Paula’s new book drowns in its own self-importance
Book review - Into the Water by Paula Hawkins.
Into the Water, Paula Hawkins, Penguin Random House, ISBN: 9780 8575 24430
I HELD this book in my hands, and found I was far too nervous to open it.
The hype surrounding The Girl on the Train was phenomenal and it culminated in an original and gripping page-turner. Surely this novel could not surpass that.
This is the second book by New York Times bestselling author, Paula Hawkins.
Into the Water was a way for her to show the world she was not, indeed, a one-hit wonder.
The book opens up with a relatively shocking scene of a woman being drowned by a group of ignorant and violent men.
That’s the trick to these mystery novels, there has to be a decisive “oh my God” moment somewhere inside the book to make it somewhat memorable.
While this scene, as openers go, was quite intense, it is easily forgettable.
Jules Abbott left home and never returned for a reason. The reason was her sister, Nel. After her sister is found dead, she has little choice but to head back to the sleepy village to look after her angsty teenage niece while the police run their investigation.
The book unfolds through the eyes of 11 characters.
While I appreciate the time it took to create their parts in this fictitious story, many of them felt like unnecessary fillers.
The numerous characters seemingly meld into one another and readers could be forgiven for getting confused at times.
I had little choice but to make a list of each of the characters as well as a brief of their place in the story.
The chapters are short and punchy but due to the numerous people in play, it leaves very little time for readers to really connect with any of them.
While this novel was relatively enjoyable, there was no wow factor, the characters are easily forgettable and an anticlimactic conclusion, I am not so sure I would bother picking up another one of Paula’s books. While this was her chance to prove her writing gusto to the world, she wasn’t, much to my dismay, able to hook me as a long-time fan.
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