The Drowning Kind

By: Jennifer McMahon

Narrated by: Joy Osmanski, Imani Jade Powers

Length: 11 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

In this “blisteringly suspenseful tale that will keep you up at night” (Wendy Webb, author of Daughters of the Lake), a woman returns to the old family home after her sister mysteriously drowns in its swimming ​pool…but she’s not the pool’s only victim.

Be careful what you wish for.

When Jax receives nine missed calls from her older sister, Lexie, she assumes that it’s just another one of her sister’s episodes. Manic and increasingly out of touch with reality, Lexie has pushed Jax away for over a year. But the next day, Lexie is dead: drowned in the pool at their grandmother’s estate. When Jax arrives at the house to go through her sister’s things, she learns that Lexie was researching the history of their family and the property. And as she dives deeper into the research herself, she discovers that the land holds a far darker past than she could have ever imagined.

In 1929, thirty-seven-year-old newlywed Ethel Monroe hopes desperately for a baby. In an effort to distract her, her husband whisks her away on a trip to Vermont, where a natural spring is showcased by the newest and most modern hotel in the Northeast. Once there, Ethel learns that the water is rumored to grant wishes, never suspecting that the spring takes in equal measure to what it gives.

A modern-day ghost story that illuminates how the past, though sometimes forgotten, is never really far behind us, The Drowning Kind “is satisfying on every level: Marvelously chilling, elegantly written, a true page-turner” (Janelle Brown, New York Times bestselling author).

©2021 Jennifer McMahon. All rights reserved. (P)2021 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"Narrators Joy Osmanski and Imani Jade Powers shine in this haunting novel. Osmanski voices the story of Jax, a social worker who is distanced from her complicated family history in 2019. When her sister reaches out during a manic episode and then winds up dead, Jax knows there is more to the story. Jax's contemporary story alternates with the 1929 story of Ethel Monroe, voiced by Powers. Ethel and her husband are eager to start a family. They visit the Brandenburg Springs Hotel, which is rumored to have healing springs that grant wishes. Powers's perfect pacing creates a supernatural, eerie atmosphere filled with regret and desperation. As the characters in both storylines connect and secrets are revealed, listeners will be shocked by the jaw-dropping surprises." (AudioFile Magazine)

Have You Ever?

After completing an audiobook, have you ever just closed your eyes and thought ‘what did I just listen to?’ This book is the epitome of a
bad story. I feel really bad for the author and all the negative comments this book is surely to bring.
I tried. I tried so hard to like this book. For such an off-the-wall storyline, this 12+ hour listen was surprisingly predictable. Save your credit, people!

No story!

I kept waiting for the story to kick in, and when I realized about 2/3 of the way in that this was all there was, and could t wait for it to be over. I love Jennifer McMahon’s books, so it pains me to write this. But it was just so boring, with a tiny bit of a twist ending. The Winter People it wasn’t!

What's in the water?

Jennifer McMahon does it again loved this creepy book about love, loss and what you'd do to protect the one you love. 5 stars

Another amazing story!!

Jennifer McMahon has quickly become one of my all time favorite authors on Audible. She has such an incredible talent of weaving stories together that play out like a movie in your head. Her characters are so well defined that you feel like you know them. There is an eclectic mix genres all wrapped into one. The Drowning Kind did not disappoint. I absolutely loved this book!

Mixed feelings

Worth the listen, could be molded into good movie. Some things I’d have elaborated on and some I’d have shortened .

Not what I expected

While I enjoy books by Jennifer McMahon this one is not it. There was nothing about this particular story I enjoyed.

The Worst Horror Ever!

A terrible horror is that I spent money on this book, but the WORST part is all the time I spent waiting for the book to become interesting!

didnt like the ending

it was a great story. i didnt care for the ending...or understand what or why they all did what they did at the end. nobody really even really liked the house.

Great story, bad narrator

I loved the story, but that second narrator! I had to force myself to keep listening through her sections (and often found myself changing it to a different voice in my head).

not good

this was a struggle to finish. I didn't feel connected to the story at all. I, honestly, got bored throughout the story.