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.

this was the perfect domestic thriller! I really enjoyed it and it kept me turning the pages. CW: domestic violence

This was a fantastic thriller. This is the story of Lee and Hazel. Lee is homeless and has been living in her car since the pandemic destroyed her life's work in the resturant industry. She has made some poor decisions financially that have led her on the path she currently is on and has a complicated past. One morning she sees a woman attempting to drown herself and saves that woman. After saving Hazel, Lee and Hazel form a unique relationship. Hazel reveals the horrific abuse she is facing from her husband and Lee is detrmined to help her. This story is told in alternating point of view and the way that the author reveals some of the twists and turns were just fantastic. I look forward to reading more by this author and this probably is my favorite of her books to date . Thank you netgalley for this arc and exchange for my honest opinion

Oh my freaking god! What a ride and I was here for the whole thing. Lee. Hazel. Jesse. Even Benjamin! All solid and developed characters. All incredibly written. I was hooked instantly from the first page. I actually spent the whole time as I was reading this chatting with my friend about it and we would spend hours dissecting and trying to figure the next move out. Loved it! Loved how it was broken up into parts and also told through both Lee and Hazel’s POV. And I especially loved how you saw it from one POV in one part and then the next part was the exact same story line but from the other POV. Really made the story come together and just gave you those “WTF?!” moments. My only thing to nitpick, is that I wish we would have seen more Lee in her decision making and weren’t just shoved something at the end to cleanse the palette. Absolute stunner of a book and really helped me with getting back into the groove of reading.

This novel kept me turning the pages. It was pacy and well-plotted. At times I found it a little hard to follow, but overall an entertaining read.

𝔹𝕆𝕆𝕂 ℝ𝔼𝕍𝕀𝔼𝕎 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

How do I explain how twisty and amazing this book is without giving the whole thing away?! It starts off with a woman on the run from her past, homeless, living out of her car and fighting for her life. She had been parking her car in random parking lots at night with others who were also homeless until one night everything left is stolen from her. She travels to an affluent beachy neighborhood where she saves the rich drowning woman, Hazel (who didn’t want to be saved) but then begs for Lee’s help to escape… and this is where the story takes off.

It goes back and forth from the views of both women and each time you think you have it figured out - the author throws you for another loop. There wasn’t a single moment where I was bored and I gasped and had “whattttt?!” moments frequently!

Thank you so so much to @netgalley and @GrandCentralPub for the advanced copy! Book releases June 2023 #netgalley #FiveStarReads #bookstagram #BookRecs

And here we have another absolute winner from Robyn Harding! I love her books because they STAND OUT in the genre! This one was twisty, shocking, and truly bingeable. I highly recommend it (and truly, anything she writes).

So excited that Robyn Harding is back! Harding has not had a new release since 2021.I read this baby in 24 hours and well worth the wait!

A down on her luck woman , Lee, lost everything when her restaurant failed during the pandemic. Now she is going thru the worst of times and sleeping in her car. When Lee parks near the beach, the last thing she expects is to rescue a drowning woman from the ocean. She wakes one morning to the sobs of a young woman. Lee quickly rushes to save her from drowning in the ocean- Hazel.
But how could she know this selfless act would seriously alter the course of of her life?
Hazel has dark secrets of her own and poor Lee just dropped herself smack in the middle of the drama!

4.5 stars
My anticipation for The Drowning Woman was off the charts. I love Robyn Harding’s style. I find her novels to be both simple and complex. She’s an author I reread often and each time I find a new angle or lens to see the story and characters through.

The Drowning Woman is a brilliant read. The back and forth between Len and Hazel is incredible. Hazel kept me on my toes guessing. I devoured this novel in one sitting - foregoing responsibility for “just another chapter.”

Run, don’t walk. This one is a must read.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishing house and the author for the opportunity to read a complimentary advance reader copy of this book in return for a review based upon my honest opinion.

I read that this was a great book and it definitely delivered! Wow. What a thriller, with twists that literally made me gasp. I was talking to myself as I tried to sort out the story and get to the end game and it was such a satisfying ending. This book was a quick read because I couldn't put it down, I stayed up late to finish it.

Lee finds herself living out of her car after the pandemic closed her restaurant and made her lose everything, including her family's respect. On the run from debtors, taking cash jobs, grabbing showers at local gyms and moving around to stay safe is her new way of life. One such day she finds that she can hear a woman sobbing and she finds the woman trying to drown herself. Lee acts on impulse and saves the woman, Hazel. This act is not appreciated by the woman. She wanted to end it all, she doesn't want to go on any longer, her life is terrible.

Hazel is living a life that most would envy from the outside, but of course no one knows what goes on behind closed doors. Lee and Hazel quickly become unlikely friends and then Hazel asks Lee to help her get away from her abusive husband. Lee agrees, she feels like Hazel is her only friend, but is Hazel as good a friend as she thinks or is Lee going to discover that she cannot trust anyone.

Such a great book! Highly recommended.

The Drowning Woman - Robyn Harding

This is the first Robyn Harding book I've read, I was excited to read it after numerous glowing reviews and seeing it on some favourite books of the year lists.

The setup is fairly familiar, Hazel is the rich wife trapped in an abusive marriage, Lee is the down on her luck / living in her car stranger who befriends her. There's the controlling husband and a hunky gym instructor. Lee has her own worries but is determined to try and help Hazel escape.

You know someone's not telling the truth, someone's plotting something and there are going to be some big twists.

Robyn Harding's writing has a nice flow, and she sets up a complex plot with layers of twist upon twist very well. It stays clear and avoids confusion.

Honestly, I enjoyed the first half more, with the anticipation of which direction the twists were coming going to come from. There are lots of twists, but personally I would have liked more a bit more threat and tension.

Thanks to Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing

The Drowning Woman by Robyn Harding was a great read that I couldn’t put down because I wanted to find out what was going to happen next. It is a story about friendship and betrayals, that had lots of twists that kept you wanting to keep reading. Thanks Netgalley for this Arc.

Lee Gulliver owns a high end restaurant in NYC when the pandemic hits and she finds herself losing everything. With no money and many unpaid debts, she goes on the run, ending up living in her car on the streets of Seattle. One night she parks in a secluded and hopefully safe spot by the beach to sleep. She awakens to the sound of someone distressed and crying and finds a woman walking into the ocean. Lee dives in and saves the woman (Hazel) from ending her life…only to find that she didn’t want to be saved. Hazel is married to a controlling and abusive man and was so miserable she wanted to die. The two women end up forging a bond and find they both benefit from this unlikely kinship. They confide in each other and become close to the point that one day Hazel asks for Lee’s help in planning an escape from her toxic marriage. Lee is hesitant to get involved but wants to help her new friend… but is Hazel really the woman Lee thinks she is? Can she trust her new friend? Something seems off and Lee finds she may have put herself in the middle of a very dangerous situation. This was my first novel by Harding and it was a wild ride. It was a fast paced read that ended with a quite unexpected twist. I gave this novel 4 stars.