Jax is devastated when she learns her once beloved but recently estranged sister has drowned during a manic episode in their grandmother’s pool. Jax heads to the family home for the funeral, and she is unsettled to learn that the history of tragedies involving the pool extend back to the 1930s.

I found this a little wacky, as there was a mystical element I wasn’t prepared for! Once I buckled up and bought into this eerie book, I willing gave myself a growing case of the heebie jeebies with every chapter. I think alternating timelines with huge gaps either work or they don’t – and I was pleasantly surprised to find these timelines worked for me as I read. This wasn’t something I’d normally pick up but I enjoyed my time reading it.

If you’re into spooky stuff, give it a go!

Horror

I was really looking forward to reading this novel after reading all the 4 and 5 star reviews and personally loving McMahon's The Invited. I'm going to be in the minority when I say that I didn't love this book or even really like it.

This is another creepy, otherworldly experience of a novel. We have dual timelines with Ethel the narrator from the 1930's and Jax in the current story. In both timelines, the women have had weird experiences with the springs/pool on a piece of property. In the 30's timeline, it was a small spring fed pond next to a hotel and in the current storyline the pond has been made into a large pool. Several women and children have drowned in the pool and the water is said to be cursed. It has also been said that if you ask for a favor from the springs, it will probably be granted, but there will be a price to pay.

The stories are spooky and you have to wonder what exactly is going on. Is there someone behind the creepy events? Are there ghosts in the water? Why are people that know how to swim drowning? Why is everyone spooked? How can the waters also be healing? It's a conundrum.

In my opinion, none of the questions are solved or answered and the events in both timelines aren't that different. Nothing really happens except that people drown and have crazy experiences in the water. There is a whopper of a twist in the last paragraphs of the book, but it didn't redeem the novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.

3.5 stars

I enjoy timeslip books, as well as suspense stories, so this book hit the spot. While there are some missing plot points, the reader is able to connect the dots. A few parts, including the ending, felt a bit rushed, but it's still an enjoyable book overall. McMahon certainly knows how to hook a reader. If you're looking for a good creepy read (and you're not planning to go swimming anytime soon!), this is a book to add to your TBR list!

What a story! Family and loss. Perfect story of what one does to lived ones and what boundaries need to be made. Be careful what you wish for.

A little too creepy for me and inplausible. Wasn't ready for a book with mental health and mystery mixed

One thing I can always count on with McMahon is a very atmospheric, creepy vibe. The Drowning Kind certainly delivers with dual timelines, a healing pool, familial relationships and the price you have to pay to get the one thing you think you want.

I was pulled in immediately learning about Lexie, Jax and Ethel. However, towards the last third of the book, I got a little bored. The story is interesting in itself, but I didn't feel I was getting the full oomph of what I wanted and a couple threads were left hanging. This is definitely a slow burn of a paranormal story that will raise the hair on your body and have you side eyeing any body of water where you cannot see the bottom.

I very much enjoyed the "be careful what you wish for" theme that includes the "healing" properties of this spring water that is simultaneously giving us feelings of hope and fear. Just how far would you go to get something you truly desired? And can you live with the ripple effect it will have not just on yourself but on everyone around you as well?

If you enjoy a creepy gothic atmosphere, dual timelines and secrets that may die with their owners but still come back to haunt you... well this is definitely the read for you. It probably was a bit too slow for my taste but doesn't take away from the tense feel I had throughout and the brilliance that is McMahon.

McMahon does it again.

This woman nails thriller and suspense EVERY single time! I love her writing style, the ambience and the characters.

ennifer McMahon, author of The Invited, has once again created a ghoulish, eerie story about two families whose lives, although generations apart, come together and intertwine to tell a tale of what people will do to save the ones they love while knowing there may be terrible consequences.

In the present, Jax is a social worker who helps children. As a child, she herself wishes there was someone who could have saved her from the turmoil of her family. She has a sister, Lexie, whose mental illness basically ruled their lives as children. Lexie now lives alone in their late grandmother’s Vermont house, just one reason for Jaxs’ resentment of her sister because the house was left to Lexie, not both of them. As of late they have not been close, but when Lexie starts calling Jax and leaving manic messages, Jax thinks its just Lexie off her meds.

But unfortunately, Jax learns much too late that was not the case. Lexie is found dead, drowned in the swimming pool on the property. Now Jax must face the guilt of not having heeded the signs that Lexie was in terrible trouble. She must now go back to the house for Lexie’s memorial and to get Lexie’s personal belongings in order, a task she does not want as the memories of their lives together there were filled with chaos and even at times sinister.

After she settles back into the house, she discovers Lexie had actually been quite obsessed with the history of the property, especially the pool. Through the years there had been a series of drownings in the pool, including her grandmother’s young sister. Suddenly Jax begins to think she sees and hears her sister. She believes Lexie is trying to tell her something, but she cannot understand what. Is she too going crazy?

In 1929 Ethel Monroe, married to Doctor Will Monroe has been trying to get pregnant for over a year, but with no success. Ethel hears of a hotel in Vermont where there are natural springs which have been known to help people who are damaged in some way, heal. She hears stories of people who cannot walk, entering the springs and miraculously walking out on their own accord. She decides to vacation there with her husband, not telling him the real reason she wants to go. She wants to try and wish for a baby in the springs.

Amazingly she gets pregnant! But the baby, who is a girl, is born very ill and they are told will not live the year. Ethel believes the only way to cure her child is by taking her to what is left of the springs as there was a terrible fire and the hotel was burned to the ground. But the scientist in Will does not believe in this type of hocus pocus. Ethel cannot watch their child die. She decides to try on her own to get the water from the springs. But will this work?

And as the two plots collide what emerges are family secrets, startling revelations, ghostly visions and a completely unexpected ending which answers all the questions. The Drowning Kind is an exceptionally haunting read in more ways than one!

Thank you #NetGalley #Gallery/ScoutPress #JenniferMcMahon #TheDrowningKind for the advanced copy.

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Jax has left her hometown in an attempt to distance herself from her unstable sister, Lexie. When she receives multiple calls from Lexie, she doesn’t answer, thinking she is just in the middle of another crisis. However, when she discovers that Lexie, she has to return to the home that she thought she had lost.

Wow. What a ride! This creepy story kept me guessing, trying to figure out what would happen next, but I was always wrong!

Wow! This book was full of surprises. It had me guessing at every turn. This story is both heartbreaking and mysterious. The mystery and unexplained wonders of the springs was one of my favorite parts. I loved the relationship between Jax and Lexie. No siblings are perfect but they truly did balance each other out. Some scenes gave me the chills and there’s plenty of twists you don’t see coming. That ending had me heading towards book hangover town.

This is a new to me author. I really enjoyed her story telling style. The book is well written and full of descriptive scenes that really brought the story to life. I will be checking out her other books! If you’re looking for a read with a little mystery that gives you the chills, this book is for you! I highly recommend this book! I give it 5 stars.

This definitely had eerie feel to it. I expected just a bit more creepiness. I can appreciate the connection to the water and the people and the relationships and bonds that were there. But i just wanted a little more. I wanted the dual timelines to tie together a bit more. I felt like there was supposed to be some big reveal or conclusion and it wasn’t as impactful as i was hoping it would be. I think it was just a bit lackluster and like there could have been a bit more. I think for the ghostly element, it could have been capitalized on more but it didn’t really creepy me out as much as i wanted.

I received a copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

This book has two timelines. The first concerns two sisters in 2019; Jackie and Lexie who are estranged. Lexie drowns in a spring-fed pool in the backyard of the house she inherited from her grandmother shortly after placing an unanswered call to Jackie. Jackie goes back home to take care of arrangements. She has a lot of guilt and issues surrounding her sister and other family members. The second timeline is set in 1929 when newly married Ethel Monroe desperately wants a baby.

Superstition says that the spring-fed pool in the story grants wishes and heals. Some people believe very strongly in it's powers but also warn that while the water gives it also takes. This story has a paranormal bent to it which I usually don't enjoy. In this case I really liked the way the author described the spooky surroundings. The character development was very good as well. I could see the pieces of the two timelines coming together very early in the story but it did not hurt my enjoyment of the story. The ending of this book gave me chills.

Although this book was not my normal type of read I'm so glad I gave it a chance. I could not put it down. It was a well-written, creepy story that will stay with me for a long time. I would highly recommend it.

Creepy and atmospheric, this story is based on a natural spring that's rumored to grant wishes. People come from all over to be healed from crippling injuries or to have their wishes granted, not expecting the heavy price in exchange. And with every drowning, the spring only grows stronger.
Jax and Lexie spent their childhood summers at their grandmother's estate, where a natural spring has been made into a private pool. Lexie always loved the pool and wished to become a stronger swimmer. Later in life she suffers from bipolar manic episodes and it's nothing new for her to call Jax at all hours. When she gets several voice mails from Lexie, each crazier than the last she ignores them only to find out that her sister was found drowned in the pool. She travels to the estate to follow the clues her sister left behind only to find a startling truth about the pool.
I love this author's books and they keep getting better and creepier! I couldn't put this one down and I know this story will be stuck in my nightmares for awhile.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The views and opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and given voluntarily.

The Drowning Kind was a unique and interesting story written with a dual timeline. The premise of the story was creepy and captivating. Written with entertaining characters and an ending I did not predict, I truly enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Shuster Audio for and ARC copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Jennifer McMahon is one of my favorite authors, so I'm a bit biased. But I will say not all of her books are necessarily 5 stars. But this one fits the bill! Growing up I read Stephen King and lived for the creepy stories. So this book was right up my alley! On the creepy scale this was a 10 out of 10!
I enjoyed this book right from the start. Watching Jaws as a kid and more times than I dare to count, I grew up with a natural fear of deep and dark water. But a spring fed pool? Yep! Dark and endless , the spring where people go to make wishes is known to have a dark side. The water is dark and deep and the rumors around town say that if you ask for something, the water takes something in return. JUICY! So this story links the past to the future with 2 different women's POV about the Spring and their own experiences of being drawn to the water.
Definitely a Horror book, first and foremost, and I loved all of it.

I love this author and everything she rights so I knew this would be no exception. She delivered. I loved this story! I’d highly recommend it to people and I think people are gonna love it!

This was a very good read I couldn’t put it down thank you to net galley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book. Jennifer McMahon your books amaze me this was on the seat couldn’t stop till I was finished

This book has everything I LOVE in a Jennifer McMahon book. Interesting characters, lush yet creepy settings, a feeling of dread, and a "is it supernatural or not" feeling throughout the whole book. The characters are engaging and real. I was invested right from teh beginning.
This story hooked me in from the beginning and kept me entranced until the very end (which left me feeling a bit melancholy). My only complaint is that I would have loved some chapters from Lexie's point of view. I wanted to know about her and what she went through.
I highly recommend this book, and thsi author, for some spooky fun. It is my second favorite McMahon to date (The Winter People is still my favorite).
I recieved a copy of this book from #Netgalley for a fair and honest review.

This is my favorite Jennifer McMahon novel It is hauntingly creepy - ghostly atmospheric - and character rich. I loved the use of water as alluring yet cursed - addicting yet plagued - eerily intrusive. The springs and pool are as much a character in this novel as are Lexi and Jax, two sisters who visit the pool during their childhood and end up inheriting the estate - enter obsession. The story moves from these present day characters to a 1920's timeline with the characters Will and Ethel, newlyweds, who desperately want a child. They hear of the natural springs that have healing attributes and is said to grant wishes - 'Be careful what you wish for' - enter addition. The story, like the waters, draws you in - it is an excellently crafted haunting tale.

Oh, this was eerie and haunting, in a good way! This had some supernatural aspects to it, which I'm beginning to love more and more lately. There is alternate timelines here, but this author does it really well. Normally, I'm not a fan...but this blended together perfectly. I couldn't put this one down, and I can't wait to pick up others by this author very soon!