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The Drowning House (2013)

by Elizabeth Black(Favorite Author)

2.9 of 5 Votes: 1

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Nan A. Talese / Doubleday a division of Random House, Inc.

review 1: I picked this book up at random while at the library. I'm glad I didn't buy it at the bookstore. The synopsis sounded more exciting and thrilling than the book actually was. Clare goes home to her mother, who clearly does not want her around, and she starts spending time with Will, a much older man on the island. It's kind of creepy especially when she says they have "moments" and then you find out who he really is to her, and you shudder. Apparently Will is one of those charming guys who can make anyone feel like you're the only girl in the room, and she falls for it. Her husband Michael is a fleeting character, their marriage is over, yet he appears only 3 times, and you literally have no clue what happens to their relationship at the end of the book. At first I felt sor... morery for Clare, especially about her daughter, Bailey. I cannot even imagine the emotional turmoil she is constantly in, but suddenly, she is so consumed with finding her childhood friend Patrick and finding why they were separated so long ago, everything else drops from her radar. Then Clare's sister (Frankie) and her husband come to visit...and then Clare and Frankie have it out in the kitchen over what? Who knows! They get into the most vague argument and then suddenly they have changed their views on one another and magically start getting along. Throughout the book, the author keeps you at an arms length and doesn't reveal anything of what happened to Clare and her real father and why Clare and her mother have this obtuse relationship. The only question that gets answered for the reader is why Patrick and Clare were separated when they were kids. You are left with so many questions at the end of the book and you can only speculate what happened and even then, you're not entirely sure.
review 2: I'm still not sure what made me finish reading this novel. I was expecting suspense and intrigue but was presented with neither. The story read like the narration one might listen to via the rented headset at a museum. There was so much information about Galveston, I often thought I was reading a travel guide. Ordinarily, I wouldn't mind such focus on the setting, but here it did little to further the plot. In fact, much of the book, historical or not, did little to further the plot. I was more than 70% into the novel before a single hint of mystery popped up, and the event was so commonplace I just sighed with disappointment. I really wanted to like this novel, as it was recommended by my local library to those who enjoyed Gone Girl, but Gone Girl it most definitely was not. less

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