What a riveting read this was! I’m so glad I stumbled upon this book on NetGalley and got approved for it, or I wouldn’t have discovered this brilliant author. If you’re looking for an eerie, haunting, atmospheric read, you must give this one a go!

The entire mystery revolved around this mysterious spring water pool had magical qualities and it granted wishes. But…“The water gives, the water takes.” The story followed two narrators and timelines – Ethel in 1929, Jackie (Jax) 2009. Ethel had been wanting to have a baby, so she and her husband visited the hotel where the spring was. Almost immediately, her wish to have a baby was granted. But soon she realized the water didn’t just grant wishes, it wants something back in return too, and it terrified her. When her baby was born, the baby was sleeping more than she should and wasn’t interested in nursing. She grew smaller and paler. Ethel knew there was only one way to save her baby – to take her to the springs.

Meanwhile, Jax in the present day, had just lost her sister, Lexie, who suffered from bipolar. She had loss touch with Lexie for a year and had continued to ignore her calls but was immediately overcome with guilt and grief when she was informed of her sister’s death. She returned to Sparrow Crest, their grandmother’s place, where they spend their summer. Lexie had always been drawn to the mysterious spring water and loved swimming in it even at night. When Lexie was left with the house after her grandmother passed away, she began digging around the stories of the spring water which led her to learning about the house and its dark secrets. Jax stumbled across Lexie's journal and all her findings that didn’t make sense to her. Was Lexie on to something that led to her death, or was it just her bipolar creating havoc?

Deaths in the springs. Mysterious wet footsteps around the house in Sparrow Crest. Figures seen lurking in the springs. And “people who die in that water can come back.” Jax did see Lexie and so did her father. Was the mind playing tricks on them or was it merely grief?

Cue mysterious, bone-chilling sound effects. This story totally creeped me out. I knew I found a gem the moment I started reading this book. Despite the going of back and forth in the timeline, there wasn’t any confusion because of how distinctive the voices of the narrators were. This means one thing: damn good writing. It’s something I need because the little time I have that I could spare to read, I’m usually half awake. Also, this being a spooky story, reading this in the middle of the night definitely didn’t help, but this was an indulgence I couldn’t resist. It’s the kind of book where you keep telling yourself ‘just one more line/page/chapter’ but you just want to keep going.

Only some minor quibbles though, a tiny bit – what was the point of the measurements of the pool, because, at the end, it wasn’t explained anywhere, and it didn’t add any weight to the story, so why bother with it? And her client, the little boy, Declan. He piqued my interest but then he disappeared into the story towards the end.

That said, it didn’t deter me from enjoying the story in its entirety. The pacing was great and characters were well-developed. I’ll be keeping an eye out for this author, for sure!

Disturbingly beautiful!
The story is gripping and unsettling, but impossible to put down.
The author weaves in the past and present in a way that creates pure horror.

I thought this was a very intriguing supernatural kind of mystery. It reminded me a lot of the film Lady in the Water, although the story lines are quite different. Jennifer McMahon never fails to come up with inventive story lines that keep the suspense up, but separate her writing from the many other mystery/suspense writers out there.

Thank you NetGalley and Gallery Books for the ARC!

Lexie is that kind of sister you try to ignore. The kind that takes a lot of mental energy to associate with. So when she blows up Jax's phone one night, Lexie decides she can't deal with it and it ignores the calls. However, Jax doesn't know that that will be the last time she speaks to Lexie. They find Lexie the next day floating in their grandmother's pool. This pool has a long, complicated history. Known as a healing pool, people from all over would come to experience the effects of the water. People would mysterious heal from disabilities, suddenly cure infertility and walk away from life threatening diseases. However, once the water is consumed, the water needs to continuously be supplied to that person, because once the water gives, the water takes. The property of the pool passes through land owner to land owner due to horrible deaths occurring at the spring. It eventually ends up in Lexie's hands before her untimely death. Lexie knew something was wrong with the pool, she knew that people do not escape once it's been consumed. Lexie paid the ultimate price to the pool and as Jax tries to decipher her sister's last days she realizes that Lexie might not be completely gone...

I love anything Jennifer McMahon writes. She has a unique way of written suspenseful, supernatural thrillers that aren't over the top or cheesy. This novel was fresh, and entertaining to read. I love the story of the pool and how nothing escapes it's grasps. It is also a duel timeline story. Lexie and Jax's story is told at the same time as their great-grandmother's. Her family puts the pool in their lives and begins their connection with the water in desperation to save her daughter. Sometimes I don't like duel storylines, but I found I liked the great-grandmother's story more than the sister's. My only complaint is I felt that the ending was rushed. There is a final twist that I wasn't expecting at all, but then it just ends. I would recommend this novel to anyone who likes a good thriller.

Rate: 4/5

Fiction-suspense, supernatural

Author: Jennifer McMahon

“The spring does not give without taking,”

The springs exact a price equal to what was given.


WHAT A READ!! This was so addictive and just the right amount of creepy and thrilling I absolutely loved it! It hits a sweet spot for me as it is about two sisters and I’m a sucker for close sisters as I have one I adore.

ANYWAY! The book. What a past and present thrilling dance! 1929- Ethel Monroe visits a fancy hotel with a fabulous spring water pool that, rumor has it, grants wishes. And ohhh does Ethel have a desire she truly truly wants. A baby! 2019- Jax gets a million calls from her sister Lexie who suffers from bipolar and has manic episodes. Thinking this is one of her episodes she ignores the calls and goes on with her evening thinking she is helping herself deal better with it all since she cut ties with her sister a year ago. Next morning she wakes to the news that her sister has drowned. Drowned in the spring water that, rumor has it, is full of magical healing powers. Magical mysterious creepy powers. Also, Lexie was an amazing swimmer. She lived in Sparrows Crest, where they both basically grew up and swam every summer at their grandmothers house, and she just drowned?! Jax discovers that Lexie has journals and research looking into the history of the house and what darkness could she have found!


The writing was perfection. The descriptions of locations and the eerie but yet beautifully haunting way the spring pool was described. Honestly, I could have been one of those crazy desperate people whispering to the water for help with a family member or taking a dip to relieve an ailment. It was just magical! But. You must pay a price for what you take. Is it worth it?!

I will say that the ending had me disappointed. It ended in a way I wouldn’t have expected but maybe because it brought more questions. Was Jax’s suspicion worth anything in the end? What she was weary about... is that what happened? What about some of Lexie’s research? I was kind of confused and I am not sure if it is one of those endings where you have that internal mind battle about certain things that happened but I personally like having everything answered and I don’t feel like that happened here. Regardless, excellent book!

Thank you Netgalley and Gallery Books for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

I read and liked The Invited, but The Drowning Kind surpassed it. Though it's set in Vermont, this ghost story sounds like something you'd hear about here in Tennessee. The dual timeline gave the backstory needed to make the setting come alive. What I loved most was the believe-ability of the characters. They seemed like real people in real situations and with real issues. There's an air of mystery around them, of course, but I could definitely get lost in the normalcy of it all. The spooky springs and the creepy estate just added to the perfection. Loved this book and am in search of more like it!

I've been longing for a creepy scary book to read and this book fully satisfied that craving. The Drowning Kind is brilliantly written. Fast paced, creepy as hell, and just when you think you have it all figured out....it delivers an ending that will smack you across the face!

I loved this book. I'm normally one to read a book start to finish in one day, but I chose to ration and savor this book over the course of a few days, I didn't want it to end. There are books you love but soon forget and there are books you love and will always remember. This is the latter. This book will forever come to mind whenever I am near water, and you can bet I'll think twice before going in.

Thank you to Gallery Books and Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is the kind of book that you don't want to put down until you've reached the last, creepy page! I've read a few of Jennifer McMahon's books, which I loved, and I this one did not disappoint. I personally classify it as thriller/horror due to the paranormal aspects.

This book really sucked me in, not just because it was spooky, but because it was so atmospheric. The water in this novel is a character itself. Water is powerful in real life, of course, but I thought it was really interesting how the water seems to have its own desire. I also highly enjoyed the duel timelines. The book alternates between Jackie (Jax ) in present day and Ethel in the 1929 points of view. I'm a sucker for historical fiction as it is, but historical with ghosts? Sign me up! Secrets from the past are also my catnip.

Overall, an unputdownable, spooky read. I think if you enjoy horror or just want something spooky, but not too scary, then you'll love this as much as I did.

*Special thank you to Gallery/Scout Books and NetGalley for the awesome arc.

Jax moves to the west coast to put distance between her and her sister, Lexie after their grandmother leaves her home, Sparrow Crest, to Lexie. One night, Lexie calls repeatedly leaving numerous messages. Assuming that it was another manic episode, Jax ignores the calls and doesn't answer. After returning the calls the next day, she is unable to reach Lexie and asks her aunt who lives locally to check in. A frantic call from Aunt Diane telling her that Lexie was dead-drowned in the pool she loved so much-sent Jax back to Sparrow Crest. She is intrigued in the research Lexie started doing and starts trying to figure everything out.

Ethel is in her late thirties and newly married. Desperate for a baby and having no success, her husband whisks her away for a weekend at a hotel with a mysterious spring rumored to have the power to grant wishes. Little does Ethel realize that the wishes are not without payment.

This book is told in dual POV and in different points in time. It makes the build up in this story even better. This is a must read! 5 out of 5 stars. Thank you Galley Books/Scout Press for an e-ARC through NetGalley.

This one was definitely creepy and the ending was NOT what I expected. When her sister Lexie dies suddenly, Jax is dragged back to her grandmother’s house where they’d spent much of their childhood summers, and the house her sister had inherited upon her grandmother’s death. I enjoyed the two timelines and thought it was very well written. I definitely had a hard time putting this one down and really enjoyed it, even though the ending wasn’t what I’d hoped it would be.

Wow! I usually don’t really enjoy books with a paranormal element, but I did really enjoy this one! The story is told in two different eras, but the two stories are definitely intertwined. This was a good book that had a lot of suspense!

"There's something in the water." In Jennifer McMahon's latest novel about a hot springs that grants miracles, this is most definitely true. If you're familiar with McMahon's work, then you know she has perfected the creepy ghost story. Her novels are usually classified as mystery and sometimes get labeled as horror, but it's a very subtle sort of fear that she creates for her readers. I read The Winter People years ago and remember being unsettled down to my core after I finally finished it. I've never really been big into ghost stories, but McMahon writes in such a way that I never realize I've crossed into supernatural territory. Maybe that's what makes her stories so downright chilling.

In The Drowning Kind, people from all around the country travel to visit some mysterious springs that are said to cure ailments of every kind and grant miracles. The locals tell people to stay away and warn that the springs give, but they also take away. Readers follow the story of two women, Ethel and Jackie (aka Jax) and their experiences with the mystical water. Ethel's narrative takes place in flashbacks, back when a hotel that tried to profit from the springs met a tragic end. Ethel asked the springs to grant her deepest desire-a baby. The springs deliver on that request almost immediately, but it doesn't take long for Ethel to realize that along with every blessing, there is a curse to balance out the forces in the universe.

Meanwhile in present day, Ethel's great-great-granddaughter Jax is mourning the death of her mentally ill sister, Lex, who drowned in the springs while living alone at the family estate. Lex had called Jax several times the night of her death, leaving manic messages for her sister about the water in the springs. Jax chose not to answer and now lives with the guilt of knowing she'll never get the chance to speak with her sister again. Her death makes no sense to Jax because Lex knew those springs like the back of her hand, having swam in them daily since she was a small child. Jax arrives to the property only to find the house in a peculiar state. All the light bulbs have been busted out of the sockets and every surface is covered with cryptic notes written in Lex's handwriting. Jars of water are scattered everywhere and upon further inspection, Jax realizes that Lex was investigating the springs when she died. Perhaps her sister had actually stumbled upon something during her investigation that could explain her untimely death? Jax decides to continue her sister's research, but it takes her down a dark road from which there may not be a way to turn back.

This was such an enjoyable book! I've been a fan of Jennifer McMahon's writing for awhile now, but even I was surprised how much I ended up liking this one. Like I said before, it didn't keep me up at night from fear, but it was scary in a much more nuanced way. I was starting to feel a little disappointed as I neared the end of the book, not really liking the way it was wrapping up and then WHAM! The story shifts just a tad and blows me away. I loved that ending! If you've ever read McMahon's other novels, you should definitely check this one out and if you haven't, then do yourself a favor and start reading one on a chilly, dark night. I guarantee you'll be spooked!

*Thanks to the author, Gallery Books, and Netgalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I’m still not 100% sure what I think of this book. It kept me coming back, but there were times it had my full attention and I was all in. I stayed up late to finish it, and was underwhelmed. Pretty sure I said “Huh.” and that was it. I’m still sorting through my thoughts, and would still recommend it I think, because it was a spooky, and fascinating story. ⁣
••••••••••⁣
𝙎𝙮𝙣𝙤𝙥𝙨𝙞𝙨 ⁣
𝘉𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳.⁣
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When social worker Jax receives nine missed calls from her older sister, Lexie, she assumes that it’s just another one of her sister’s episodes. Manic and increasingly out of touch with reality, Lexie has pushed Jax away for over a year. But the next day, Lexie is dead: drowned in the pool at their grandmother’s estate. When Jax arrives at the house to go through her sister’s things, she learns that Lexie was researching the history of their family and the property. And as she dives deeper into the research herself, she discovers that the land holds a far darker past than she could have ever imagined.⁣
⁣
In 1929, thirty-seven-year-old newlywed Ethel Monroe hopes desperately for a baby. In an effort to distract her, her husband whisks her away on a trip to Vermont, where a natural spring is showcased by the newest and most modern hotel in the Northeast. Once there, Ethel learns that the water is rumored to grant wishes, never suspecting that the spring takes in equal measure to what it gives.⁣
⁣

This is a suspenseful, haunting, and captivating story. Jax learns that her sister, Lexie, has drowned in the natural spring located in her late grandmother’s house. Lexie moved to this house after inheriting it, and has worked on researching its history ever since.

Once Jax arrives at the house to coordinate her sister’s funeral and put her affairs in order, she discovers Lexie’s research and becomes absorbed by what she finds.

There is a dual timeline; the other story starts in 1929 and is narrated by Ethel Monroe, a new bride who wishes to get pregnant and starts visiting the natural springs to help her conceive.

I enjoyed the story; it kept me in suspense from the beginning and was scary at times. The author did a great job with the imagery and the setting. I highly recommend it.

This was not as thrilling for me as I was hoping. "The Winter People" is still my favorite by Jennifer McMahon. There were definitely some creepy parts, don't get me wrong, but at points it just felt a little repetitive to me. It was very atmospheric and I thought the writing and plot were Interesting, but I just felt like I wanted more. Definitely not bad, a d if you like ghost stories, this could totally be worth checking out.

Jax returns to her family's old home on the sprawling property in Vermont after the death of her sister who has drowned in the spring fed pool. When she gets there she sees that her sister was researching the history of the house. As she begins to look into it, she realizes there is something more sinister going on with this pool. Then you'll get the story from the past, 1920s. Ethel wants to become pregnant, and her husband offers to take her to the most beautiful hotel in Vermont with spring fed pools. Ethel learns that these pools have been known to grant wishes. But when she makes her wish, she doesn't know that the pool takes as much as it gives.

The story old in 2 timelines, the present time at Sparrow Crest and the past at The Brandenburg Springs Hotel and Resort. The alternating timelines worked well and flowed nicely. The characters were relatable. I've read and enjoyed several of Ms. McMahon books and enjoyed this one as well. I expect a mysterious and eerieness and I'm never disappointed.

This was such a great thriller read! I always have issues with pacing when it comes to these kinds of books, but I thought this one was just the right amount of slow and quick at the same time! The cover is absolutely gorgeous as well. I love going into thriller/mystery books without knowing much, so I think doing so with this one would also be a smart idea!

Coverage for Frolic can be found here: https://frolic.media/perfect-pairings-books-and-candle-scents/

In Jennifer McMahon’s The Drowning Kind, Jax, a young social worker, finds herself the recipient of several missed calls and long messages from her sister. Lexie sounds like she is off her medication and in the throws of a manic episode. Lexie calls her again and again, leaving voicemails begging Jax to come and join her at Sparrow Crest, the family home Lexie inherited when their grandmother passed away. Jax ignores those calls until she gets one she cannot ignore. Lexie is dead, found floating in Sparrow Crest’s pool, a pool built out of the spring local folklore says can heal.

That pool is at the heart of The Drowning Kind’s other story, that of Ethel, which takes place in the 1920s. She’s a newly wed woman, maybe a little older than other newlyweds. Could have easily become a spinster if not for the love of her life, Doctor Will Monroe. Theirs is a grand love, but neither is getting any younger, and it seems something is missing in their lives, something Ethel will do anything for.

There is a lot to like about this book. The character work is damn near impeccable, with Jax being a fully fleshed-out character. Jax is damn flawed, nowhere near a perfect person. She’s given to jealousy, which is a major thread through this story. Her jealousy towards Lexie is the resentment that only a younger sibling could have towards their elders. Lexie herself is given life through the eyes of Jax and those that knew her, which is very well done. Ethel keeps her pain inside, the anxieties we all face and then some. Even the side characters – Aunt Diane; Jax and Lexie’s father Ted (not Dad, only Ted); and the girl’s friend Ryan – all of them just make sense as people.

The writing works here. The words propel you forward, not holding your hand or shoving the answers down your throat. Nothing too fancy, but it works. McMahon gives you a good mystery, what happened to Lexie in that pool, and what is the secret of that pool that spans generations. We follow the two main characters as they fall victim to that mystery, as they lose themselves to it.

Which brings me to the one flaw I can find, the one thing that kept eating me after I finished this book. See, this is the third book of McMahon’s I’ve read, the other two being The Winter People and The Invited, and while all three are fine books, good little yarns about the spooky things in Vermont, all are very similar. There’s a modern mystery, a modern narrator, and cut through all of them there is a story from olden times informing the modern-day mystery, often told through a diary.

And that’s fine. The author has a format, there is nothing wrong with that. It’s damn near its own genre, I’m sure. I can think of a handful of other books I’ve read this year with a similar trick, but so long as that individual book, regardless of similarities to others in their format, work, does the thing we read scary books for, that’s fine. Right?

Disregarding that little thing there stuck in my craw, I have to admit this is a good read, with plenty of atmosphere and charm. Real scary, no, but there were enough moments there.

Grades:
Overall: 4 Star Rating Cover
Buy from Amazon US. Cover
Buy from Bookshop.
Simon and Schuster Chris Deal Jennifer McMahon

Holy cow WOW, I am mind blown! This book is deliciously dark, creepy, chilling, thrilling, shocking, and Unputdownable!!! It’s the type that’s so well written, it will leave you hungover and with a mind spinning so fast, it’s impossible to slow the thoughts coming through! One in which you can’t WAIT to finish, but also cry when you do! Absolutely chilling to the bone, well written, character flawless, and much more! I think this author might be a new fav! Highly, highly recommend; but must add a warning, do not start unless you have TIME TO FINISH!

Ill buzz around platforms and use low Amazon reviewer number on release date!