The Drowning Place by Sarah Hillary

*minor spoilers ahead* ad/gifted

The Drowning Place by Sarah Hillary is set in Edenscar, a town in the Peak District, cursed by a tragedy 17 years ago, when a school bus veered off the road, and everyone on board drowned. Everyone, that is, except Joseph Ashe. His miraculous survival has haunted him and the town ever since.

Now a Detective Sergeant in the local police, Joe is called to the scene of a brutal and apparently inexplicable crime. The whole town is spooked, but Joe’s new boss, DI Laurie Bower, more used to inner-city police work, has no time for superstition. She just wants to find the very real killer who has left no trace and apparently had no motive. Joining forces, Joe and Laurie work to uncover the secrets of Edenscar, both past and present.

This is a conventional crime fiction book that takes its time to settle into a pace and explore all the characters. I really enjoyed Laurie’s character, her hard exterior, and the insights we got into her personal life, especially the parts about her father-in-law. I wish we saw more of this, but as this is the first book in a planned series, I’m sure we’ll learn more in the future. Joe is also interesting as we learn early on that his dead best friend is still with him, and a character we frequently hear from throughout the book. I wasn’t 100% sold on the paranormal aspect of this book, but it did make it different to other crime books I have read.

For me, this was a slower-paced book that took me a while to get into, but it did pick up towards the end of the book. The action was great at this point, but I would have liked to have seen more throughout the book. Again, as this is the first book in the series, I’m sure some threads were intentionally left loose, but I wish there were more depth in this story.

Overall, this slow burner wasn’t the one for me as it didn’t grip me as much as I had hoped, and I didn’t connect with the characters. But if you’re a fan of crime fiction, this is one to try out and see if you’re a fan.

Thank you to Harvill and Vintage Books for a proof of this book!

2/5 stars