THE DROWNING WOMAN

A woman living in her car saves a wealthy housewife from drowning, sending both of their lives into turmoil.

Lee Gulliver was once a plucky young restaurateur in New York City. That is, until the pandemic hit and her business—and life—fell apart. On the run from a shady businessman to whom she owes money, Lee flees to Seattle to start a new life, with very little to her name. One morning, when sleeping in her car near the beach, Lee hears a disturbance and awakens to find a beautiful young woman trying to drown herself in the ocean. Lee saves the woman, whose name is Hazel Laval, and, after a brief misstart where Hazel is annoyed at said saving, the two forge an unlikely friendship. As the women get closer, Hazel reveals that she and her husband, Benjamin, are in a BDSM relationship turned deeply abusive, and she begs Lee to help her escape. Lee, desperate for companionship in her itinerant life, wants to do anything she can to save Hazel (again). But all is not as it seems, and as Lee starts to get closer to handsome and charming Jesse Thomas, whom she meets while getting her car fixed, secrets and lies begin to unravel. Switching between Lee's and Hazel’s perspectives, the story is fast-paced and packed with action. The dialogue, however, is stilted and clichéd, with a villain saying things like “It played into my hands nicely” and a heroine waxing poetic about how in “this next chapter, I must rely on my wits and courage to survive.” While this book won't satisfy readers looking for psychological intrigue, it does check certain boxes: It's quick moving with a plot intricate enough to keep the reader hooked.

A serviceable thriller with a few unexpected twists.