Bookworm: I Just Finished... Into the Water and All the Missing Girls (back to school 2017)

Into the Water by Paula Hawkins

Girl on the Train had me like what?!?! That being said, I was super psyched to read Hawkins’ latest novel. I’m going to be honest (not that I typically hold back); Into the Water was not as engaging, but I did enjoy it. The story shifts point of view between several different residents of the town on Beckford. The town is a picturesque backdrop. Despite its quaintness, there has been a history of women being pushed off cliffs/jumping off cliffs and drowning. Into the Water focuses on Beckford after Nel Abbott, a woman who had been working on a manuscript about the “drowning pool,” is found dead within it. There was never a point in the book where I wanted to stop reading, but I definitely felt confused with all the point of view changes early on. As I got into the second half, I had an easier time following, and the suspense picked up. The plot had entertaining shifts, but nothing that totally surprised me. I’d recommend this book, but to those who are expecting it to be as good as Girl on the Train, it’s not.

Note: I thought it was worth mentioning that my mom (our taste in books tends to align) loved Into the Water. I took an unintentional break from reading at the beginning of the summer, and there was at least a two week span between when I read the first sixty pages and when I resumed reading. This could be why I felt confused by all of the different points of view.

All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda

Jumping right into it, I really enjoyed this book. All the Missing Girls tells the story of Nic, a woman returning to her hometown to help her brother sell the house they grew up in. Since she left town ten years ago, after the disappearance of her best friend, her father’s mental and physical states have deteriorated, forcing him to be moved to assisted living. Upon her return, another young girl goes missing prompting Nic, her brother, her high school sweetheart, and others to reexamine the past. All the Missing Girls is unique in the sense that the story is told backwards; each chapter is the day before the previous (I may or may not have been half way through before figuring that out and eliminating a lot of confusion). You’d think this would make it difficult to build suspense, but it really worked well. I was super engaged from start to finish, and, even though I did predict a few things, I would highly recommend this book to pretty much anybody who enjoys a good mystery.