The Drowning Woman

By: Robyn Harding

Narrated by: Brittany Wilkerson, Henriette Zoutomou

Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

From the bestselling author of The Party comes a deliciously twisted story of friendship, retribution, and betrayal following a homeless woman fleeing a dangerous past—and the wealthy society wife she saves.

Lee Gulliver never thought she’d find herself living on the streets—no one ever does—but when her restaurant fails, and she falls deeper into debt, she leaves her old life behind with nothing but her clothes and her Toyota Corolla. In Seattle, she parks in a secluded spot by the beach to lay low and plan her next move—until early one morning, she sees a sobbing woman throw herself into the ocean. Lee hauls the woman back to the surface, but instead of appreciation, she is met with fury. The drowning woman, Hazel, tells her that she wanted to die, that she’s trapped in a toxic, abusive marriage, that she’s a prisoner in her own home. Lee has thwarted her one chance to escape her life.

Out of options, Hazel retreats to her gilded cage, and Lee thinks she’s seen the last of her, until her unexpected return the next morning. Bonded by disparate but difficult circumstances, the women soon strike up a close and unlikely friendship. And then one day, Hazel makes a shocking request: she wants Lee to help her disappear. It’ll be easy, Hazel assures her, but Lee soon learns that nothing is as it seems, and that Hazel may not be the friend Lee thought she was.

©2023 Robyn Harding (P)2023 Grand Central Publishing

Critic reviews

"As twisty and pacey as it gets, The Drowning Woman is a dark and wild ride of redemption, betrayal, and friendship between two complex women caught in a tangle of secrets—a total page-turner."—Ashley Audrain, New York Times bestselling author of The Push

"With deceitful characters who are not what they seem, a myriad of unexpected twists and turns, and a story that moves along at high speed, The Drowning Woman is everything I love in a thriller. Robyn Harding keeps readers hooked until the end.”—Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author of Local Woman Missing

"This edge-of-your-seat thriller combines wildly intricate plot twists and turns with complex, carefully developed characters—and reading it made me wonder if there’s anything Robyn Harding can’t pull off! I had no idea where I was headed, but knew I definitely wanted to be on this propulsive, suspenseful, often shocking ride that explores the ways in which we betray ourselves and others—and just how far we’ll go for redemption."—Marissa Stapley, New York Times bestselling author of Lucky

Good, but inconsistent

Overall, I enjoyed the plot twists and storyline in this book. However, the pacing was inconsistent as were the characters. They kept insisting about how smart they were, but then kept making poor choices. The narrator for Lee had an unusual rhythm to her performance, as her voice went up in pitch at the ends of sentences. Hazels narrator’s performance was better and more enjoyable. I would give this 3.5 to 4 stars, as some parts were better than others.

Slightly disappointed

Just to help.. I set my bar with Verity by Colleen Hoover and The Silent Patient.. so this book is very slow going, a little anticlimactic. I wish I could exchange it for another title :(

Enjoyed it

Liked the narrators and did not take away from the story. Interesting twists and turns. I liked the characters and the Plot kept moving.

I found the female characters gullible and stupid

Hard to garner sympathy for these women who choose to sign a SM contract, agree to help someone escape that you just met, plan to murder their husband, etc. The men are evil and make evil decisions, but that’s authentic!

Enjoyable!

Greet narration.

As a Seattleite, I had a few moments of “that’s not how you say that word” or “it’s Puget Sound” not the Pacific Ocean”. The story was engaging and enjoyable.

I enjoyed this book

I really enjoy the voice of the person reading which made the book All the more enjoyable.
Loved that there were twist and it wasn’t obvious as to what happened next. I also like how they covered both sides of what happened from each others perspective. Pretty good read. I would recommend.

Great Mystery

Genuinely enjoyed the story. The mystery kept me engaged the entire time. Fun read if you’re looking for something that’s not too intense.

Five star thriller

I will be reviewing this on my YouTube channel
Heathersbookreview soon, I’ve seen a lot of hype for this book, and I would say it’s definitely worth a listen! I think both narrators did a fantastic job

It SEEMS like other books but it’s not!

About 25% into this book I had a feeling where this was going but I did not actually know. It’s a really good book and definitely not at all what I expected

A page turner

This was a good read. Character development and plot were both engaging. I liked it!!