NYC restauranteur Lee Gulliver loses everything after COVID. Now in debt, she heads to Seattle forced to live out of her car. Hazel Laval's husband is an extremely well connected criminal defense attorney; he is also abusive, controlling, and extremely violent. After the two women meet, a friendship begins to bloom, but each have a past that they hope to outrun. A propulsive suspenseful domestic thriller that will please fans of Lisa Jewell and Sally Hepworth.

Thank you Grand Central Publishing, Robyn Harding, and Netgalley for this book in exchange for an honest review. This book gripped me straight away. I loved the short chapters. I loved the characters. A definite must read for 2023. Robyn Harding is one of my go to authors, and again, she did not disappoint. A solid 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating from me! You definitely do not want to miss this one!

I discovered Robyn Harding around 4 years ago when I read The Party. I loved it so much that anytime she had a new release out I would pre-order it without even reading the synopsis. I have loved everything she has written, and I am here to tell you THE DROWNING WOMAN is her best yet. It is hands down one of the most thrilling books I have ever read. Ms. Harding has sealed a spot as the top Thriller Queen to watch out for in 2023 and beyond!

This story had everything I love in a thriller and when that big twist hit, I had to catch my breath! My head was spinning, and I had to compose myself! Add more twists on top of that, a lot of nail-biting moments, twisted characters, and you have a well-executed, brilliant psychological thriller. I cannot wait until this book is released into the wild, it is going to be a huge hit! #Netflix needs to snatch this story up and turn it into a series!

Do yourself a favor and pre-order this NOW!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for my e-ARC.

I loved this book. Great twist and turns. Interesting and relatable characters. Just when I thought I had it figured out, there was a new twist. Hazel is a posh wife that meets a down on her luck homeless woman. Great good and bad guys. I am certainly going explore more books by this author.

Talk about a twisty book! Robyn Harding starts off with Lee, a homeless woman living in her car running from debt. Lee saves the life of Hazel, and the story just accelerates from there. You think you have the story figured out then *BAM* another surprise hits you. I felt stressed out the whole story.

Keep your eyes peeled for this book coming out in June!

Thank you @netgalley and @grandcentralpub for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The latest domestic suspense novel from Robyn Harding is a deliciously dark tale that grips you by the throat from the first page and never lets go.

Lee Gulliver has seen better days. After being forced to close her restaurant during the pandemic, she lost everything. Her home, her family, her dreams. Now she works in a diner and lives in her car, one of the many homeless citizens in the Seattle area. One night she chooses to sleep on a street in an affluent neighborhood by the beach and is awoken to the sound of a woman sobbing. Hazel Laval lives in the mansion above the water and to all appearances has everything she could ever want. But of course, nothing is ever as it appears. When Hazel wades into the waves, clearly intending to kill herself, Lee chooses to dive in and save her. This act creates an unlikely but indelible bond between them, setting both women on a path towards a deadly crossroads.

Told from the perspective of both Lee and Hazel, Harding weaves a fast-paced and thrilling story about friendship and betrayal, where no one is telling the truth and everyone has something to hide. There were so many times where I thought I had it all figured out, only to be hit with another twist that left me with my jaw on the floor.

Robyn Harding is an autobuy author for me and THE DROWNING WOMAN is her best book yet. Make sure you grab yourself a copy when it releases in June.

Thanks so much to Grand Central Publishing for the advance reading copy.

The Drowning Woman by Robyn Harding is a domestic thriller following a homeless woman named Lee whose life was turned upside down when her New York restaurant went under after the pandemic. On the run from her debtors, Lee finds herself across the country in Washington state alone and vulnerable. When she saves a woman from drowning, Lee can’t decide if fate is on her side or against her as her life begins to change drastically.

I haven’t read a domestic thriller that I have really enjoyed in awhile so this was a pleasant surprise. I went in completely blind besides knowing that there would probably be something with a woman drowning (hence the title) and I think that’s the best way to be. It is important to note that this book deals heavily with the topic of domestic abuse to if that is something you can’t read, it’s best to avoid this book.

I really like the trope of someone having to build their life back up from nothing and how they have to appreciate the smallest things. I always think these types of characters are easy to root for because you want the best for them. I also really loved how engaging the first half of this book was. I couldn’t put it down! I think the second half was a little slower, but still interesting and I enjoyed how the overall ending wrapped up.

My biggest issue is just how dumb some of the characters were for the sake of the plot. I know it is on purpose because we have to be able to move seamlessly through plot points but sometimes, it would take me out of the story a bit. I don’t think any of the twists and turns in this book were revolutionary but sometimes it’s nice to just have a classic thriller that doesn’t try to be anything too crazy. I do think this is going to be one of those big summer thrillers that everyone picks up.

Drowning Woman is definitely gripping, riveting and surprising reading! There are so many twists, jaw dropping moments that make you scream! I personally banged my head against the wall when I got unexpected sucker punch after finding out the biggest twist! It was freaking good! Hazel is a victim of abusive relationship. She signed a master/ slave contract with her rich and also very dangerous husband who is also powerful criminal defense lawyer. Their agreement not only includes the sexual slavery but also entitles to verbal, psychological abuse. She turns into his property in exchange of putting her mother to a facility for dementia treatment.
Hazel needs help to disappear, and she offers Lee a way out, too. But when Lee involves into Hazel’s escape plan, she realizes nothing as it seems, and she gets herself into more dangerous position than sleeping in her car as she’s holding a knife into her hand. It was still heart wrenching and girl power story even though there are some plot holes left behind. I absolutely loved this story. One could think that Lee is whiny and drowning in self-pity. I found her real and realistic. I lived the characters in this story. It was definitely not what I expected!
I liked that the author also goes into depth of what makes us human, in a subtle way. We need food and money, preferably a bed, electricity and a roof above our head. But we also need affection and love. Human connections. How we want to believe good things shall happen to us. There were so many twists and things I did not see coming. I felt like I have become Lee. I wanted to believe and trust; I was completely absorbed into the story. For the longest time I had no idea where this story was taking me but it was worth the wait!

Make this thriller your next read!

This is a twisty tale, a keep-you-guessing page-turner told in multiple POVs. At the heart of this story, we have two women who meet by chance in a moment of pure desperation . . . Lee Gulliver, who finds herself alone and homeless after a string of misfortunes, and Hazel Laval, who is currently living a hellish lie, one that from the outside looks like a dream of posh and privilege. These two women couldn’t be more different, nor more the same . . . each living a life they would gladly escape if given the slightest chance. This unlikely friendship will lead them to a dangerous crossroads, one that will challenge every loyalty, keep them scrambling for the truth, and test every skill of survival.

Grab your copy of The Drowning Woman on June 13th, 2023

I'd like to thank NetGalley for an advanced copy of The Drowning Woman for my unbiased evaluation. 5 stars

I don’t remember the last time I gave a book 5 stars. Believe the hype because this book is good. Twist, turns and quite a few gasps. Thank you Netgally for the ARC. Keep this book on your radars thriller lovers! I don’t remember the last time I gave a book 5 stars. Believe the hype because this book is good. Twist, turns and quite a few gasps. Thank you Netgally for the ARC. Keep this book on your radars thriller lovers!

Lee is down on her luck. Her restaurant was forced to close its doors after the pandemic, causing her to lose everything. She now lives out of her car, struggling to survive.

Hazel, appearances would tell you, has everything a person could ask for. Then why is she sobbing as she throws herself into the ocean?

Parked in a well-to-do neighborhood by the beach, thinking she'll be safe there, Lee hears this commotion occuring. On instinct, Lee saves Hazel. What occurs next is a whirlwind of intense, jaw-dropping moments.

I read this is one day. Harding has a way of creating characters that become so real to me that I cannot help but become invested. Their pain becomes my pain. Their struggles become my struggles. Their anxiety becomes my anxiety. And that was the case with Lee. I needed to see this one through. Couldn't rest until I did.

I love you, Robyn Harding. Is that weird? Oh well. Your books transport me to different worlds full of excitement and madness, and I will read absolutely anything you write. So, please, write another one soon!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my early copy. Save the date for the release of this one; you won’t want to miss it!

This book was sooooo good! It will be one of my all time favorites! It will DEFINITELY be a huge hit this year! It’s about two women, living very different lives, one lives in a mansion, one lives in her car. Their lives intersect and the story unfolds from there! Harding OUTDID herself with this one!!!

I really enjoyed this book! Thanks NetGalley for allowing me to read it before its release this month!

Lee is a former restaurant owner whose business went downhill due to the Covid pandemic. She is unable to get back on her feet and due to her circumstances, becomes homeless and has to live out of her car.

She meets a woman named Hazel after she saves her from drowning herself as an attempt to get out of an abusive relationship that is hidden as if it’s a sadist bdsm situation.

The book is told from both women’s POVs and it was a thrilling novel from the jump!

I will definitely be reading more by Robyn Harding!

Harding has once again proved she’s one of the best thriller writers around with THE DROWNING WOMAN. She’s created two fascinating and unreliable characters in Lee and Hazel, two women struggling during the pandemic for vastly different reasons. Lee’s predicament, in particular, felt brutally real given how many restaurant owners and workers have suffered from the pandemic, and the details about Lee’s homelessness were heartbreaking. In regards to Hazel’s volatile marriage, readers may not understand the abusive BDSM dynamic depicted, but Harding handled it with sensitivity and made it clear it was not a typical representation of a healthy, consensual kink relationship. As for twists, whew boy, there were plenty! It’s been a long while since I’ve read a twist that made me yell aloud, “No freaking way!” This one keeps you guessing until the end. Can’t wait for what she’s got next!

This is twisted! I was unable to put it down until I finished it! It is a psychological thriller under the premise of a sad betrayal of friendship. A homeless woman, Lee, once had a successful restaurant, but closed the doors due to COVID. Once the shelter-in-place was lifted, she was unable to gain back the momentum pre-COVID. She lives in her car on the streets of Seattle with no one turned to after she has a falling out with her sister.

If Lee's luck hadn't already run out, it was about to get worse when someone broke into her car and stole her identification and the only money she had left. When she is asleep in her car by the ocean, she hears a woman sobbing and realizes she is swimming out into the deep waters. When she goes under, Lee swims out to rescue her. Hazel is furious with her rescue and tells Lee she needs to get away from her husband who keeps her in bondage and death by suicide was her only option out of this abusive relationship. She lives in a mansion by the sea and is married to a powerful attorney who controls her whereabouts. She goes back to him and returns to find Lee the next day with food and an offer.

Their friendship is built from lies and deception and her only hope from this toxic relationship is Lee helps her disappear before he kills her. I was leery from the get-go when new characters are introduced and what are they hiding and who can she trust. Trust me when I say this is an outstanding thriller that you do not want to miss. There are so many twists and shady circumstances that will have you questioning every person you meet on the street that has something to hide.

"Basically, it means that when people see someone in a bad situation, they tend to believe that individual brought it themselves. Of course, there are always external, situational forces at play, but it's human nature to think it could never happen to you."

Thank you NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for this incredible ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Drowning Woman is probably going to be a hit with those that enjoyed the last housewife. It’s got some weird dark sexual vibes without describing any of the sex. And then there’s a very twisty premise where two women becomes intertwined after one tried to drown themselves. Lee is down on her luck after a series of horrible decisions. She’s homeless making even more shifty choices. Hazel is married to a psychopath. The woman alternate perspectives and we see their inner lives but don’t get a ton of back story on why they act so dumbly. My issue with thrillers is exactly that. Who are these people?! Why are they acting so stupid?? This book twists and twists and unfortunately the ending fell really flat for me. I know a lot of people will love this because it’s a page turner but in the end it didn’t quite work for me.

Talk about twist upon twist upon twist! This book was such a crazy fun ride and I’ll be off reading Robyn Harding’s other books after flying through this one.

After the pandemic causes Lee’s restaurant to shut down, Lee loses everything except a bag or two of personal items and her car. She drives across the country and finds herself living in her vehicle, parking in an affluent neighbor along the beach to sleep at night. One morning she sees a woman walk into the water and stay under, and her quick actions save the woman’s life. Hazel, the woman she saved, isn’t grateful and shares a tale of spousal abuse and toxic relationships. The two women bond over their unfortunate circumstances and plot a way to help each other.

The story is fast paced and ever changing, the characters will draw you in with their predicaments, and it was so twisty that you couldn’t possibly guess at everything that will happen. Lee’s story made me think about how easily something like that could happen to almost anyone. She is a fighter, determined to build her life back through hard work. Hazel’s story is all too common with domestic abuse and how she feels like there is no way out. She, too, is a fighter, and this pair of women are a force together.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Truly, a twisty, turney mess of deception and darkness. Overall, I found myself feeling depressed and wading through, trying to find some balance in the lives of Lee and Hazel, who both are used and abused as this book progresses. Not my favorite read, but a fast paced story and well written.

This was a good read. As always the authors writing is good. I was able to get into the story fairly quick and the storyline kept my interest. There were a few surprises along the way. I love when I don’t guess the ending.

Pub date: 6/13/23
Genre: thriller
Quick summary: Restauranteur Lee is living on the streets after COVID, but when she saves wealthy Hazel from drowning, she starts to see new possibilities for the future. But is Hazel friend or foe?

I'm a big Robyn Harding fan, so I leapt at the chance to read this book. It's clear from the beginning that Hazel has secrets (she did try to commit suicide by drowning, so her life must be complicated). I enjoyed unraveling the mystery along with Lee, and Harding threw in some good twists. I stayed up a little too late to finish this one, and the ending certainly packed a punch. If you like cat and mouse games, this is the book for you.

Trigger warning: domestic violence.

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.