This book was just okay. Honestly, I wasn’t as intrigued as I would have liked. I didn’t love the ending. I felt like there was a lot left out and the pieces weren’t tied up. Some of the plots were left unfinished.

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

There has been so much hype going around about The Drowning Woman, that I had to read it! And...WOW!!
I was so drawn to Lee's character and admired her determination to get herself through the difficult circumstances life was throwing her way. And then there's Hazel...the woman that Lee "saves."
I was definitely sucked into this thrilling story. The story twists at one point and I didn't know who to believe.

Couldn't put this book down!! Highly recommend reading and it definitely lived up to the hype!!

The Drowning Woman is a grab you right from the start thrill ride, but It's Robyn Harding, and so I wasn't at all surprised. I've loved everything she's published. Robyn's ability to build the plot, adding layer upon carefully constructed layer, speaks to me as a reader, but just when I think I know where's she's going, she throws a pivot, and I'm left frantically flipping pages in a race to the finish, Although the two main characters are at times unlikeable, they're always relatable, and I couldn't help but root for them to succeed. In short, another Robyn Harding masterpiece!

I really enjoyed this one! It kept me interested through the entire book and I really felt a connection with the characters. Lee and Hazel both had me feeling so empathetic to their situation and I kept wishing that they would find a way out. And as for the male characters, I never expected the twists at the end…you just wait. And the ending (chefs kiss), perfection! This book was full of twists that kept me guessing and reading late into the night. Well worth the read and I highly recommend! 4.5 out of 5 stars, rounding up to 5 on goodreads.

A big thank you to NetGalley, Grand Central Publishing, and Robyn Harding for providing me with this gifted copy in exchange for my honest review.

Check out my #AuthorElevatorSeries Interview with Robyn!

The master of misdirection and twists, bestselling author Robyn Harding returns following The Perfect Family with her latest captivating thriller and thirteenth novel, THE DROWNING WOMAN —two complex women form an unlikely friendship caught up in a dangerous web of deceit, secrets, and lies.

A homeless woman living in her car saves a wealthy, troubled housewife from drowning—changing their life.

Top 5 thrillers of 2023: Harding pulls out all the stops and checks all the boxes—her best yet!

Lee Gulliver, age 34, grew up in the Catskills, and she led a comfortable life. Once a young successful restaurant owner (The Aviary) in New York City is now homeless in Seattle, living out of her older model Toyota sedan, trying to survive.

Due to the pandemic and taking a loan from a man who wanted his money back no matter what, she was forced to run. She had to admit her business, her dream, had failed.

She never dreamed of being in this dire situation. She now works at a shady Uncle Jack's diner, making barely enough to get by. She parks her car under bridges at night, fearing for her life, with a knife by her side.

Then one night, her window was broken, and her purse was stolen while she was inside the car trying to sleep. SCARY! She is mortified trying to sneak into the YMCA and places for free showers with other vagrants now like herself. She has nowhere to turn, and her family hates her with no friends. Plus, there is Damon, the bad guy who will kill her.

She finally decides to drive to an upscale beach neighborhood for a safer spot to park at night while sleeping, even though further to drive to work.

Then one early April morning, she spots a woman crying on the beach at dawn. She is walking into the frigid Pacific with her expensive running gear. She goes under.

Lee runs out to save her before she drowns. She gets a blanket out of her car and sits with her. How could this woman living in this neighborhood with these expensive clothes have a life worse than hers?

Soon she learns the woman's name is Hazel Laval, and she is in an abusive, toxic marriage. She lives in prison and is only allowed out of the house for a run or quick grocery shopping.

Her husband, Benjamin, is a wealthy, powerful, sadist criminal defense lawyer. Their BDSM relationship turns abusive (master and slave), and she begs Lee to help her escape. She cannot go to the police since her husband is well-connected and powerful.

The two women form a friendship. Lee knows this man must be a monster for Hazel to give up this life of privilege and luxury. However, there is something off.

Lee, desperate for connection, the two develop a bond and a plan to help Hazel escape her life. Hazel's biggest worry is her mother, that is in a care facility paid for by her husband. She has threatened if she tries to escape, her mother is as good as dead.

In the meantime, here is Jesse Thomas, a man Lee meets with a killer body and works as a trainer at a gym. However, can she trust him? Nothing is as it appears.

Told from two POVs: Lee and Hazel. The two devise a plan. However, can Hazel be trusted?

What comes next is fast-paced twists and action, high adrenaline, misdirection, and INTENSE suspense when someone winds up DEAD. You have no clue where the author is taking you, but you are enjoying the ride.

As a huge fan of the author, having read six of her latest thrillers, she is a pro at intricate plots, twists, and well-developed characters. In THE DROWNING WOMAN, I enjoyed how she brilliantly crafts a scene from one point of view, and then we see it again from a different perspective.

I LOVED THIS BOOK! I enjoyed both women, especially Lee. An edge-of-your-seat thriller, what a ride! From redemption, friendship, and betrayal, caught up in a tangle of secrets.

Wildly entertaining! And that wickedly satisfying Epilogue! The Nest— priceless! Addictive, highly creative, absorbing, binge-worthy, and prime for the big small, or big screen!

Harding fans will devour it! For fans of intelligent domestic thrillers—if you have not read Robyn's books, I highly recommend them. THE DROWNING WOMAN is a favorite.

Check out my #AuthorElevatorSeries Q&A Interviews with Robyn, where we go behind the scenes of the book & the author:

THE DROWNING WOMAN
THE PERFECT FAMILY
THE SWAP

Thanks to #GrandCentralPublishing for a gifted ARC via #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I also purchased the hardcover copy.

Blog Review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: June 13, 2023
My Rating: 5 🌟STARS ++
May 2023 Must-Read Books
Top Books of 2023

Thank you @netgalley, @thrillerbookloverspromotions, and @robynharding for sending me a copy to read and review!

➡️THOUGHTS:
Ok, this one is giving What Remains a run for it’s money for favorite book of June! WOW! This book is full on unreliable narrators and keeps you flipping pages! I love that the author had my head spinning because what I thought was happening, would all of a sudden switch gears and this went on often! I freaking couldn’t get enough of it!

This is told from Hazel and Lee’s POV, divided into 4 sections. Lee is a down on her luck woman living out of her car who happens to witness a woman (Hazel) trying to drown herself while sleeping on the beach. What goes on next will blow your mind!!!

Wow, what a ride The Drowning Woman was, and it was exactly the kind of thriller I've been looking for a while now!! I went into this book without knowing very much about it and it was my first book by this author, but it definitely did not disappoint! I was so hooked on the story, which had short and quick chapters that pulled me in right from the beginning. I constantly want to be reading this book that was filled with questionable characters and twist after twist that kept me on edge. I really enjoyed the fast pacing, the multiple POV and how things wrapped up (yay for a satisfying ending!!).

Overall, I loved this thriller and would say this one is probably my favourite thrillers that I've read so far this year! If you are looking for a suspenseful, twisty, wild and bingeable thriller that will keep you turning pages, check out The Drowning Woman, out June 13! I can't wait to read more of Harding's backlist.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Ok I totally binged this book! I started it late one night and ended up flying through 1/3 and then found myself thinking about it all day at work the next day, anxiously waiting to get home to it!

It was incredibly propulsive and was just oozing with misdirections! Things are never as they seem and I always relish being kept on my toes and continually guessing!

While it may require a bit of suspended belief at times, it didn’t bother me enough to find it still extremely entertaining! I don’t want to give too much away so I’m just going to say, clear your schedule and buckle up, you’re in for a wild ride!

4.5 stars rounded to 5 for goodreads

Thank you @blondethrillerlover @grandcentralpub @netgalley for a copy of this book. This story is about Lee, who is down on her luck and a random chance meeting she meets Hazel and forms a friendship. Lee and Hazel are both in bad situations and they figure a plan to help each other. The story turns when Lee figures that things are not what it seems. You don't know who to trust and the story keeps you guessing. I love the multiple POV and how intense the story was.

Oh my goodness this book. It was wild and twisty and crazy good! I could not figure out what in the world was going on and as soon as I thought I knew, boom, here comes another twist and off we go in a different direction. This is told in two POVs, Lee’s and Hazel’s, and it was just brilliantly done. I really loved this one, of course I recommend it, it is just fantastic and I think you really need to go in blind. I have been a fan of Robyn Harding for a long time now and she never lets me down. This is another solid read by her that will absolutely be on my shelves.

The audiobook for this one is wonderful, I really enjoyed listening to this and following along with the book. If you can listen to this one then I suggest reading it this way.

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing, Thriller Book Lovers Promotions and Novel Suspects for the digital copies to review.

Thank you NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

5/5 stars
*
Yes! This book will be the book of the summer! This is my first book by Robyn Harding but will definitely not be my last!! I feel like I’ve been saying that a lot more recently, but I’ve just read so many good new to me authors that I feel like I need their entire backlist of books!! This book just sucks you in and is so easy to read. I feel like I just flew through it. I feel like the characters and their struggles are so relatable and it just makes you care so much about their story and what they are experiencing. Definitely one you should pick up if you love fast paced thrillers that keep you guessing!!
*
This review will be posted to my Instagram blog (read_betweenthecovers) in the near future!

I really liked this book. It sucked me in right from the first few pages and I didn't want to put it down until I was finished!
After the pandemic, and the failure of her business, Lee finds herself homeless, without anyone around to offer any support, until she meets Hazel, saves her life, and they become each other's only friend. Lee is determined to help her friend escape an abusive relationship, and just as the plan is about to go down, giving both her, and her new friend a fresh start, the plan unravels and they are both tangled in a web of lies, murder and double crossing.
I thought the storyline was unique, the writing had just the right amount of twists and turns, and the pacing kept me on my toes!
If definitely give this one a recommendation!
Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

Lee hauls Hazel out of the ocean and saves her life. Living in her car and separate from close human contact, Lee is ripe for any lies and plans that Hazel may conjure up thereafter.

This book is intense but easy to read. There are several intertwined plans and goals from the principle characters. As the friendship between Lee and Hazel grows, they quickly travel towards the conclusion of the evil intents of others…and maybe themselves. The story seems innocent of the surface but it is far more convoluted below.

The characters are relatable even if you have never been homeless or rich. All of us have felt the emotions that rise from these pages. At times, the reader will want to shout out the famous “Don’t do it!” or want to shake a character for their bad choices.

I love this story. It was different, enthralling, and emotion inducing. It deserves 5 stars. I have read Robin Harding’s books before and this one even exceeded my expectations from this author.


I received an ARC from Grand Central Publishing thought NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion or rating of this book. I am voluntarily submitting this review and am under no obligation to do so.

OMG -- That was amazing—such an easy five stars from me.

I am so thankful to Hachette Audio, Robyn Harding, Grand Central Publishing, and NetGalley for sending me advanced physical, audio, and digital access to this twisty, multiple-narrative thriller -- A TRIPLE THREAT. The Drowning Woman hits shelves on June 13, 2023, so mark your calendars, yall.

This is the story of two women who come from troubling backgrounds and have found themselves contrived in the same upsetting situation. Lee Gulliver lost everything after COVID-19, including her restaurant, home, and familial connection. Left to sleep in her car after her going-nowhere waitressing job, she hears a woman crying on the beach and then attempts to commit SOO-ICIDE. Hazel is ready to leave her life of luxury behind, and end it all, because her husband is keeping her captive as his slave and she's fearing for her life.

Lee decides to band together to help her new friend to escape the horrors of her marriage, while also ensuring that she acquires some funds to start over new, herself. However, Lee meets a rather attractive suitor, Jesse, and it just so happens that he's quite familiar with Hazel and her abusive husband in more ways than one.

What are all of these characters' motives and how deeply buried are their secrets?

I feel like thrillers have hit a stride where they have to hit ALL the themes or they feel like they aren't trying to throw the reader for a loop. But that isn't always the purpose of a thriller. Thrillers are meant to keep you guessing, but also to let you find comfort in a genre that lets you wind through the story. I felt like this book sometimes succeeded at that, but more often than not it failed. If there was a bit more work to it, I might have given it more than one star, but at the end of the day, I just couldn't.

First off, the writing is supremely terrible. I was laughing so hard it was that bad. Like, there is a section where a woman is discussing her abuse and tells another woman she "could never understand" and the woman is like "She's right, I have a bad track record with having long-term relationships." Huh? How is that even directly related. There are also scenes where Hazel, a woman going through domestic abuse, lists out all the horrible things that happen to her, but then in the next step is like "eh, I'm really just a small child if you think about it." The self awareness of a woman who has been through this felt like it was an attempt to make sure we understood she was not a fully-developed woman. But in so doing it robbed her of an understanding of the mind of a domestic abuse survivor. There are also moments where she says to Lee "my husband is a sadist" and Lee is like "I got a chill, something told me what she said was true. Her husband got off on debasing her." What told you that Lee? What about this conversation describes what type of sadism Hazel's husband partakes in.

Then there was the Total Power Exchange Contract. Take a shot every time Hazel says Total Power Exchange Contract when she is speaking to literally anyone. This felt like Harding learned a term and decided to put it in anytime the abusive relationship popped up. It also felt like she wanted to eat her cake and have it to - this is a kink relationship gone wrong, but she isn't SHAMING people in the kink community, this just happens to be a man who is abusive and uses kink to his best benefit. But a lot of times she still uses terms used in the community that shouldn't be used once we realize this isn't what Hazel and Benjamin's relationship is.

Further, Hazel is...a strange character. At one point Lee is like "Yeah, I'm unhoused due to the pandemic" and Hazel literally looks into the distance and says "The pandemic hit a lot of people hard...but Benjamin made even more money." Excuse yourself HAZEL? THIS WOMAN IS UNHOUSED. She also talks about the police being "spread thin" in Seattle, a place that has had more discussions about police reform than many other places in America. It felt...pointed.

Some other solidly hilarious lines from Hazel. A day after Hazel's Drowning "I realize that I never thanked you . . . For saving me." "It's fine," "I thought I wanted to die. But I don't. I'm grateful you found me when you did!"

"Nate has a mother. He understands what I'm going through. He is human...unlike Benjamin."

I will refrain form others due to spoilers.

Further, she discusses Lee is an unhoused person in the Pacific Northwest, a place that is known for its unhoused population. And Lee drips in "But I'm not like the others." She literally starts the book getting robbed by meth heads with no teeth. And then immediately is able to access a rich neighborhood in a Toyota Carola and sleep there whenever she needs. She is still scared in the car, but there is no real reckoning with all of these choices by Lee. Lee literally has a line where she talks about the clientele of an all night diner and says "there are dealers and prostitutes, club kids and gangbangers" and discusses a sex worker as "maybe [] shooting up? Maybe [] just washing? No one asks and no one cares. They're just people...I see that now." But she also puts down people with derogatory terms and is always putting herself above them. It's really gross. At one point she is in a basement apartment and says there must be break-ins becuase...there are bars on the window?? You mean a function of ground floor places in a large city? What?

Every so often a book takes me by surprise and trips me up! The Drowning Woman was one of the twistiest psychological thrillers that’s I’ve read and I couldn’t read it fast enough! Two women, with completely different lifestyles yet the same desire to change their lives, cross paths and the thrill ride begins! The plot twists continually evolved with unsuspecting consequences. I didn’t know who to trust throughout or who was playing who! 4.5 rounded up

4.5 stars

Lee Gulliver has hit a rough patch in life and finds herself living in her car. One day as she’s parked in a secluded lot by the beach, she sees a sobbing woman dive into the ocean. Lee runs in to save the woman, but when they hit the beach instead of gratitude the other woman yells at Lee for her heroic act. It turns out the woman, Hazel, is in toxic relationship and wanted to die.

Now this synopsis probably seems incomplete and it sort of is. I just wanted to keep it as short as possible (and I’ll be doing the same with the review). This is a story I believe is best to go into blindly, to get the maximum punch out of the plot.

The story is told in four parts, alternating between Lee and Hazel’s POV which I absolutely loved. Usually with more than one POV you tend to prefer one over the other but I enjoyed both equally with this one! The twists also really packed some great punches and delivered a very entertaining storyline. This was my first by Robyn Harding and I’ll definitely be going back for her backlist!

The only reason it’s not a 5 star for me is because I feel there were some things left unresolved. Like they were brought up then just sort of exited the story with no other mention or resolution.

*4-4.5 stars

What a wild and crazy story! Lee Gulliver owned a restaurant in NYC until the pandemic hit and drove her into bankruptcy. Owing a dangerous man money, she heads west to escape his threats and try to start over. Now she's in Seattle, living in her car and working in a diner for cash. The streets are dangerous for a woman on her own so she needs to find a safer place to park overnight. She picks a park in a wealthy neighborhood where she thinks she won't be disturbed.

The next morning, she wakes when she hears crying and witnesses a woman slowly walking into the water. Dashing after her, she pulls the woman to safety. At first the woman, whose name is Hazel, is angry but then her feelings turn to gratitude and she tries to help Lee in small ways whenever they meet. As the women develop an unlikely friendship, Hazel slowly reveals the story of her life as an enslaved and abused wife of a wealthy man. She still needs to find a way to escape so perhaps they can come up with a plan that may benefit them both...

So many twists to this plot! Very exciting and perfect to take along for a summer beach read. Lee and Hazel are not really likable characters but the reader can't help but hope they'll find a way out of the mess they find themselves in.

I received an arc of this new thriller from the author and publisher via NetGalley. Many thanks! My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

When two women, one homeless and one extremely wealthy, cross paths neither of their lives will ever be the same. Straight from the beginning, this one had me hooked. Lee is living in her car after her restaurant falls under during the pandemic and she’s running from a shady investor who wants his money. Hazel is trapped in her mansion with her controlling husband, who is a lawyer for the worst of the worst and lives under constant surveillance. When the two women create a friendship after Hazel’s near drowning, they each find comfort in each other’s presence and sympathy for one another. Lee has been alone for so long on the run, and she really lets her guard down. But Hazel really isn’t the person she thought she was, and it could cost Lee what little freedom she has left.

This was my first read from Robyn Harding and will not be my last. It was twisty, fast-paced and the character development was perfect. I felt all kinds of emotions while reading this one and can’t wait to read more from the author. Thanks to the author, publisher and Thriller Book Lover’s Promotions for my advanced copy. The Drowning Woman will be published 6/13.

Thank you NetGalley, Grand Central Publishing, and Robyn Harding for the advanced copy of The Drowning Woman in exchange for my honest review.

This was SO. GOOD! It has been soooo long since I've powered through a book this quickly. It's a masterclass in thriller writing and deception.

Honestly I was hooked from the very beginning to the very end. In the words of Schmidt from New Girl: "No Notes."

Thriller lovers everywhere, do not miss this one!! On sale next week, June 13!