“In the water, dark and deep
Where she waits, fast asleep
All alone, pale and cold
Don’t wake her up, or she’ll catch hold”

If your deepest wishes could be granted but you would have to pay a price, would you still make your wish?

Be careful what you wish for.

Jennifer McMahon‘s latest book, The Drowning Kind, is a gothic mystery with a sinister story connected to a freshwater spring that feeds into a dark and murky pool. This pool is on the grounds where a former grand hotel once stood, and an old family mansion now resides. Many locals claim this water has magical healing powers but while the water gives, it also takes away.

Told in alternating timelines and points of view (Ethel Montrose in 1929 and Jax in 2019), this atmospheric read with its supernatural element and unreliable characters gave me chills and I loved the tension and mystery surrounding of the powers of the water. Part of me wishes that readers are given more information about the why’s and how’s of the pool/water’s supernatural powers, but perhaps not knowing makes the story even more ominous.

This is an engaging mystery read with a healthy dose of family dysfunction, but it is the supernatural elements and the foreboding feel that will give you goosebumps and may make you rethink dipping into your pool at night. Put a hold on this chilling read now at WPL!

— Laurie P.