“Be careful what you wish for” is the perfect adage to remember when reading Jennifer McMahon’s latest supernatural thriller, The Drowning Kind. Social worker Jax receives nine missed calls from her estranged sister Lexie. The sisters have not spoken to each other in over a year due to their grandmother’s will leaving her estate to only Lexie. Recognizing Lexie’s erratic behavior (she has bipolar disorder or some form of mania) and obsessive personality, Jax chooses not to answer. But then she receives a devastating call from her Aunt Diane: Lexie’s drowned in the pool at their grandmother’s estate. Jax returns to the estate in Vermont. While there, Jax discovers Lexie’s notes about the history of the estate, including its origins and the strange pool. As Jax uncovers more of the history, she begins a startling and eerie journey to the past. The novel also interweaves a backstory taking place in 1929 with Ethel, a young wife (and eventually mother) who stays at the Brandenburg Hotel in Vermont, the location of a mysterious pool. Here, Ethel wishes for a baby. Once the baby is born, Ethel discovers that, for the child to survive, she needs to be near the pool. Ethel and her husband sacrifice their familiar and humble existence to ensure the survival of their newborn. The Drowning Kind is at heart a love story. There are supernatural elements throughout, yet McMahon always knows how to find a way to ground them. The Drowning Kind is a great read for a rainy day, but you may want to stop before nightfall…
Read-alikes: The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware, The Shape of Night by Tess Gerritsen, and The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield.
