Renee has previously written a book review of “The Girl on the Train” – Paula Hawkins’ previous book. I generally agreed with Renee’s view that it was not particularly well written but I was drawn into the story nonetheless and enjoyed it enough to give Hawkins’ new book a try.
Into the Water is the story of a single Mum and a seemingly stable teenage girl who both lost their lives in the river that runs through a town. The blurb promises that the investigation into the cause of their deaths will “dredge up long held secrets in the town” and that the writing is “propulsive”.
I found the secrets uncompelling and the writing was not in the slightest bit “propulsive”.
Some of my favourite books have contained unlikable characters – “The Slap” comes to mind. However, the characters in this book are not only unlikable – they are dull and unbelievable. Maybe the problem was that there was too many of them and I kept having to check who was who.
In any case, this was the worst book I have read in a long time. It had all of the flaws of “Girl on the Train” without any of the page-turning enjoyment.
Back to the library for me to find something inspiring…
