Date: October 13, 2025
Author: Paula Hawkins
Genre: psychological suspense, thriller, mystery
As my amends read for Mz. Paula Hawkins I chose this title, and having come out the other side of the story I have mixed emotions. So. Here’s what had happened…
In a place far off the beaten path lies a river that has earned itself quite the notoriety. It began as a peaceful cliff along the waters that became, through the ages, a favorite sight for throwing witches into the deep. The women had one of 2 options: drown and prove they were human; or swim and prove they were witches which would have led them from the water to a fire pit tied to a stake. As the years passed, history became more and more filled with these stories. Which made it a favorite place for suicides and murder.
With such a sordid past can the uniformed arm of the law figure out the category this latest rash of deaths should fall under before time runs out? This is one history they did not want repeated.
In retrospect I wasn’t a huge fan of the ending. I stayed up until all hours of the night to read through the last passage. My initial reaction was ‘Huh?’ I had to reread the last sentence and even now it’s murky to me on the meaning.
It just felt like Mz. Hawkins needed a bigger bang for the big reveal. To me, anyway. Other than that? The writing was superb.