makes sense. The characters deny and react to the pool's influence instead of confronting the supernatural element straight on. I'm aware that this book was about the family's feelings and relationships than the pool itself but I still feel a bit cheated.
**Heavy spoiler**
The ending: I liked the ending actually but parts of it just... didn't make sense to me. Are the characters still denying the pool's power? Not a single character likes Sparrow Crest or the pool and yet... they don't fill it and even gather for dinner after everything that happened there?
Unanswered questions: why was Declan dreaming about the fish? How is he related to all this? Did I miss something? Why did the pool have powers at all?
beaksmeep's review
3.0
Idk why but the end just seemed abrupt for me. I liked the idea of the story. Wish there had been more. Especially with the sister. I was left with questions that had no answers. But I suppose that’s what makes a book open ended.
dee_elizabeth's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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
4.0
derbit's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
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
3.25
wanderaven's review against another edition
4.0
This is going to sound weird, but for the first few chapters of this book, I kept comparing McMahon’s writing to Dan Brown. Not that their plots or sentences structures, etc. are anything alike but rather that it took me some time to get settled into the story due to what felt like cliched phrases, and cookie cutter characters.
So why am I still giving this four stars? Honestly, I’m vacillating between three and four and it seems most fair, then, to settle on four. Ultimately, the characters were more fleshed out and endearing to me but I worried about how long it took them to become so; in the first quarter I was close to DNF-ing. I just…. I would start reading sentence that described a character’s physical appearance or some aspect of their personality and I could always predict what it was going to end like, and that felt stock and basic to me.
Yet, somehow, as the characters’ stories progressed, I did become more invested, more intrigued, less concerned about these characterizations. I enjoyed the settings, the folklore, the plot that drew me in - while I didn’t have to drop everything, I was absolutely consistently drawn back and intrigued to see what was going to happen.
This is my third book by McMahon and was, despite my criticisms here, still strong enough to keep me interested and coming back for more. Her general ideas and plot lines are always right up my alley, and I suspect she’ll just keep getting stronger.
ARC provided by Gallery Books and NetGalley.
So why am I still giving this four stars? Honestly, I’m vacillating between three and four and it seems most fair, then, to settle on four. Ultimately, the characters were more fleshed out and endearing to me but I worried about how long it took them to become so; in the first quarter I was close to DNF-ing. I just…. I would start reading sentence that described a character’s physical appearance or some aspect of their personality and I could always predict what it was going to end like, and that felt stock and basic to me.
Yet, somehow, as the characters’ stories progressed, I did become more invested, more intrigued, less concerned about these characterizations. I enjoyed the settings, the folklore, the plot that drew me in - while I didn’t have to drop everything, I was absolutely consistently drawn back and intrigued to see what was going to happen.
This is my third book by McMahon and was, despite my criticisms here, still strong enough to keep me interested and coming back for more. Her general ideas and plot lines are always right up my alley, and I suspect she’ll just keep getting stronger.
ARC provided by Gallery Books and NetGalley.