I didn't know what to expect with this book but this was a page turner! It was a little slow in the beginning but it picked up. I thought I had guessed the twists but apparently not! I recommend this book!

Thank you Netgalley!

This was an excellent, page-turning thriller. It was really interesting to read a book from the point of view of a homeless woman, which isn't something I've read before. The tempo was fast paced, the characters were interesting and I didn't see the twists and turns coming. I have read Robyn Harding before and will continue to read anything she writes. Love her style!

At first I thought I wasn't going to enjoy this book because I thought I had guessed the plot twist and didn't feel as invested, however, I was proven wrong. It took me a bit to get into but once I did, I was hooked and had to see how the book played out.

The Drowning Woman is one book I didn't want to put down.
A story of an unlikely friendship between two women, both victims, that can either save one another or harm each other in the worst possible way.
A riveting plot with jaw-dropping reveals, the author gives us an unputdownable read!
I highly recommend this thrilling novel!

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for an arc of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

This was a fast-paced thriller with a number of twists and turns that I was unable to guess. I enjoyed the short chapters and thought it made the book easily bingeable.

This also jumps between two different points-of-view, so just when you think you now what's going on, a whole new perspective comes in that changes everything you thought you knew. I enjoyed reading from both women's points-of-view and thought they were both compelling main characters.

My only small complaint would be that I thought the ending was resolved a little too quickly, but I'd definitely recommend this if you're looking for a thriller with lots of unpredictable twists that will keep you guessing throughout.

This book has multiple POVs--Lee, .who is on the run and living in her car. And Hazel, who seems to have money but is dealing with trying to escape domestic abuse. The story twists and turns and keeps you guessing. The end came in a bit flat for me, but overall I enjoyed it.

I didn’t know what to expect with this book. I have been seeing great reviews on it and I would have to agree with those great reviews. Robyn Harding did a great job of creating a captivating story. It had me hooked on page one. Hazel and Lee’s situations are both so hard and some what disturbing. Lots of twists and turns. Great book!

Once again Robyn has written the perfect page turner and a completely addictive must-read. The Drowning Woman is a five star and a definite recommendation for any thriller lovers out there.

Robyn Harding is back! This was such a twisted read! I couldn’t put it down until I finished it. I loved how the story started off slow and innocent and then gained momentum as plot twist after plot twist was revealed. It is clever, it is twisty and it is addictive. This book deserves each and every star, it is really that good!

A massive thanks to NetGalley + Grand Central Publishing for the gifted copy!

Lee saves a drowning women who didn’t want to be saved. This book switches back and forth between characters which seems to work. Lots of twist and turns. Great read.

It was another great Sunday afternoon with my book club friends and wow, what a fun read we picked for August! Talk about a fast paced thriller!

This book is sure to be a hit with the masses. I had a day to finish this and I can assure you, this was not a problem.

I admit that things started out a little slow for me and I found one of the main characters, Lee, to be incredibly annoying. However, right when the book turned to the second voice in the story, Hazel, it was all 🚗🚗🚗 from there!!

I love a bingeworthy thriller that pulls you in for the long hall and this book did just that for me and most of our group.

There were a couple times throughout the plot where things were a little too convenient, but this was a definite hit with my book loving friends.

This story begins following Lee, who is down on her luck and running from a dangerous past. We hear Lee's POV as she navigates homeless life and one day saves a drowning woman, Hazel. As Lee and Hazel build a friendship, Hazel confides in Lee that she is in an abusive marriage that she desperately wants to escape. Hazel develops a plan to escape her marriage with Lee's help, reluctant at first, Lee eventually agrees. As Lee follows Hazel's plan, things quickly go terribly wrong and Lee is afraid for her both her freedom and her safety.
As soon as we finish hearing Lee's POV, the story shifts to Hazel's POV and the pieces begin to fall into place. I love how we heard the first part of the story from Lee's POV and then the second part puts us in Hazel's POV. This was such a great way to to build the story and keep the reader engaged. Filled with twists and turns, this story did just that, it kept me completely engaged.

⭐⭐⭐⭐💫 (4.5)

Thank you to @netgalley and @grandcentralpub for the gifted copy of this book.

The Drowning Woman
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Author: Robyn Harding

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and PUB and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

My Thoughts: This story grips you from the opening. There was times I was screaming at the characters as blow after blow is delivered. It is brilliantly crafted with twist after twist until the ending, now that blew my mind! We follow this homeless woman and high society woman. Lee lost her restaurant as a result of the pandemic and got in with some shady people, mixed with some bad decisions, so in addition to being homeless, she is also on the run. Hazel is a wealthily societal lady married to an insanely rich and controlling husband; a husband who manipulated her into signing a master/slavery contract. Hazel is at the end of her rope until Lee rescues her from drowning. The two form a friendship, of sorts. Hazel needs to disappear and asks for Lee’s help, and in return, will reward Lee generously, enough for Lee to become a productive member of society.

The story is narrated in a dual timeline that meets up with Lee and Hazel and also provides some flashbacks on Lee. Lee is a broken woman but also a strong fighter. Hazel’s only saving grace is that her husband takes care of her mother but in exchange, she is under his total control, including the ability to gaslight her. We have two heroines in this story, both with different challenges. The characters were well developed with depth, mystery, were creative, and the heroines were just brilliant. I connected more with Lee, although I understood the challenges of both of our heroines and why they went to the lengths that they did. The author’s writing style was complex, multifaceted, suspenseful, twisty, and absolutely brilliant. The plot was delivered in twisty layers, while there were some plot holes, overall, the flow and the pace of the story was excellent.

This is a dark, disturbing, gripping, compelling psychological thriller that you will NOT be able to put down. The story, while heart wrenching, carried a strong message of strong female relationships. Trigger warnings of slavery contract, gaslighting, and emotional abuse. This is my first Harding book, but it will not be my last. This is available on Kindle, Physical, and Audiobook. Since I was behind in my reviews, I did listen to the audiobook and the narrators did a phenomenal job at voice variation and creating additional layers to the characters. I HIGHLY recommend picking up this book!

I'm a fan of Robyn Harding - and that will continue! I felt such sympathy for Lee - she's just a good person who is down on her luck. At first I also felt sympathy for Hazel. I felt the mood shift though and from there, the book really picked up. It felt like an emotional rollercoaster with these women. I enjoyed the writing and the twists more than the women themselves.

As usual, Robyn Harding has knocked it out of the park. Her books are always so compulsive and I really should plan to have off work when I start them! I don't want to do anything else once I open her books. This one was a really interesting way to tie in COVID-19 and how it affected people other than just illness. I thought it was carefully done without being too over the top and could be realistic for many. Just when I thought I had things figured out, the book took a different turn and I loved it! Auto-buy author for me!

Twisty!

Now here is a book that came along at the right time. As Matt said below, it's ridiculous, but it was bingeable and kept my interest throughout.

Basically it's the story of Lee, who used to own her own restaurant in NYC until the pandemic caused it to go under. She owes a bunch of money to a shady investor, so she went on the run and has ended up homeless, living in her car in Seattle. One day while parked near the water, she ends up rescuing a woman from drowning. The woman's name is Hazel and she wants to die because she is stuck in an abusive marriage with a wealthy powerful man. Lee and Hazel forge a sort of friendship and begin to make plans for how they can both disappear and create new lives for themselves.

What seemed to be a straightforward setup twists around itself many times. No one is who they seem, everyone has secrets, and there are surprises around every corner. I don't want to give too much away, so I'll leave it at that. This is told from both Lee's and Hazel's perspectives, alternating in sections so the reader can follow each of their stories in detail (rather than just alternating chapters which wouldn't have worked as well.)

Is this book totally beyond the realm of believability? Oh, for sure.
But it is entertaining? Yes, it definitely was for me.

I thought the twists were skillfully presented and the misdirection was done really well. I started off listening to the audiobook, which is narrated by two narrators for the two main characters and it really kept my interest. Then I switched to the print version so I could finish reading more quickly because I really wanted to know what was going to happen.

Some other reviewers said that this one was too repetitive, because we get the same incidents from the two different points of view. However, I really liked that, because it was like getting to peek behind the curtain in order to get the full picture rather than just one side of the story.

Recommended for those who like super twisty suspense novels and are in the right mood to suspend some disbelief.

So good! I read it in 48 hours! The book switched back and forth between two POVs and each section ended with a major cliffhanger. I couldn't stop reading to find out what happened.

I struggled with this one. The characters were hard to like and somewhat clueless. The pacing was awkward. Twist upon twist, but they didn't make sense and were just unbelievable. I just didn't click with the writing style.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance reader copy of this book. Being saved from drowning was just the beginning of a tragic and twisty story. Harding does a great job weaving a story different than many novels of the same genre. Never would have guessed the ending. 4.5 stars

<b>The Short of It:</b>

Harding does it again.

<b>The Rest of It:</b>

"Lee Gulliver never thought she’d find herself living on the streets–no one ever does–but when her restaurant fails, and she falls deeper into debt, she leaves her old life behind with nothing but her clothes and her Toyota Corolla. In Seattle, she parks in a secluded spot by the beach to lay low and plan her next move–until early one morning, she sees a sobbing woman throw herself into the ocean. Lee hauls the woman back to the surface, but instead of appreciation, she is met with fury." ~ Indiebound

I’ve read a few Harding books and they never fail to pull me right in. I mean, to the point where everything is pushed aside so I can be left to read. The Drowning Woman was no exception.

Lee, forced to live in her car and desperate for human interaction can’t help but fall under Hazel’s spell. What is this woman’s story? Why is she trying to kill herself? Outward appearances will tell you that Hazel has everything. A gorgeous beach house, money at her disposal and a handsome husband. But Hazel’s life is a mess and she wants out. Is Lee desperate enough to get tangled up in this web of lies if it means a chance to improve her life?

There are plenty of plot twists to keep the story moving. I eagerly picked the book up in-between work assignments, chores, and the like. I enjoyed it!! Recommend.

For more reviews, visit my blog: <a href="http://bookchatter.net">Book Chatter</a>.