Couldn't wait to finish this dragging disjointed story

What a disappointment this book is. It felt like girl on a train and into the water were written by different authors. The story lacks mystery, purposelessly slow paced sucking you into false sense of grand mystery about to be revealed only to reach disappointing conclusion. The narrators are dull and monotonous. If it hadn't been for the fact that Paula's first book was great, I would have stopped listening 1/3 into her second.

10 people found this helpful

Gripping

I loved her previous book so was excited to read this one. Its premise sounded good, if not obviously a bit depressing but also intriguing.
I loved the way she wrote it, always changing people's point of view so you had to keep reading to get the whole story about an event or person.
I didn't love the ending, somehow I felt like there should have been more to it. It almost felt anti-climatic. But not necessarily bad.
It held me captive all the way through which is rare for me so I enjoyed it.

2 people found this helpful

Gripping, well crafted listen

This is a book that is particularly well suited to being listened to. With multiple characters speaking from their own viewpoint it can get confusing. Thankfully the vocal talent in this rendition is outstanding and makes each character instantly recognizable. Highly recommended.

5 people found this helpful

Too many characters!

What disappointed you about Into the Water?

Way too many characters, every chapters i listened to i was scrabbling to remember if i had already been introduced to this character and what part they played in the story

What was most disappointing about Paula Hawkins’s story?

The jump from how riveting Girl on the train was compared to how confusing Into the water is

Who might you have cast as narrator instead of the narrators?

The narrators were not the issue

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Into the Water?

Honestly i would of just told the story from two point of views rather than giving everyone in the town a voice

Any additional comments?

I can see how the story would of been interesting but as mentioned i think it could of been conveyed just as well from less characters

6 people found this helpful

Another fine mystery

Like her previous novel, The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins’ latest mystery weaves its story from multiple perspectives, fleshing out the curious deaths of two linked people within weeks of each other, both at a local suicide hot spot nicknamed The Drowning Pool.

The use of five narrators in the audiobook adaptation separates out the different viewpoints with clarity and drives home the unique traits of each individual in this thickly-populated story. The marvellous Imogen Church, Doctor Who’s Sophie Aldred, Daniel Weyman, Rachel Bavidge and Laura Aikman keep our attention and curiosity burning despite the largely unlikeable characters.

It opens with the death of unpopular newcomer to Beckford, UK, Nell Abbott. She’s found in the water of a popular picnic cove that runs off the Beckford River; a spot with a history of murder and suicides dating back to the drowning of witches hundreds of years ago. A steep cliff face and shallow waters have combined to give the area a dark history.

Nell had been drafting a book, offering fictionalised accounts of the actual deaths at The Drowning Pool, both historical and more recent. It was a deeply despised idea that the townsfolk were against. Already an outsider, her persistence with researching and writing the book had been making Nell increasingly unpopular.

Nell’s death leaves behind her rebellious teenage daughter, Lena, who is still grieving for the loss of her best friend, Katie, only weeks earlier at the same spot. Placed under the care of her estranged aunt, Jules, it soon becomes evident that there was more going on under the surface of Nell and Katie’s lives. With resistance from the local police but some help from the new Detective Sergeant, Erin Morgan, the family duo begin to question if the two deaths were, in fact, murders.

From violent past boyfriends, to misogynistic old men, an interfering psychic busybody, and Katie’s wimpy brother Josh, there are only a few moments of likeability to be found amongst the people of Beckford. Their personal agendas drive the story forward however, and the stellar narrators make them real. Into the Water is not as tense as The Girl on the Train. This book is more a mystery than a thriller, and a character study of those within a defined community. The ending offers the expected twists that you won’t see coming, but it doesn’t tie up all the loose ends clearly and the tension is not as high nor as impactful as the previous novel.
What continues to surprise me the most about multi-cast audiobooks is the lack of direction given to the performers in how to present the characters. There is a lack of continuity, allowing each narrator to put their own slant on each character for the chapters they read, whether it be a character’s accent, tone or mood. The reading of Into the Water suffers from this lack of direction but no more than other multi-cast audiobooks – although it’s perhaps more noticeable here because of the large number of characters and readers. Multi-cast narrations are still quite effective however, and do make so many perspectives easier to follow.

Into the Water may not be as good as The Girl on the Train but it’s still a worthwhile mystery that unfolds in Paula Hawkins highly enjoyable and unique style. Read this and more audiobook reviews on our site at GlamAdelaide dot com dot au, including a review of The Girl on the Train.

2 people found this helpful

Page Turner, Easy Read!

A captivating story full of interesting characters & many twists & turns. A recommended read!

2 people found this helpful

Not my favourite

It’s hard to get in to.
Little hard to follow characters at times as well.

Fascinating story!

The plot is very unexpected - interesting twists and turns.
The only downside is the switching of viewpoints, with the story being told by various roleplayers, chapter about. To add to tthe complexity the story goes backwards and forwards through time, so it takes some getting used to!

intriguing

This book is mysterious and intriguing and keeps you intrigued right to the end. The author has developed the knack of first person narrative combined with entrancing environmental detail.

Twice now I've tried listening to this... tried!

After two attempts at this story and not getting past somewhere between the 60 and 90 minute mark, I'm finally giving up on it. Almost nothing interesting happened during that time and the characters were all presented and performed so similar, I couldn't tell half of them apart. Perhaps they were named too similarly. I couldn't tell if some of them were the same person in different scenes or different people entirely. Maybe it will make a better movie one day, but it definitely didn't make for an exciting audio book.