A challenging novel but an interesting and
exciting one which certainly prompts a re-read. (Review by Caroline Smart)
Paula Hawkins’, author of The Girl on the Train, the runaway Sunday
Times No. 1 bestseller, has created a new psychological thriller with Into the Water.
The thriller is set in a rural area called
Beckford near Newcastle in the UK. There is a river running through the town
and at one point it becomes dark and ominous. Known as the Drowning Pool, this
has been the site of a number of drownings. Or were the women in question
pushed … or perhaps their bodies thrown in?
The leading character is Jules Abbott who
makes a return to her home following the devastating news that her sister, Nel,
is dead – having jumped into the Drowning Pool. Or such is the local belief.
Jules refuses to believe this and sets
about trying to uncover the mystery. It doesn’t help that she and her sister
had been estranged for years as well as the fact that Nel made 11 calls to Jules
over the last three months to which Jules didn’t respond. So guilt is playing a
major role in her investigation process.
Nel called the Drowning Pool a place to get
rid of “troublesome women”. She was writing a book about the Beckford drownings
as well as installing cameras above the site which made her a number of enemies.
Jules now finds herself responsible for
Lena – Nel’s teenage daughter – and, apart from being a complex character, Lena
is steadfastly holding onto a secret which could provide answers to many
queries.
There are numerous characters – all interwoven,
many of them haunted by dreams or memories. The chapters are short, moving from
one character to another and the book goes forwards and backwards in time.
This is a challenging novel but an
interesting and exciting one. It certainly prompts a re-read to appreciate the
writer’s handling of this complicated set of relationships, her understanding
of characters and how the investigation unfurls.
Hawkins was born and raised in Salisbury, Rhodesia
(now Harare, Zimbabwe), leaving after school to settle in the UK. The Girl on the Train was adapted into a
film in 2016.
Into the Water is published in paperback by
Penguin Random House South Africa ISBN 9780857524430. Recommended Price R295. –
Caroline Smart
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