For 23 years I didn’t read thrillers because they were, in my opinion, too scary and true-to-life. Now I can’t get enough of them. I had high expectations for Into the Water by Paula Hawkins, given the success she has had with The Girl on the Train.

The way in which Into the Water is written appeals to me. I enjoy when each chapter is narrated by a different character to give different perspectives of a situation. However, I felt that there were a lot of characters to keep track of in this story. The author knew this herself too, why else would she include a character index at the beginning of the book? This index was indeed very useful throughout my read.

Into the Water touches on a few topics that modern-day society still sometimes struggles to talk about. Throughout the storyline, the reader is confronted with the sub-themes of rape, homosexuality, suicide, infidelity, unprofessional relationships and puberty. With this in mind, one must commend Hawkins for the way in which she entwined these hot topics into a gripping storyline and got them into the mind of the reader.

This book was the seventh book I read in 2019 – the year in which I have committed to reading 25 books. You can keep up-to-date with my “to-read” list and book reviews here. Although I wouldn’t say this was the best book I have ever read, I am still keen to read Girl on the Train by the same author. I thoroughly enjoyed the film and I am sure the book will be even better, as is often the case with books and their movies.