Holy plot twists! The Drowning Woman by @rhardingwriter had me on the edge of my seat the entire time! I finished it in one sitting and devoured every page. I loved how the story started off slow and innocent and then gained momentum as plot twist after plot twist was revealed. I found my jaw on the floor multiple times while reading it. @rhardingwriter cleverly weaved a shocking thriller that will leave you wanting more!

Lee Gulliver is down on her luck living in her car as a result of the pandemic and her failed restaurant. Hustling the only way she knows how, Lee gets by showering at the gym and waitressing at a diner full of shady characters. While parked in a secluded spot near the beach, she rescues a drowning woman named Hazel. Hazel tells Lee about her abusive, controlling husband and how she wanted to die. Lee ruined her one chance at freedom.

This chance encounter changes everything for Lee and the pair strike up an unconventional friendship. Eventually Hazel pleas for Lees help to disappear for good. She lays out her meticulous plan and Lee can’t help but accept. Not long after their agreed upon arrangement Lee realizes that things are not the way they seem and that Hazel is not the friend she appeared to be.

The Drowning Woman is available June 13,2023.

Thank you to netgalley and grandcentralpublishing for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

It takes some buy-in but not so much that it takes away from the story.

The twists and turns are whiplash inducing, keeping the thrill factor Turned way up

In fact I was approved for this today, could not put it down and finished it in roughly 4 hours.

Robyn Harding has a gift for writing unlikable characters and it shines here. While, there is definitely a spectrum of unethical to monstrous, no one is truly innocent.

She also doesn't shy away from tough truths. The things some don't even say in private but deep down know that is what they think.

It would have been easier to write the main character as more sympathetic to the homeless, or even show growth of becoming that way. But she always shows a smug I'm above you, still, attitude.

It isn't pretty to read but there are people who believe these things, if even unconsciously.