AUTHOR: Paula Hawkins
NARRATORS: Rachel Bavidge, Sophie Aldred, Daniel Weyman, Imogen Church, and Laura Aikman
PUBLISHER: Penguin Audio
PUBLICATION DATE: May 2, 2017
FORMAT: Unabridged audiobook
LENGTH: 11 hrs and 31 mins
GENRE: Thriller, Mystery
The author of the #1 New York Times bestseller and global phenomenon The Girl on the Train returns with Into the Water, her addictive new novel of psychological suspense.
A single mother turns up dead at the bottom of the river that runs through town. Earlier in the summer, a vulnerable teenage girl met the same fate. They are not the first women lost to these dark waters, but their deaths disturb the river and its history, dredging up secrets long submerged.
Left behind is a lonely fifteen-year-old girl. Parentless and friendless, she now finds herself in the care of her mother's sister, a fearful stranger who has been dragged back to the place she deliberately ran from--a place to which she vowed she'd never return.
With the same propulsive writing and acute understanding of human instincts that captivated millions of readers around the world in her explosive debut thriller, The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins delivers an urgent, twisting, deeply satisfying read that hinges on the deceptiveness of emotion and memory, as well as the devastating ways that the past can reach a long arm into the present.
Beware a calm surface--you never know what lies beneath.
Cast of Narrators:
Rachel Bavidge, as third person narrator/Nel's voice
Sophie Aldred, as Jules
Daniel Weyman, as Sean & Josh
Imogen Church, as Erin Morgan
Laura Aikman, as Lena
MY REVIEW:
I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook for voluntary review consideration.
I really enjoyed The Girl on the Train, so I was eagerly awaiting Hawkins’ sophomore book. Unfortunately, it did not live up to my expectations.
I was very intrigued with the book’s Drowning Pool, the town’s river that has a history of claiming its victims. Lena, a teenage girl, has lost not only her best friend to the waters but also her mother, who was actually writing a book about the Drowning Pool's mysterious history. As Lena searches for answers, she puts her own life at risk.
The formula that worked so well with The Girl on the Train didn't work so well here. The narrative changes points of view frequently, and I think that listening to the audiobook made it even more difficult to follow. Sometimes it’s easier to read a book in its traditional format so that one can easily go back to review previous sections, especially where there are a lot of characters. With an audiobook, that's difficult to do. There was a lot of dialogue, but not a whole lot of action. To be totally honest, it was a bit boring and I found my mind wandering as I was listening and it failed to hold my attention. The element of suspense was missing.
I cannot fault the narrators, because I felt that they each did a great job. I think my stand-out favourite narrator of the group was Laura Aikman, who portrayed Lena. Here is a sample of the narration:
I really enjoyed The Girl on the Train, so I was eagerly awaiting Hawkins’ sophomore book. Unfortunately, it did not live up to my expectations.
I was very intrigued with the book’s Drowning Pool, the town’s river that has a history of claiming its victims. Lena, a teenage girl, has lost not only her best friend to the waters but also her mother, who was actually writing a book about the Drowning Pool's mysterious history. As Lena searches for answers, she puts her own life at risk.
The formula that worked so well with The Girl on the Train didn't work so well here. The narrative changes points of view frequently, and I think that listening to the audiobook made it even more difficult to follow. Sometimes it’s easier to read a book in its traditional format so that one can easily go back to review previous sections, especially where there are a lot of characters. With an audiobook, that's difficult to do. There was a lot of dialogue, but not a whole lot of action. To be totally honest, it was a bit boring and I found my mind wandering as I was listening and it failed to hold my attention. The element of suspense was missing.
I cannot fault the narrators, because I felt that they each did a great job. I think my stand-out favourite narrator of the group was Laura Aikman, who portrayed Lena. Here is a sample of the narration:
MY RATING:
2 stars!! Meh, it was just okay. Thanks again to Penguin Audio for the opportunity to review this audiobook!
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I ended up DNFing this one for reasons you mentioned. I just couldn't get into it with all the different povs.
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