Paula Hawkins wow’d everyone with her release of The Girl on the Train, but did you know she had another knock-out novel under her belt as well?
Into the Water was the second Hawkins book that I have read, and it was everything I loved about the first one, and then some. She brings the small, fictional town of Beckford (located in Northumberland) to life as readers and townsfolk alike try to unravel why their women are found dead in the waters of their sleepy hamlet.
Two women, a single mother and a young girl, are both are found drowned in this mysterious corner of town. As heads spin trying to figure out what may have happened, we find out that other women, long ago, also met their fates in these dark waters. Unsure what to make of this information, Hawkins keeps readers turning pages.
Hawkins uses different narrators and characters as she jumps between the stories of women who drowned as well as those who knew them. It was, at times, difficult to keep track of exactly who was speaking or when a certain part of the story took place. If I had a critique of this book, it would certainly be that feature.
However, one of my favorite pieces of this book came out of the sometimes jarring multiple vantage points. In one segment, Hawkins surprises readers by taking us all the way back to the trial of a local woman for witchcraft; she is subsequently drowned in the same mysterious waters. The particular section was a jolt of lightning as a history-lover. I would have enjoyed exploring that story further.
If you’re looking for a true-blue crime story, this one doesn’t quite make the cut. However, I enjoyed it as a follow up to her debut title. I enjoy Hawkins voice as an author, and I hope to read more of her work in the future.