Every summer, sisters Lexie and Jax spent the summer with their grandmother at her big house in Brandenburg, Vermont. Known as Sparrow Crest, the house and the pool out back has a reputation in the area. The water in the pool comes from natural springs, and it’s known for its healing properties.
But that’s not all it’s known for.
The water is freezing cold, even in the middle of summer. It has a metallic tang and sometimes it smells of sulfur. But rumors are that you can tell the water a wish and it will come true. It’s said to heal asthma, gout, consumption. It has even been known to make the lame walk. But for every wish it grants, there is a price to pay.
One summer, Jax makes a wish. Tired of constantly being in Lexie’s shadow, watching Lexie do well at everything she tries, Jax asks that something be made more difficult for her. So when Lexie loses touch with reality and is diagnosed with bipolar disorder, Jax can’t help but feel guilty. It takes years for them to get Lexie’s meds right, years of drama and chaos, where Jax feels even more invisible.
After high school. Jax moves to the West Coast to study social work. She sets up a small private practice where she works with troubled kids, and she rarely makes it back to Vermont. Their grandmother’s death had left Sparrow Crest in Lexie’s hands, and Jax had yet another reason to stay away. But after almost a dozen missed manic calls from Lexie, Jax knew that trouble was brewing. She tried to call Lexie back and couldn’t get through, so she tried calling her aunt. When she finally does talk to someone from Brandenburg, the news is not good—Lexie had drowned in the pool.
After years away from Sparrow Crest, Jax heads back immediately to find out what happened. As soon as she walks in the house, she sees the chaos that Lexie had left behind. There are handwritten notes everywhere, food detritus, clothes, a half a bottle of vodka, and evidence she’d been smoking pot. As Jax and her aunt start to clean up, Jax realizes how little she had known about what her sister had been doing, but the more she sees of the notes Lexie had written, the more Jax understands that it wasn’t a manic episode. Lexie was trying to uncover the secrets of the pool, of the family, and she thought she was on to something.
Jax wants to find out what Lexie was thinking. She shouldn’t have drowned. Lexie was the best swimming Jax knew. Jax is determined to find out what really happened that night, no matter what it takes.
The Drowning Kind is the latest novel by Jennifer McMahon, who is known for her spooky thrillers The Invited and The Winter People. With chapters that alternate between Jax in the present and wife and mother Ethel in the past, McMahon tells the story of the springs and of Sparrow Crest with a masterful touch. Hints of the paranormal twist together with family tension to create a story that will keep you hooked to the very last page.
I loved The Drowning Kind. I love a good psychological thriller, and this one caught me from the beginning and held me there until I found out what happened to these sisters. The expressive writing, the twisty plot, and these compassionate characters drew me in. I absolutely loved every page and I highly recommend this one to anyone who loves a good family thriller with a touch of the supernatural.
Egalleys for The Drowning Kind were provided by Gallery Books through NetGalley, with many thanks.
