I adored The Winter People and I knew I would love this one. I devoured this book!!! I stayed up until 2 am to finish it. The atmosphere, family mystery, plot twists, and relationships with the house, town, each other and the water! Or what lurks beneath....The alternating time lines and stories were my favorite part of this book, unless you count that crazy ending!!! Do yourself a favor and read it!!!!!

Truly a genius at writing a creepy ghost story, McMahon has done it again with The Drowning Kind. I couldn't stop reading this one, while also needing to leave the lights on at night. The perfect amount of scary ghost story and a story I was invested in. I loved the flashbacks to the original hotel, how the characters from past and present were woven together and of course THAT ENDING. It was too good! Well done, McMahon! I am a lifelong fan.

This is one of those books you grab because you’re drawn by the cover. I thought it was going to be a scary story that turns into a psychological thriller, but it was more than that. I’ll admit it got repetitive at times, but I was still drawn to it. It’s creepy, haunting, and keeps you grasping for the truth to unfold. I would definitely recommend to anyone who likes haunting ghost stories that delve into real human emotions.

The Drowning Kind starts with such an eerie foretelling and maintains a level of tenseness throughout the pages. I felt on edge the entire time, which I loved. With McMahon's signature of telling two tales between timelines that end up interweaving a haunting mystery, this one is definitely a book everyone should pick up soon.

From the characters to the setting, I was immersed immediately into the story and didn't come up for air until well after the final page.

This was well written, creepy and suspenseful and I love Jennifer McMahon as a writer, but this story became predictable; which is never good. I love the creepy cover, premise and the story overall, but predictabilty kills a story for me every time. Glad my library had this for free and I waited, I would have been disappointed paying for the kindle version. Still recommended for any Jennifer McMahon fan.

I was also approved on Netgalley for this too. So I thank Netgalley, Jennifer McMahon and Gallery Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Already Available: 4/6/21

This started out really strong and it has really good parts in it. The ending was pretty strong as well. However, there were some parts in the middle that lagged.

I liked the dual timelines and each story.  It just seemed like it was going to be a ghost story throughout but there wasn't that much of a ghost story.

I do think a lot of people will enjoy this book. And I will say while reading this a bird flew into my front door and scared the life out of me! So it definitely has a creep factor.

Thank you to Netgalley and Gallery Books for this eARC.

I remember seeing McMahon at a local library event in 2019 where she revealed that her next book was centered on a haunted pool. I was immediately intrigued, and it was fun to finally read the story that emerged from this unique idea. The story is not as creepy as I had hoped, but I do like the emphasis on familial bonds and the lengths that an individual is willing to go for a loved one.

Definitely creepy and delightfully exciting!

Jax is a social worker, trying hard to be analytical and rational. Her sister, Lexie, is the opposite: creative, dreamy, and artistic. The world is in enraptured with Lexie, and the beauty that follows in her path. However, Jax receives some unsettling news about Lex. What will Jax discover? Where will all of the clues lead?

Mrs. Ethel Monroe is longing for a baby, but month after month Lady Luck hasn't smiled upon her. She is desperate for solutions even old wives tales. Will Ethel finally get her wish? And at what cost?

This book involved two different POV's and timelines: one following Jax in 2020 and one following Ethel in the 1920's. The storytelling in this book was superb and engaging - I devoured this in 2 or 3 days! The author knows how to draw you in so that you want to discover each secret and uncover the truth. The characters were well developed; the characters were imperfect, flawed, but trying to do their best. It gave the book a realistic feel.

Additionally, this book hit on a topic that is not discussed very often: mental illness. The medical community is often extremely quick to dole out a pill to anyone especially if someone comes in with a complicated illness. It is very easy to say "That person is depressed. Here's your pill, Sweetie." instead of trying to find out the real problem. These medications can be extremely beneficial to many, but it can also dim the recipient's inner light, the overflow of energy, the zest for life, and can leave the person a compliant but empty shell of a person. Are the pills for the recipient or to make society feel better? Sounds like a good book club discussion!

So not only is this the best Jennifer McMahon book I've ever read, it is likely to be the best book I'm going to read all year. I'm not even sure I can describe how wonderful and creepy this book is. I loved seeing the history of the springs merge with the present day story and how all of the pieces fit together. I had to read the last chapter twice because I was just blown away. Part of me says please let this be optioned for a miniseries and another part of me says please don't let that happen because they will ruin it. I recommend this to everyone who likes eerie tales filled with history and family drama. Jennifer McMahon is a literary rock star.

This was a decently creepy story - a bit supernatural, mystery and thriller story thrown together. I enjoyed the historical timeline - the story is told part current setting and part 1920s-1930s within the same town and actually the same house.

A solid thriller.

I don’t even know where Jennifer gets her ideas but, she’s absolutely brilliant with her stories. This is the second novel I’ve read of hers and it just makes me want to read more of her work.

Special thanks to the author, Gallery/Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the review copy. I enjoyed it so much. So much so, that I had to finish it tonight, in spite of my raging migraine. It’s creepy, mysterious, has great character development and the story is good. It invites you in and refuses to let go.

When Jax’s sister, Lexie is found dead in the pool, Jax is forced to go back to her grandma’s home that Lexie inherited. Forced to deal with the grief and guilt of not answering Lexie’s last phone calls because she didn’t want to deal with her. Things begin happening surrounding the pool and the history it keeps, will Jax find out the truth before something more horrendous happens?

Truly a page turner, highly recommend!

Reading Between the Wines book review #44/115 for 2021:
Rating: 3.5 🍷 🍷 🍷 (rounding up to 4)
Book 🎧: The Drowning Kind
Author: Jennifer McMahon
Genre: Mystery & Thrillers
RELEASED on April 6, 2021!!!
Recommended to readers who like a sinisterly chilling mystery/thrill

Sipping thoughts: Wow I don’t do scary, but I was able to make it through this one. Although it was a little chilling, the sinister mystery behind the lake kept my interest. I loved the back-and-forth timeline and how it all tied together in the end. This slow burn will have you thinking about what you would do or risk to have your heart’s desires.

Cheers and thank you to @NetGalley and @GalleryBooks for an advanced copy of @TheDrowningKind

#TheDrowningKind #GalleryBooks #NetGalley #advancedreadercopy #ARC #Kindle #Booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #nicoles_bookcellar #bookworm #bookdragon #booknerd #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookaholic #bookreview #bookreviewer #IHaveNoShelfControl #ReadingBetweenTheWines #fiction #thriller #suspense #mystery #MysteryAndThriller

This was a slow, creepy story, with a vivid atmosphere and complex characters. The writing builds up in layers of juxtapositions and vivid scenes involving water. There are moments that I found enthralling like the description of a baby floating in the womb, a baby that exists because of a wish on a spring that takes as much as it gives. You are constantly questioning what's going on in this book and even though it's a slow burn, that uncertainty keeps you reading. There is also mental illness in this book, which was personally hard for me to get through, but I understand how it adds to all the uncertainty in the story, putting into doubt certain perceptions and points of view. I found myself wondering why so many people kept ignoring the apparent danger posed by the spring in exchange for fulfilling their wishes for they personal lost causes. It poses an interesting question about what we are willing to ignore or risk to get what we want most deeply. This would make a great book club selection.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Jennifer McMahon is such a good writer. She is a master at providing that sense of eeriness while the propulsive writing keeps you turning the page even as you feel a bit unsettled by everything

While this one is not my favorite by her, I did really enjoy it. I was a bit confused by the ending but I also felt satisfied that it ended the way it did if that makes sense.

This is NOT a book to read if you are scared of water, drowning, or of what could be hiding in the deep dark depths. This book will play on those fears and possibly make it hard to sleep at night.

BOOK REVIEW: The Drowning Kind by Jennifer McMahon

Cold dark water. Feeling "something" swipe your legs from below. Catching a glimpse of movement at the corner of your eye.... Sounds like a great place to swim, right?!

Who doesn't have a memory of swimming in a lake, ocean, pond or somewhere where you felt something brush against you… But you couldn't see it? Making you jump out of your skin both in that moment… and even now in remembering it!

Weaving in an element of "jump scare" personal sense memory is a great basis for any ghost fiction… And that is where we start with The Drowning Kind.

A super-spooky black water pool fed by mineral springs that are both healing & cursed.

And when you are desiring a cure, the lure of the healing power of the water can overshadow the price it may cost you…

You may get your wish… But your wish may get you too…

In this story, we also have fictional characters with mental illness, specifically bipolar disorder. The continual murkiness of what is real and what is not adds in deepening this story beyond entertaining ghost thriller novels.

It made me so empathetic for the characters (and anyone) managing these issues... I really could feel both the frustration of not being believed and the frustration of not knowing what to believe.

Why do I like the story?
Features and elements of the story that I loved… Or story elements that I found unique and celebrate in exploring expansive reading experiences…

• Features strong physical elements and descriptions that activate our sense memory, which lifts the story off the page and really makes us feel like we are the experiencing the story for ourselves

• Features dimensional lead characters with bipolar disorder

What is my biggest takeaway from this book?
Be careful what you ask for... ✨😎✨

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All my reviews can be seen at This Is My Everybody | Books & DIY Home Ideas | Denise Wilbanks at www.thisismyeverybody.com ... Including my video tutorials for DIY home ideas inspired by recommended books to support you in bringing your favorite books to life in your life and home.

You can see my complete book feature on The Drowning Kind at https://www.thisismyeverybody.com/books/short-book-reviews-the-drowning-kind-jennifer-mcmahon

* A big thank you to Jennifer McMahon, Gallery Books / Scout Press, Simon & Schuster Audio and NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in my reviews and content are my own… ✨😎✨

Jax hasn’t spoken to her older sister, Lexie, for over a year. Then, after ignoring nine calls from her manic and unpredictable sibling, Jax learns that she has drown in the swimming pool at her home that once belonged to the sisters’ grandmother. As Jax goes thru her sister’s belongings, she realizes that Lexie had been researching their family’s history, which turns out to be much more unsettling and dark than Jax could ever imagined.

The Drowning Kind is spooky and definitely creepy. With the story moving back and forth from 2019 to 1929, the history of the house, the pool, and its inhabitants is slowly revealed. The setting is well-drawn, the characters are interesting and mysterious, and the story is atmospheric and ghostly. It is definitely a book that is hard to set aside. Jennifer McMahon is a talented writer and The Drowning Kind is a fine example of her ability to draw the reader into her books, where they are immersed in a story that is compelling and intriguing.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

This audiobook is incredibly creepy and atmospheric! This book is definitely a paranormal thriller and those who love Riley Sager's writing will really love it as well. Jax, a child social worker has never gotten over the fact that she couldn’t save her sister Lexie from her mental illness. She and the rest of the family believe that she is her own worst enemy; the true problem lies within herself. Lexie frequently takes actions that make her sicker, but it’s been so long that she’s not about to change now. Every once in a while Lex will call her, drunk as all get out and fail to remember that her sister no longer speaks to her. She leaves message after message for Jax; mostly on the verge of verbal harassment. But still—she clings to the hope that one day Lex won’t try bring her down with her.


But then, the very day after she receives a series of phone calls from Lexie— Jax’s worst nightmare must be faced. For Lex is gone, drowned; and she’s never coming back. Or is she?

The more Jax digs into Lexie’s recent discoveries and behavior, she starts experiencing some of the same things that her sister spoke of. Could it be the grief causing her to go crazy or is there something truly happening with the water?

Told in dual timelines...2019 by Jax and 1929 by Ethel Monroe, this story is a creepy one. Ethel is a 37 year old woman who is so anguished at the thought of never having a baby —after a year of trying—that she makes a deal with the devil.

A Lady in the lake type of mystery. Sisters who have played a drowning game as youngsters find it takes on a tragic meaning later in life. Lexie and Jax are as close as sisters can be until one is diagnosed with a bipolar disorder. Even with her challenges Lexie charms and disarms and destroys. Jax witnesses her manic episodes, Ted their father sees the creative side of this disease and sides with Lexie. The girls spend every summer with their grandmother , whose pool is fed from a spring that promises to grant wishes for a human price. It is this human price that costs Jax the ultimate gift her sister Lexie. Over the years reports of a creature on the bottom of the pool began as a nightmare of childhood has become a terror for the adults living in the house. Lexie’s death in the pool prompts Jax to uncover the real story that lurks at the bottom of the water.

This is an understated, anxiety-filled supernatural story of the bond between sisters and between two families that goes back generations. Perhaps I was not in the right reading mood but this novel lacked the intensity to keep me hooked or in suspense. Setting was outstanding.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC to read and review.

This is told in duel time lines to really understand the history of the Springs. To figure out what's real and what's not. When Jax gets all the phone calls form her manic sister she thinks she's just off her meds. Then she's found dead.

The question you have to solve is what happen. Did she go off her meds or did something happen? what is the history with the family and what is the history with the springs. The more you learn in the present and you think you know what the answer is going to be. The 2nd timeline comes into play and gives you more details. This was a well crafted book and the idea of what would you give for a wish? is the price to high?

My one problem with the story is it has slow moments in the present day story. Then the End comes and its bam over with. I wanted more from those last few chapters. I wanted more interactions with Jax and Lexie. I wanted more moments at the pool.

But I love the charters especially Ethal. The one question you have to ask yourself what would you do for your dream? and how far will you go. If you know the price is high would you wish it and cause problems/ pain to someone else to get what you want. WHAT WOULD YOU DO? And is it to good to be true. and what happens when you get to close to the truth?

This is my first story from this author and I cant wait to read more by her.

thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books / Simon&Schuster for sharing this ARC with me in exchange my honest opinions