Review: Into the Water by Paula Hawkins - Happy Thanksgiving! :)

Summary from Goodreads:

In the last days before her death, Nel called her sister. Jules didn’t pick up the phone, ignoring her plea for help. Now Nel is dead. They say she jumped. And Jules has been dragged back to the one place she hoped she had escaped for good, to care for the teenage girl her sister left behind. But Jules is afraid. So afraid. Of her long-buried memories, of the old Mill House, of knowing that Nel would never have jumped. And most of all she’s afraid of the water, and the place they call the Drowning Pool . . . 

My Review:




What I Liked:

Characters. I felt that the novel focused heavily on characters rather than plot. That might turn people off but I'm a big fan of character development and that is what made me enjoy this book more than I expected. 

Plot/Twists. I thought that I guesses who was the murder from some of the hints in the text but I was wrong! It was not a complete shock but I still enjoyed the surprise. All of the twists were interesting to read and intensity picked up near the last 100 or so pages.

Writing Style. The Girl on the Train was an okay read but I felt that Hawkin's writing improved in her second novel. There were times I struggled with the format and the pacing but I kept reading because of the beautiful and intense writing.

What I Disliked:

Format. I tend to like multiple povs and small chapters but with this one the chapters went by too quickly and it was hard to get sucked into the story. 

Points of View. I grew to like the various points of view in the novel but it was hard to keep track of the amount of characters. The novel had 11 narrators and I felt that it could have been fewer or focused more on the main characters. 

I recommend checking this out for the beautiful writing. It is a well-written thriller with interesting characters.

My Rating:

4 Stars Out of 5 Stars