Lee Gulliver is down on her luck. She runs to Seattle after her business goes under due to the pandemic. She is living in her car and working in a place for illegals. She is in hiding after the man who helped her with the money to start her restaurant wants her to pay him back. She knows if he finds her, she won't live long. He has already shown her that he can hurt her.

One morning, Lee is sleeping near the beach when she hears a woman cry. The woman, Hazel, is trying to drown herself. Lee doesn't think twice and jumps in the water to save her. Hazel is angry with her. She tells her she is a prisoner in her own home due to an abusive husband. However, the next morning Hazel shows up next to Lee's car. She thanks her for saving her life and brings food for Lee. They start meeting every morning.

Lee starts to believe that things are turning for good. She considers Hazel to be a true friend and she meets a man named Jesse. He is sweet to her and very understanding of her situation.

Then Hazel asks her to cover for her. She is tired of the abuse and she is ready to disappear. She asks Lee to dress like her and to replace her at home in front of all the cameras while she makes her escape.

Then someone is murdered!

I like that Robyn Harding provided us with both female POVs. Lee and Hazel had in common that both wanted to disappear and escape their situations. Their ordeals sounded quite plausible. The Drowning Woman had a good couple of twists that kept the story moving forward and made it engaging from the very beginning.

Cliffhanger: No

4/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by Grand Central Publishing via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Drowning Woman by Robyn Harding: not my cup of tea, but I think plenty of readers will enjoy this. Lost my interest about halfway through and struggled to the end.

A very fun and addictive thriller that has some good twists. Both main characters were very likable and I was rooting for them the whole time.

I felt the whole book was awesome! I loved the two main women and although the men weren't known as well, I didn't care. The story and the book showed the strength of the characters and the twists and turns were done so well. This was my first book and I have to say that my small reading group loved it too. I would like to see more like this. A really enjoyable read.

I loved this book by Robyn Harding! I found the format unique. We didn’t start with a bang but led up to it. I enjoyed the characters and the twists. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, it would change again. Drowning Woman is one of the best thrillers I’ve read this year.

I love all books by Robyn Harding as she has the keen ability to take you down dark and twisted roads. This book was no different! Definitely a 5⭐️ for me!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review and opinion.

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.