A review by onemorepagecrew
The Drowning Kind by Jennifer McMahon

dark mysterious slow-paced

3.0

The Drowning Kind by Jennifer McMahon was a bit of a disappointment for me.  I kept wanting it to surprise me or have a unique plot point, but unfortunately it never came.  For my review I tried to imagine I was someone who hasn’t read endless thrillers and many generational ghost stories, and through that lens it’s a decent read.  
 
Let’s back up though and talk plot. In it we meet Jax, who is returning to the house she grew up in after her sister has drowned in the pool.  We also meet Ethel, who visited the family’s estate in the 1920s when it was a hotel.  The story weaves between the two timelines and tells the story of the land and the families who have occupied it throughout time. There are multiple unreliable narratives / narrators and in my opinion, that was the backbone for the mystery. 
 
I love a ghost story and I really love generational stories.  I love thrillers and horror.  This should have been a brilliant fit of a read for me, but it just lacked the punchiness and originality.  Again, if you don’t consume paranormal thrillers often this would likely be a good read.  It just wasn’t a great fit for me, personally. 
 
Content warnings: Death, Drowning, Mental illness, Self-harm, Child death, Alcoholism, Infertility 
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